Latest news with #VitoRizzuto
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Alleged Montreal Mafia boss Leonardo Rizzuto no longer allowed to practice law
Leonardo Rizzuto, 56, arrested at his home in Laval, Que., as part of a series of police raids on organized crime members on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Source: Patrick Sanfaçon/La Presse) The alleged head of the Montreal Mafia, now behind bars on a murder charge, has had his lawyer's licence suspended. Leonardo Rizzuto, 56, the youngest son of the late reputed Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto, was arrested along with 10 other suspects in a massive Montreal police operation on June 12 targeting organized crime groups in Quebec. He was charged with first-degree murder in the 2011 death of Lorenzo Lopresti and conspiracy to commit murder against several other men between 2011 and 2019. In a statement issued Wednesday, the Bar of Quebec (Barreau du Québec) said its disciplinary council has ordered the immediate provisional suspension of Rizzuto's right to practice law and the right to use the title reserved for members of the bar. 'Depending on the outcome of the criminal case, the Bar will provide updates on developments relating to his right to practice,' the statement reads. Records show that Rizzuto obtained his licence to practice law in Quebec in 1999. Following his arrest at his home in Laval, he remains in jail as the criminal proceedings continue. The raids in June resulted in the arrests of several people with alleged ties to the Italian Mafia, Hells Angels, and criminal street gangs who are accused of being involved in several murders in Montreal and around Quebec over a decade. Rizzuto survived an assassination attempt in 2023, when his Mercedes was shot at while he was driving on a Laval highway.
12-06-2025
Montreal's Rizzuto crime family targeted in major police sweep
In what police are calling the most significant operation to take place in Quebec in a decade, officers have arrested the suspected heads of Montreal's Italian Mafia, including the presumed leader, Leonardo Rizzuto. Nearly 150 police officers descended on addresses across Quebec early Thursday morning. They arrested Rizzuto at his home in Laval, Que., just north of Montreal. Officers arrested 11 people in total, all men between the ages of 27 and 57. Five people remain wanted by police. The arrests took place in Montreal, Laval, Blainville, Shefford, Saint-Lazare, Repentigny, Quebec City and Rosemère. Three of the men arrested were already incarcerated. Also arrested was Rizzuto's alleged co-leader, Stefano Sollecito and other prominent alleged Mafia members, Pietro D'Adamo and Davide Barberio. Vito Rizzuto, Montreal Mafia's Teflon Don, dead at 67 (new window) All the men are wanted in connection with murders, police said at a morning press conference. Francis Renaud, the head of the SPVM's organized crime unit, said the arrests targeted people with ties to the traditional Italian Mafia, biker gangs including the Hells Angels and criminal street gangs. The suspects arrested participated in one or multiple murders either by giving orders or executing them or as collaborators between the years 2011 and 2021, he said. Marc Charbonneau, the head of the Montreal police specialized services department, said the arrests were the result of a three-year investigation that involved provincial police investigators (SQ) working alongside Montreal police (SPVM). The charges against these individuals will surely have a profound effect and destabilize organized crime, he said. WATCH | What we know so far : Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? Quebec police target Rizzuto crime family in sweeping arrests Nearly 150 officers carried out arrests in Montreal, Laval, Blainville, Shefford, Saint-Lazare, Repentigny, Quebec City and Rosemère on June 12. Some of those arrested are expected to appear at the Montreal courthouse this afternoon and face a host of charges. Since the 1980s, the Rizzuto clan has ruled Quebec after winning a crime war against the Calabrian Mafia. The Sicilian Mafia was led by Nicolo Rizzuto and was allegedly succeeded by his son Vito Rizzuto. The Mafia's area of influence extended from Quebec to southern Ontario. Nicolo Rizzuto was shot and killed (new window) in 2010. His son Vito died in 2013. (new window) André Cédilot, a former justice reporter at La Presse and the author of Mafia Inc. , says the raid definitely marks the end of the Rizzuto crime family. There are no successors within the Rizzuto family, but we can't say it's the end of the Sicilian clan because there are still big players left not only in Montreal, but also in Toronto, Cédilot said. Radio-Canada is reporting that the information that led to Thursday's arrests came from an informant: Frédérick Silva, who is currently serving a life sentence for first-degree murder. Silva acted as a hitman for organized crime groups and, after his conviction, began operating as an informant for police. The full list of those arrested are: Leonardo Rizzuto, 56 years old. Stefano Sollecito, 57 years old. Davide Barberio, 45 years old. Pietro D'Adamo, 54 years old. Michel Cliche, 54 years old. Patrick Gilbert, 51 years old. Daniele Guarna, 45 years old. Richard Larivière, 57 years old. Darius Perry, 27 years old. Vito Salvaggio, 50 years old. Nicola Spagnolo, 50 years old These five men remain wanted: Sacha Krolik, 56 years old. Pierry Philogène, 38 years old. Mario Sollecito, 54 years old. Gianpietro Tiberio, 52 years old. Jean-Ismel Zéphyr, 46 years old. Matthew Lapierre (new window) · CBC News
CBC
12-06-2025
- CBC
Quebec police crack down on Rizzuto crime family in slew of arrests
Social Sharing Montreal and provincial police have made several arrests Thursday morning targeting the Rizzuto family in the Montreal area, Radio-Canada is reporting. The major police operation aims to end the activities of what was once the most influential and dangerous criminal organization in Canada, led by the late Mafia leader Vito Rizzuto. About a dozen people were targeted by the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal and the Sûreté du Québec, according to Radio-Canada sources.
