Montreal organized crime figure Francesco Del Balso killed in daylight shooting
Montreal police (SPVM) are investigating after a 53-year-old man was gunned down in broad daylight in the suburb of Dorval on Monday afternoon.
A source told CTV News that the victim is Francesco Del Balso, who has links to Montreal's Mafia.
Montreal police (SPVM) have not released the victim's identity. They said that shortly before 1 p.m., officers were called to the shooting on St. Regis Boulevard near Deacon Avenue.
When they arrived at the scene, officers found the man shot in the upper body in a parking lot near the Monster Gym. He was confirmed dead on the scene. The killing marks the 12th homicide in Montreal so far this year.
Francesco Del Balso was found dead outside the Monster Gym in Dorval on Monday, June 5, 2023. (Source: Charbonneau Commission)
There have been no arrests, and the investigation is ongoing.
According to one Mafia expert, Del Balso was a senior member of the Rizzuto organized crime family who used to run gambling operations and later clashed with the organization's leader.
Antonio Nicaso, a Queen's University professor and author who has written extensively on Montreal organized crime, told CTV News that his killing "confirms that the Montreal war is not yet over."
"And the power vacuum caused by the death of Vito Rizzuto continues to provoke violence among the various factions of what was once the most powerful Mafia family in Canada," Nicaso said in an interview Monday evening.
Del Balso was arrested in September for allegedly trying to extort nuns and a priest at the Saint-Maxime Church in Laval.
In 2006, he was arrested in Project Colisee during a police sweep of the Montreal Mafia. He was convicted of gangsterism and conspiracy to import and sell cocaine to the Hell's Angels. He was released in 2016, reinterned and then released again in 2017.
More recently, Del Balso was suspected by police of being behind the attempted murder of Leonardo Rizzuto, the son of the late Mafia godfather, Vito Rizzuto.
Rizzuto survived the assassination attempt in mid-March in Laval after being shot in the leg while driving on a highway.
A few days later, Del Balso was intercepted by police at Montreal-Trudeau airport as he attempted to leave the country. He was subsequently released, but his passport was seized.
Nicaso believes Del Balso felt he was being hunted down and had no way to defend himself and that his slaying was most likely the result of clashes with the leaders of the powerful crime family.
"The idea of finding a leader, someone capable to replace Rizzuto, did not receive a general consensus .. so various people started to fight one another. So Francesco Del Balso was one of those. He thought that he had the skills, the experience, the expertise to run the gambling business, and he tried to get more power, more space and most likely, he clashed with the leaders of the organization," Nicaso said.
"As we learned from Shakespeare, successions are always painful. So this is another of those succession struggles that will cause a lot of pain, a lot of blood."
Police attend the scene where a person was shot in Dorval, Que., Monday, June 5, 2023. The man was declared dead on the scene, his identity has not yet been confirmed by police. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi
Retired Montreal police officer André Durocher described Del Balso as "an enforcer" whose life was threatened in recent months, which is something investigators "cannot ignore" as they begin their investigation.
Durocher, who spent more than 30 years on the force in Montreal, said a major concern for police is the risk these assassinations pose to the public.
"It's a preoccupation if there's an innocent bystander that could be shot. It's a major preoccupation for law enforcement agencies," he said.
- Listen on CJAD 800: “It was a death wish”: Former Montreal police investigator Pietro Polleti on the killing of Mafioso Francesco Del Balso
The first step for investigators would be to determine if the location of the shooting was part of Del Balso's regular routine or if he was directed there by someone else for an appointment.
Durocher agreed that the lack of stable leadership in Montreal's Mafia means more killings like Monday's hit can be expected.
"Unfortunately, given the nature of the business," he said, "there will most likely be a next one."
THIRD MOB-RELATED SHOOTING SINCE MARCH
Del Balso's killing comes less than three weeks after another shooting in broad daylight involving families linked to organized crime.
Claudia Iacono, 39, was gunned down May 16 in the parking lot of her salon in Montreal's Cote-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grace borough.
Iacono was the daughter-in-law of Moreno Gallo, a man with links to organized crime who was assassinated in a Mexican restaurant in 2013. She was a mother of two.
Experts who monitor the Mafia say the targeting of a woman is rare and goes against the "unwritten rules" of the organized crime underworld.
Nicaso said there is no evidence linking her death with the Del Balso killing or the attempt on Leonardo Rizzuto's life in March.
With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.