The alleged mafioso Leonardo Rizzuto survived an attempted murder by firearm, Wednesday afternoon in Laval. Here are four things to know about the son of former mob boss Vito Rizzuto.
• Read also: [EN PHOTOS] Italian mafia: Leonardo Rizzuto victim of an attempted murder in Laval
Youngest son
Leonardo Rizzuto is the youngest son of the late Vito Rizzuto, the former Sicilian mob boss in Montreal. The one who is considered the most important mafioso in the history of Canada had three children.
Successor at the head of the clan
Since the deaths of his father and his brother, the lawyer by training is suspected of having become one of the leaders of the Rizzuto clan, according to a report by the Criminal Intelligence Service of Quebec.
The same report consulted by our Bureau of Investigation pointed out, in 2021, that the Rizzuto clan once again became “the most powerful criminal group” in the province, after difficult years.
Long series of deaths
The Rizzuto clan was hit with several murders and deaths, particularly around the turn of the 2010s.
The family patriarch, Nicolo Rizzuto, was shot dead in his Montreal residence in 2010.
His son Vito, the mob boss, died of natural causes a few years later, in December 2013, after a 10-year stint in prison in the United States which ended in 2012.
The first victim of this black series, the son of Vito and brother of Leonardo Rizzuto, Nicolo Rizzuto Jr, was shot dead in 2009. His alleged murderer, Ducarme Joseph, was killed in 2014.
Acquitted of gangsterism
The lawyer had been arrested and charged with gangsterism, illegal possession of a weapon and possession of drugs in 2015.
Leonardo Rizzuto was however acquitted after three years of legal proceedings, the court having decided to exclude the evidence collected by the police using the wiretap.
Judge Eric Downs had determined that the recordings of the incriminating conversations held by Leonardo Rizzuto in his lawyer’s office did not allow him to respect the professional secrecy between lawyers and clients and that they were therefore illegal.
