$32,000 reward to find the statue of Gilles Villeneuve

Entrepreneurs insulted by the theft of the statue of race car driver Gilles Villeneuve in Berthierville are offering more than $30,000 so that it is returned to its base in front of the museum in his honor.

“We don’t touch Gilles Villeneuve. We don’t touch a monument. It’s part of the history of Quebec, of Quebec identity. We do not want this statue to end up melted into pieces, it must return to its base,” insists Frédéric Gamache, of Azimut POS.

The Quebec company has teamed up with the gasoline distributor B&G Race Fuels Canada and the automobile dealership GM Paillé to offer $12,000 to anyone who returns the imposing bronze statue in good condition.

Second reward

Inventor-entrepreneur Richard Arel, who bought Madrid in 1987 to make it a truck stop famous for its dinosaurs, is offering $20,000 to anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest of the dinosaurs. criminals.

The septuagenarian was a Skiroule snowmobile salesman in the late 1960s, when he met Gilles Villeneuve. The two men raced against each other in snowmobile championships where Skiroule, a company that disappeared in 1974, supplied cars.

“He became a champion and I became an entrepreneur,” says the 77-year-old man.

Statue fondue?

During the night from Wednesday to Thursday, thieves allegedly sawed off the monument representing the racing driver who measured 1.68 meters at the ankles. They would have left with the top part, leaving only the feet and the base. Since then, the statue has not been found.

However, there is concern about the possibility that the statue was stolen in order to melt the bronze and then sell it to a scrap dealer.

Frédéric Gamache emphasizes that the reward offered is “much, much greater than what the metal is worth”.

According to various scrap dealers interviewed by The Journala pound of bronze currently sells for more or less $2.50. The criminals could therefore make a meager profit of $600, since the work weighs between 200 and 250 lbs, according to Jules Lasalle, the artist who designed it in 1984.

Bruno Ménard, of RM Recyclage in Joliette, would however be surprised if the thieves managed to sell it for scrap. A letter confirming that the monument can be sold is required, as are identification documents and proof of residence.

“I don’t know anyone who would approve of purchasing the statue of our hero from Quebec. I would be really shocked,” he confirms.

The Sûreté du Québec ensures that the investigation continues.

“We have had information, we must validate it one by one,” says spokesperson Éloïse Cossette.

Any information can be communicated confidentially to the Criminal Information Center of the Sûreté du Québec, at 1 800 659-4264.