“Yeah, it’s beautiful”: the two men who shot mafia boss Leonardo Rizzuto receive heavy sentences

The two individuals who tried to kill the co-leader of the Montreal mafia Leonardo Rizzuto, in broad daylight, on the highway, received heavy penitentiary sentences this Friday, which did not seem to bother them.

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“Yeah, it’s beautiful,” said Kevin Rochebrun, 33, casually, pleading guilty to attempted murder this Friday at the Joliette courthouse.

Just after, it was the turn of his accomplice Steve Emmanuel Barthélémy, 35, to do the same, under a charge related to firearms, following their crime committed in the middle of the afternoon on March 15, 2023.

That day, mafia co-leader Leonardo Rizzuto was in a café in Laval. But he didn’t know that he was being watched by two people who were trying to kill him.

So, when he left the scene in his Mercedes, he was followed by the duo. And once on Highway 440 West, near Highway 13, Rochebrun, who was close to the late mafioso Francesco Del Balso, suspected of having ordered the attack, then opened fire.

Not collaborative

“Wounded in the upper body and legs, Leonardo Rizzuto managed to drive his vehicle to the parking lot of a funeral home […], indicates the summary of the facts. From there, he will be transported by ambulance to a hospital where his condition will require a few days of hospitalization.”

Except that even though he is a lawyer, Leonardo Rizzuto did not want to collaborate with the police. And even though he is a victim in this case, he did not want to speak to prosecutors, preferring to hire a lawyer to do so.

“He made it clear that he did not wish to speak about the consequences of the crime,” argued Mr.^e Isabelle Poulin of the Crown, this Friday.

But even without his collaboration, the police still managed to catch Rochebrun, the shooter, as well as Barthélémy, who was driving the vehicle.

They leave traces

This is because the shooters’ car, a black Porsche Macan, had been rented, so that investigators were able to find their route using the integrated GPS. By adding the geolocation data from their phones, the noose tightened around them.

And when the murder weapon, a Smith & Wesson, was found in a ditch a few weeks later, there was enough evidence to charge them.

And it seemed strong enough that the defendants, both linked to street gangs, preferred to plead guilty rather than go to trial.

At the suggestion of the parties, Rochebrun received 10 years in penitentiary. Barthélémy, for his part, got away with 5 years to serve, given his lesser involvement.

“I am satisfied with the sentence suggested to me,” declared Judge Éric Côté.

In addition to incarceration, both defendants were prohibited from possessing prohibited weapons until their death. They will also have to provide a DNA sample.