Cops arrest lawyer, Hells Angels boss in massive sweep
Reputed Mafia members also nabbed by Quebec police
MONTREAL— A jailed Hells Angels kingpin, a prominent criminal lawyer and the son of a deceased Mafia boss were among some 45 people arrested Thursday as police targeted the triumvirate of biker gangs, the Mob and street gangs.
Maurice (Mom) Boucher, imprisoned for life in the killings of two prison guards, was arrested and faces a charge of conspiracy to commit murder in an alleged plot to kill Raynald Desjardins, himself incarcerated for the slaying of a rival Mob boss.
The conspiracy, police allege, involved Boucher, who’s the head of the elite Nomads chapter of the Hells Angels, his daughter Alexandra Mongeau and Gregory Wooley, a longtime confidant of Boucher who was also nabbed Thursday.
Police allege that meetings between Boucher, 62, and Mongeau at the federal prison in Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, Que., were conducted in a coded language, with the messages then relayed to Wooley.
“There was an aspect of vengeance in the conspiracy, but it was mainly to keep (drug territory) and if there was competition, it was to eliminate it and if there was thought to be competition, it was to eliminate it,” said provincial police Lt. Benoît Dubé.
Authorities said the alliance of the Italian Mafia, criminal biker gangs and street gangs was set up to maintain control of drug trafficking and money laundering in Montreal.
Others arrested Thursday included Leonardo Rizzuto, 46, the son of deceased Mob boss Vito Rizzuto; Loris Cavaliere, 61, the longtime lawyer for the Rizzuto family; and Salvatore Cazzetta, 60, an influential biker gang member. Provincial police Chief-Insp. Patrick Belanger said the various charges include gangsterism, conspiracy to commit drug trafficking, trafficking, trading in stolen goods, possession of prohibited arms as well as conspiracy to commit murder. Not all of those nabbed face the same charges.
Wooley, 43, is a street gang boss and described by authorities as an influential member of the alliance who allegedly acted as a conduit between the Mafia and bikers. Police also identified Stefano Sollecito, 48, and Leonardo Rizzuto as the heads of Montreal’s Italian Mafia, having taken over after Vito Rizzuto’s death from natural causes in December 2013. Belanger said Cavaliere, a lawyer who has represented many organized crime figures, is facing gangsterism and trafficking charges.
He was described as a “facilitator” and “moderator” whose office allegedly served as a hub for decisionmaking for the three groups.
“This criminal alliance was born of a desire to control the territory, particularly in terms of drug trade and, more particularly for Montreal, to create revenue sharing (among them),” Belanger said.
Police say the investigation was conducted in three stages — the first looked at the links among street gangs, the Hells Angels and the Mafia following Vito Rizzuto’s death as they worked together to control territory and maintain distribution.
“All the profits were divided among this alliance and all the decisions were made by this alliance,” said Dubé, a lead investigator in the mixed squad that took part in Thursday’s operation. The second stage followed the money trail, while the third looked at the conspiracy to kill Desjardins. Police say they have seized $1.2 million, seven kilograms of cocaine, 41 weapons, 122 cellphones and one motorcycle.