Montreal

Police arrest man for attempted murder of Leonardo Rizzuto, then release him

A 32-year-old man who was arrested on Thursday night in connection with last month's attempted murder of Leonardo Rizzuto has been released without charges.

The 32-year-old is from Mascouche, Que.

Leonardo Rizzuto leaves a Montreal courthouse Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008. Police say they have disrupted an organized crime alliance among the Italian Mafia, criminal biker gangs and street gangs that controlled drug trafficking and money laundering in Montreal. Maurice (Mom) Boucher, 62, was arrested on Thursday, as were Leonardo Rizzuto, 46, the son of deceased Mob boss Vito Rizzuto; Loris Cavaliere, 61, the longtime lawyer for the Rizzuto family; and Salvatore Cazzetta, 60, an influential biker gang member.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes.
Leonardo Rizzuto leaves a Montreal courthouse Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008. The Escouade nationale de répression du crime organisé is mandated to target the heads of criminal organizations. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

A 32-year-old man from Mascouche, Que., who was arrested in connection with last month's attempted murder of Leonard Rizzuto, has been released without charges, provincial police confirmed.

Earlier on Friday, the Sûreté du Québec announced that officers from a national organized crime squad arrested the man on Thursday night. A spokesperson for the SQ now says he has been released "pending further proceedings."

Catherine Bernard of the Escouade nationale de répression du crime organisé (ENRCO) said the victim was travelling on Highway 440 in his black Mercedes on March 15, around 4:30 p.m.

Last month, Radio-Canada sources confirmed that Rizzuto, who allegedly took over from his father Vito Rizzuto as a Montreal Mafia leader, was the victim of a shooting at the intersection of highways 440 and 13.

Bernard said the occupant of a black Porsche Macan allegedly fired several times at the victim's car. The investigation showed that a second vehicle, a red Porsche Macan, could be linked to the attempted murder.

A car with punctured tires and damaged by gunshots is parked behind police tape.
Bullet holes were visible in the driver's side window of Leonardo Rizzuto's car. (Kolya Hubacek-Guilbault/Radio-Canada)

The driver of the Mercedes took Highway 13 southbound and drove to the parking lot of a funeral complex in the Sainte-Dorothée district. Gunshot marks were apparent on his vehicle.

On April 25, the National Organized Crime Squad and police officers from the Major Crimes Investigation Division of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) established a mobile command post on boulevard des Laurentides, in Laval, near the intersection of boulevard Saint-Elzéar. 

with files from La Presse Canadienne and Radio-Canada