Attempted murder against Leonardo Rizzuto. Assassinations of Claudia Iacono, Francesco Del Balso and Gregory Woolley. Montreal organized crime has been shaken this year by a new high-level conflict. One of the backstory: control of the Montreal mafia’s sports betting register.
“He who possesses the Book possesses the power,” summarized a source from the police ranks at The Press recently.
Both in the criminal world and among the police, we subscribe to this maxim.
The Book is an expression used to designate the list of clients and the accounting of the sports betting of the Montreal mafia, and the loans associated with it.
Historically, it is the dominant mafia clan that holds it.
The past has also shown that during certain internal wars which have periodically shaken the Montreal mafia for almost 20 years, the holder of the Book was among the first targets of a putsch attempt.
While for around ten years starting in 2013, mafiosi and Hells Angels sat at the same table to run Montreal’s organized crime, it seems that this alliance broke up last year.
The police believe that one of the reasons for this breakup is that a group of Hells Angels from Montreal, led by Martin Robert and Stéphane Plouffe, is seeking to take control of the Book, which has been owned for decades by the Sicilian mafia clan. from Montreal.
In 2021, the Hells Angels of Montreal accepted into their ranks a former Ontario member, Rob Barletta, a specialist in illegal sports betting, and the police believe that the arrival of the biker in La Belle Province is not insignificant.
Martin Robert’s group had also accepted into its fold Francesco Del Balso, former lieutenant of the Sicilian clan and one of those responsible for the mafia’s sports betting before his arrest and conviction in the wake of the Colisée investigation by which the GRC decapitated the Rizzuto clan in 2006.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Francesco Del Balso, during his arrest as part of Operation Colosseum, in 2006
It seems that Del Balso did not appreciate the way the mafia took care of him during his imprisonment and wanted to take over the management of the Book when he was released from prison. But the Sicilians would have rejected it.
Del Balso’s experience in this area was welcome among the Hells Angels, but quickly, violent events followed one another.
Del Balso was the victim of an attempted murder near his home in Laval in November 2022.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Leonardo Rizzuto was the target of an attempted murder in mid-March in Laval.
In mid-March, Leonardo Rizzuto, youngest son of the late mafia boss Vito Rizzuto, was shot and injured on Highway 440, also in Laval.
In May, Claudia Iacono was murdered in Montreal, but police believe it was her husband, Anthony Gallo, close to Del Balso, who was targeted.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Funeral of Claudia Iacono
On June 5, it was Del Balso’s turn to fall under bullets in the west of Montreal, likely the victim of the Rizzutos’ revenge.
Police believe all of these attacks, including the murder of gang leader Gregory Woolley in mid-November, have this same standoff as a backdrop.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, ARCHIVES SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Francesco Del Balso was shot and killed on June 5 in west Montreal.
Riddled with debt at 18
Illegal sports betting is a traditional mafia activity.
One might think that this is a crime from another era, but sports betting, which at the same time allows those responsible to lend large sums at usurious rates, is extremely profitable for the mafia.
Furthermore, the police rarely investigate these activities and the sentences for such crimes are often lenient.
However, they can have very serious consequences.
In May 2019, a young 18-year-old from Laval, part-time worker in a restaurant of a fast food chain, hanged himself at home after contracting a debt of $80,000 by betting on the online betting site of the mafia.
“The gentleman revealed to his parents in November 2018 that he had gambling problems. Moreover, he made several bank transfers from his account. On May 15, 2019, a relative, who had access to the young man’s bank account, noticed that he had withdrawn $400. He speaks with the young man on the phone and agrees with him that he will manage his payroll in the future, to ensure that he does not waste money. The young man studies at a friend’s house that evening. He returns home around 1 a.m. in the night. His mother wants to talk to him but he refuses, saying he is tired. A suicide note is found on his cell phone. He explains that he is not depressed but rather not happy,” we can read in the coroner’s report.
According to our information, even after the young man’s death, the mafia contacted the family so that the debt could still be repaid.
Betting on the rise
During the Colisée investigation, more than 15 years ago, an expert established that sports betting had allowed the Montreal mafia to collect 27 million in 18 months between 2004 and 2006.
According to the police, the millions amassed through sports betting allow the mafia and organized crime to finance other criminal operations, such as importing drugs or carrying out contracts.
Those responsible for mafia sports betting in 2023 are the same as during the Colisée investigation.
The results of a study published in March in The Press conclude that online gaming has exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing from 5.2% of fans in 2018 to 15.6% in 2021.
Police don’t know how much the mafia’s annual profits from illegal sports betting will be in 2023, but it’s certainly in the tens of millions of dollars.
Last January, The Press revealed that Loto-Québec had announced advertising campaigns and exclusivity agreements with media and sports teams to face competition that it described as “illegal”.
A risky bet
Readers have already asked The Press why players turn, at their own risk, to illegal sports betting rather than legal sites, such as those of Loto-Québec.
According to sources, the odds and winnings would be higher. Since everything is done in cash, this leaves no trace for the big players who will therefore not be bothered by the revenue agencies.
On the other hand, a losing player must immediately repay his rapidly increasing debt at usurious rates. A punter who does not pay risks receiving a visit from a collector or having his vehicle set on fire.
Sources told us that traders have lost their livelihoods to mafiosi after incurring large gambling debts.
During the Colisée investigation, RCMP investigators found that players had been beaten, committed suicide or lost property due to such debts.
To contact Daniel Renaud, call 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.