Two shot dead in Old Montreal

Two men were shot dead in Old Montreal on March 18, causing police to scramble to find links to Canada's most prominent Mafia family, according to a story by Andy Blatchford and Sidhartha Banerjee of the Toronto Star. Police did not immediately identify the two victims, who were shot at a high-end St. Jacques Street clothing store. Two bystanders were struck and injured by flying lead. The gunmen escaped the area on foot. They were seen discarding clothing and Rastafarian-style wigs as they walked briskly away.

Detectives had been expecting reprisals for the Dec. 28 slaying of Nicolo Rizzuto, son of jailed Montreal crime boss Vito Rizzuto. Vito Rizzuto is serving a 10-year sentence in Colorado for his involvement in three Brooklyn, NY, racketeering murders in 1981.

The March 18 killings were later linked to Ducarme Joseph, owner of the clothing store, according to a story by the AFP news service. Police speculated that Joseph, reportedly tied to Montreal street gangs, was the target of the attack. A Joseph bodyguard was one of the victims. Canadian organized crime expert Antonio Nicaso said the Rizzuto Mafia was seeing increased competition from Calabrian criminal organizations as well as street gangs. The competition, he suggested, may be receiving encouragement from New York Mafia groups.