AR-15 shots at a mafioso’s business: a shooter ratted out the sponsors

A Montrealer accused of having ordered a shooting at the car dealership of an influential mafia boss must blame himself for not having paid the shooters properly, since one of them finally denounced him.

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“Originally, [un des suspects] was to receive $15,000 for the contract. However, he only received the sum of $1,000,” noted Judge Dennis Galiatsatos last week at the Montreal courthouse.

Just after, he ordered the pre-trial detention of Mathieu Scott-Dumont, until his trial in connection with a shooting that occurred in a business linked to Italian organized crime, which occurred in September 2023.

That evening, four individuals in two SUVs passed in front of the Gestion Automobile Plus dealership when a passenger fired an AR-15, the weapon most used in mass shootings in the United States.

“The projectiles went through the windows of the business, but fortunately, no one was injured,” explained the judge.

The Notre-Dame Street business is managed by Marco Pizzi, an influential member of Italian organized crime, believed to be active in both drug trafficking and illegal betting.

Threats rather than pay

In recent years, Pizzi has been targeted around ten times, whether by burning down his garages or his vehicles. In 2016, he himself was targeted in an attempted murder.

“In his statement [un complice] mentioned that to his knowledge, the shooting was ordered in a context of war between the Hells Angels and the Italian mafia,” noted the magistrate.

Following the shooting, it took police officers no time to find the shooters. And when they got their hands on them, the sleuths realized that the crime had been filmed by the suspects, at the request of the sponsors, who wanted proof that the act had been committed.

Except that once the dirty work was done, Scott-Dumont and an accomplice allegedly refused to pay the $15,000 to the quartet, as agreed.

“They pointed a Glock-type pistol in his face and one of them warned him: ‘Do I have to slap you in the face so that you take the money?’.”

He fears for his safety

The alleged shooters were later arrested. And in addition to the incriminating statement from one of them, investigators were able to get their hands on a significant amount of incriminating evidence, which led to the arrest of Scott-Dumont.

During his release hearing, the 27-year-old accused implored the judge to release him on bail.

“On the verge of tears, he says he fears for his safety in the detention center,” noted the judge. He wants to get his life back on the right path, find a job.”

This did not convince the judge who recalled that the shooting had generated a real risk of stray bullets.

Scott-Dumont will return to court in September for further proceedings.