Man accused of Claudia Iacono killing was arrested the next day in Ontario on drug charges

An Ontario man charged Wednesday with first-degree murder in the death of Claudia Iacono, the daughter-in-law of the late Montreal Mafia associate Moreno Gallo, was arrested the day after the killing in Ontario on unrelated drug charges, public records show.

Joel Richard Clarke, 28, of Brampton, Ont., was brought to Montreal after Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) arrested him Tuesday in connection with the May 16 killing in Côte-des-Neiges. Iacono was gunned down in broad daylight inside her car outside of the salon she owned.

Police have not revealed a motive behind the slaying but say they are looking for other suspects from the shooting.

On May 17, the day after her killing, Clarke was arrested, but not for the fatal shooting. He was swept up in a series of raids by the OPP who were conducting a drug-trafficking investigation in the Brampton, Vaughan, and Barrie areas.

On May 21, the Caledon detachment of the OPP announced Clarke and a 26-year-old woman were facing several charges as part of the investigation, which started earlier this year.

Clarke's charges in that case include possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking, unauthorized possession of a restricted firearm, and four counts of failing to comply with release order.

Ontario court records show the man accused of the killing was also facing outstanding charges of kidnapping, assault with a weapon, and fleeing police stemming from an incident from March 2018. He is due back in Superior Court in Toronto in August on those charges.

Clarke is scheduled to return to the Montreal courthouse on the murder charge on July 13.