Gregory Woolley, unsuccessful mediator between the Arab Power gang and the Accurso clan Before being murdered, he had participated in a series of meetings in a business in the north suburbs of Montreal.
Months before he was shot dead, former gang boss Gregory Woolley had tried unsuccessfully to mediate a series of violent incidents against entrepreneur Tony Accurso and his family.
His interlocutors were representatives of the Arab Power gang, an increasingly influential criminal group suspected by the police of being behind violent extortion acts throughout the metropolis.
Its two main leaders, Youness Aithaqi and Sylvain Kabbouchi, are in prison, but can still give orders thanks to the smartphones that circulate freely in the prison environment.
Greg told the Arabs: don't touch Accurso," said a source very familiar with the events, who requested anonymity because he fears for his safety.
Several attacks
In the year leading up to these meetings, Tony Accurso and his clan had been targeted by at least four attacks that could have had tragic consequences. In a normally peaceful residential neighbourhood in Deux-Montagnes, his home and that of his son were targeted by gunfire.
Failure
Clearly, Gregory Woolley's attempts to defuse tensions failed. Not only was he shot dead in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in the following weeks, in front of his wife and their days-old baby, but the intimidation against the Accurso clan also continued.
The portrait changes
Long considered the one who could resolve conflicts between the city's street gangs, Gregory Woolley has had increasing difficulty since 2022 in making new players who are trying to assert themselves listen to reason.
Our Investigation Bureau also presents new details on this pivotal period which changed the portrait of organized crime throughout Quebec, to read here.
Two weeks ago, at a press briefing, Director Fady Dagher and Commander Francis Renaud of the Montreal police described a criminal scene where there is no longer a boss and where gangs with shifting allegiances do not hesitate to recruit young people barely out of childhood to commit crimes.
