Alleged Hells Angels leader Salvatore Cazzetta has obtained a stay of proceedings due to unreasonable delays in his trial, a decision that has the Quebec Bar Association demanding action.
Superior Court Judge James Brunton ordered the stay on Wednesday. Cazzetta was arrested in 2009 for his role in a contraband tobacco ring.
Three other co-accused who were arrested in the same case also obtained stays of proceedings.
Cazzetta’s attorney argued that his trial, which would have ended in the summer of 2017, would have resulted in a period of 96 months of incarceration. The Supreme Court of Quebec recently set the maximum length of proceedings in the province at 18 months.
The alleged biker was among 31 Hells Angels released in spring of 2011, also due to unreasonable delays.
Cazetta remains in custody as he also faces charges stemming from Operation Magot Mastiff, which aimed to behead all of organized crime in the Montreal area this past November. Others arrested in that operation include Vito Rizzuto’s son Leonardo and Gregory Wooley, alleged head of Montreal’s street gangs.
Bar Association spokesperson Claudia Premont said the stay is “unacceptable that so many public resources contributed to an important investigation cannot obtain an outcome before the courts.”
She encouraged the government to appoint judges in a timely manner, saying the Superior Court is lacking “at least six judges.”
