Montreal Mafia and Hells Angels Reach Peace Agreement After Years Long War in Canada

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat
From a La Presse Article

Opposed in a bloody conflict not so long ago, the Sicilian clan of the Montreal Mafia and a group of Montreal Hells Angels led by Martin Robert have reportedly decided to make peace in recent months, in the face of the rise of emerging groups that threaten their hegemony.

"Currently, we see that there is indeed a potential truce between certain criminal groups, including the Hells Angels and the Italian mafia," says Francis Renaud, commander of the Organized Crime Division (Antigang) of the Montreal Police Service (SPVM).

In 2023, Montreal Hells Angels and the Rizzuto clan clashed over control of illegal sports betting, better known as "The Book," according to a police theory.

Leonardo Rizzuto was shot at while riding in his SUV in March 2023.

The conflict culminated in the attempted murder of Leonardo Rizzuto, the youngest son of the late Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto, in March 2023, and the murder of a former lieutenant of the clan, Francesco Del Balso, three months later.

But since last year, groups described by the police as "emerging" have begun to step into the toes of large criminal organizations, and to compete with them in some of their traditional activities such as extortion and the importation and distribution of cocaine.

At the same time, the Hells Angels have been facing a rebellion in the eastern part of the province for over a year.

Hells Angels Quebec leader Marty Robert.

"The Union"

During the holidays, the host of a podcast about crime in Detroit, USA, announced, citing sources, that a peace agreement was reached between Martin Robert and Leonardo Rizzuto in a Montreal restaurant around mid-December.

In the days and weeks that followed, La Presse tried, in vain, to confirm the information from sources in the police, judicial, and criminal circles until it learned that in January, the man whom the police consider to be the protector of the Sicilian clan, Pietro D'Adamo, had dinner with Martin Robert in a Montreal restaurant. The two men were reportedly each accompanied by an individual who appeared to be providing protection.

Without confirming this information, Commander Renaud is nevertheless able to affirm that the police are indeed observing a détente between the Rizzuto clan and Martin Robert's group.

"We have seen a truce between the two criminal organizations and we have observed facts on the ground that demonstrate this. We believe that currently, there is a certain unity between criminal organizations, including bikers and certain mafia groups, who have decided to form an alliance, or even just to conclude a non-aggression pact," continues Commander Renaud.

D'Adamo seen at Gregory Woolley's funeral.

Pietro D’Adamo, 54, of Île-Perrot, was arrested in March along with three other men after a Montreal police SWAT team pulled over the vehicle they were riding in. All four were charged with being in possession of a Glock 43, a prohibited firearm, and with possessing a loaded firearm they were not licensed to carry.

Longtime Alliance

Since the natural death of Vito Rizzuto in December 2013, the mafia, bikers and gangs have formed an alliance to rule Montreal's organized crime.

This one was decapitated in Operation Magot-Mastiff in November 2015, but it continued until a conflict between the Sicilians and Martin Robert's group in 2023, and gang leader Gregory Woolley, who exercised some control over the streets in Montreal, was assassinated in November of the same year.

Gregory Woolley was killed in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in November 2023.

Commander Renaud claims that for several months now, there has been a lull within high-level criminal organizations, because they are aware that the threat comes from below.

"We have emerging groups who want to take their place and who aren't scared off by the terms bikers and mafia. The mafia and bikers have long seen rebellious people who want to take their place," he says.

These emerging groups are fearless. They'll resort to violence, so it could become a problem for the Mafia or the bikers.

"Currently, on the Montreal organized crime scene, it's not about divide and conquer, quite the opposite. Instead, we're going to unite and conquer. Organizations have no choice. Things are changing right now, and some criminal organizations have to form alliances with others to survive, something we've never seen in the past," says Francis Renaud.

La Presse has also noted that misdeeds or acts of violence have targeted at least three merchants or entrepreneurs in the borough of Saint-Léonard or the Little Italy district in recent weeks.

A pastry shop on Dante Street was the target of gunfire during the long Easter break, and we've been told that shopkeepers are being asked to pay thousands of dollars a month in exchange for supposed protection.

According to Commander Renaud, there isn't necessarily a common thread running through all these events. He refuses, for the time being at least, to talk about the start of a new wave of extortion, but adds that SPVM officers remain on the lookout.

"Property owners who are being extorted and asked for money should call the police and let us know before handing over a single cent. We have inside information that points to people who could be incarcerated right now. We have targets in our sights and we will be monitoring this closely," concludes Commander Renaud.

Source La Presse, Montreal Gazette

Categories: Canada, hells angels, mafia