Montreal police are investigating the shooting of a 33-year-old man in who is identified as having ties to the Mafia.

The man was shot in the street around 10 a.m. Monday on St. Laurent Blvd. near Fleury St. in Ahuntsic.

Sources tell CTV he is Giuseppe Fetta, a man who has been the focus of police anti-Mafia investigations in the past.

The victim lay in the snowy street, conscious, despite multiple bullet wounds.

Police say he suffered serious injuries and was rushed to hospital where he required surgery. He is in stable condition, say police.

Officers set up a perimeter around the area while they searched for clues, but their work was hampered by the snowfall.

The suspect fled on foot before police arrived.

Those who follow organized crime in Montreal closely say Fetta was one of many caught in a police web years ago during the huge anti-Mafia sweep known as Project Colisee.

“He was filmed a few feet from where he was shot in some garage that was used to store the weapons of the Rizzuto organization, and he was filmed handling the weapons,” said La Presse crime reporter Vincent Larouche.

Fetta pleaded guilty and served time in jail.

“He's known as the muscle. For many, years he's been known to be part of a small group of enforcers for the Mafia - muscle types; those who will go show their strength to the enemies of the clan,” said Larouche.

This is the latest in a slew of recent Mafia shootings, including the murder of Joe Di Maulo, a reputed mobster who was gunned down in the driveway of his Blainville home on Nov. 4.

Di Maulo, 70, was is reputed to have recently been running the Montreal Mafia while Vito Rizzuto was in a U.S. jail.

Most recently, Emilio Cordeleone was found dead in his SUV on Dec. 9. His father is Domenico Cordeleone, a close ally of Moreno Gallo, a convicted murderer and alleged to be a high-ranking mobster.

The Cordeleone family was also close with Di Maulo.

Police say they are investigating links between those deaths and that of the latest victim.

"Is there a link to be made? It's too early in the investigation, but we all know when there are cases like this, we do look into it," said Montreal police Const. Anie Lemieux.

Police are interviewing possible witnesses, some of which have provided possible descriptions of a suspect.

"Everybody's playing guessing games about who might have called the shots," said Larouche.