MONTREAL—Omerta. No one is talking.
Two years after a funeral home in St-Leonard was firebombed, authorities are still no closer to understanding the baffling chapter in Montreal’s ongoing mafia turf war.
On Friday, Southone Chareuensouk was told at the Montreal court house that he would need to wait two more weeks for sentencing. Expected to get the stiffest sentence of three men who have pleaded guilty to the firebombing, the crown still can’t explain who may have ordered the attack.
The Loreto funeral home in St-Leonard has a controversial past. Its owners have been linked to Paolo Renda, a major mob figure who has been missing for two years and is presumed dead. The funeral home also served as the location where murdered mafia boss Nick Rizzutto was viewed in Nov. 2010.
Weeks after Rizzuto’s death, the funeral home was firebombed.
Julien Bourassa-Richer, Alexandre Toualy and Southone Chareuensouk all pleaded guilty to the attack, but never revealed their motive. None of the three has ever testified as to who ordered the arson.
The firebombing in St-Leonard came at a time when dozens of small businesses in the area were also being targeted. While the Montreal police suggested a turf war and several suspects were arrested, none could be linked to any specific gang.
Chareuensouk might get the stiffest sentence so far: three-and-a-half years, as negotiated between the prosecution and defence.
Despite all the suspects being behind bars, the judicial system can’t say why the attacks were ordered or who ordered them.
