Another building was on fire. Two people killed, a mother and here 7 year old child. Its the second time that a building of the owner was put on fire. Last year, one of his building was put on fire, and 7 people died. It seem the owner his being extorted by gangs.
A mother and her 7-year-old daughter died in the arson that devastated a heritage building in Old Montreal during the night of Thursday to Friday, La Presse learned. This heart-setting drama could be the most recent episode of a pizzo war engaged in three criminal groups, and of which the restaurateurs and barkeepers of the metropolis are the helpless victims.
Pizzo is the name given to the amount of money or "tax" that traders and entrepreneurs must pay to the mafia, in exchange for its protection. In reality, it is a form of extortion that, in Montreal and the surrounding area, is no longer exclusive to the mafia or motorcyclists.
While previously, establishments had to pay a pizzo to a single organization that controlled the place or sector, they are now targeted by two other gangs who want their share of the cake too, and make fun that the restaurant or bar is already "protected".
"The big difference within organized crime is that before, there was a certain understanding, bikers, the mafia and others were under the same umbrella. But now, what we see is that certain codes are no longer respected, "explains Sergeant Nicolas Giguère, of the Eclipse squad.
For example, protection rackets. Before, there was only one group that did that, and that group was under the umbrella in power. But now, there are places that are being extorted, set on fire or targeted by shots, by other players who are trying to appropriate this market. Before, there was only one gang that did that. Now there are three, and they have no respect for the organization that already controls or protects the place, "continues the sergeant.
The forces involved
The Eclipse police did not want to reveal the names of the gangs involved in this three-way fight, but according to our sources, it would be a group called Arab Power and gangs led by Atna Onha, alias Tupac, and Jean-Philippe Célestin, member of the Marauders, club-school of the Hells Angels of Montreal.
