7 accused in Salvatore Montagna killing strike plea bargain
The 2011 killing is thought to have been linked to a turf war
Seven people accused in the 2011 killing of Mafioso Salvatore Montagna have struck a plea bargain with the Crown.
Six of them pleaded guilty this morning to a reduced charge of conspiracy to murder. They will learn their sentence in June.
- U.S. kicks out Canadian reputed to be crime boss
- Raynald Desjardins pleads guilty to conspiracy in Salvatore Montagna murder
The seventh pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of being an accessory after the fact to murder. The judge sentenced him to time already served.
Who was "The Iron Worker"
Nicknamed "Sal the Iron Worker," Montagna owned and operated a successful steel business in the U.S.
He was also a highly placed member of the Bonanno crime family in New York
Montagna was deported from the U.S., came to Montreal and is thought to have tried to take over the city's Mob.
He was gunned down in Charlemagne, which is off the eastern tip of Montreal.
A Montreal turf war
The killing is thought to have been linked to a turf war taking place after he got to Montreal.
Rizzuto clan member Reynald Desjardins was nearly killed in September 2011 when someone shot at him while he was in his SUV in Laval.
A few months later, Montagna was dead.
Desjardins admitted to his role in the killing and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder.
He will be sentenced next month.
Conspiracy to commit murder carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
with files from Jay Turnbull