Four arrests in Mob-linked killings
Last Wednesday, October 16, police arrested four people in connection with four killings allegedly linked to Italian organized crime.
Police say three men and a woman face charges in the 2016 slayings of brothers Vincenzo Falduto and Giuseppe Falduto, as well as the deaths of Rocco Sollecito and Lorenzo Giordano. The four arrested are Jonathan Massari, Dominico Scarfo, Guy Dion and Marie-Josee Viau.
Provincial police say the man at the head of the alleged criminal cell — Salvatore Scoppa — was killed in a brazen attack inside a Sheraton Laval last May. His brother Andrew was shot dead Mοnday morning October 21st.
Andrew Scoppa was arrested in connection to a cocaine smuggling investigation that targetted members of the Mafia. It was alleged he was distributing cocaine to dealers out of the Tour des Canadiens condos. Proceedings were halted in 2017, which led to his release.
The slaying of Andrew Scoppa is the second killing of a key figure in Quebec organized crime in just the past few days. On Thursday, Oct. 17, Gatean Sevigny, an associate of the Hells Angels in Quebec, was gunned down in front of his home in Terrebonne.
Police believe Scoppa’s killing was in response to the four 2016 slayings.
The probe into those deaths, dubbed “Premediter” (premeditated), began in January and culminated with last Wednesday’s arrests.
Authorities also seized 19 long guns, six handguns and three automatic weapons, as well as silencers, munitions and detonators.
They also seized a motorcycle allegedly used in the killing of Sollecito
No charges against Laval police following man’s fatal fall
The Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) announced on Tuesday October 8th, that no criminal charges will be laid against Laval police after a man fell six storeys to his death in 2018.
Jeff Duhamel-Nissage died on March 29, 2018, after police raided his apartment in Laval, executing a search warrant. Officers rapidly stormed the building, according to a spokesperson for the DPCP. They cornered Duhamel-Nissage on his balcony, where he was tossing items downwards. He escaped to his neighbour’s apartment and tried to climb down to a sixth-floor apartment but slipped and was declared dead on the scene. He was 36 years old.
Officers were nearby in his apartment, but none were on the balcony with him when he fell, the spokesperson wrote in a statement. Numerous people witnessed Duhamel-Nissage’s fall, he added.
The decision not to pursue criminal charges was made following an investigation by Quebec’s independent bureau of investigation (BEI), the entity that investigates injuries and deaths that occur during police operations.
The DPCP declared there was no evidence police committed a crime.
“911; where do I vote?”
People where calling 911 to get information about where to vote.
Voting in the Canadian election is, to many, a democratic duty. But for some people, it is an emergency. Laval Police said Monday they have received a few calls to 911 from people trying to get information about where and when to vote.
The force urged people to visit Elections Canada’s website instead.
Laval police spokesperson Evelyn Boudreau said that the tweet overstated the information. According to Boudreau, the emergency service number has received two to three calls.
