Montreal restaurant broken into twice as owner works to reopen
A Montreal man is in shock after his restaurant was broken into twice in a week.
Cosimo Di Perna has owned Riventino Restaurant in LaSalle for 20 years.
He said someone smashed his window and ran off with as many wine bottles as they could carry.
"Shocking," he said. "I felt violated."
Then on Friday morning, it happened again.
"Last night, at midnight, I get another phone call, another break in, another motion detector happened," said Di Perna. "So we came right away. Another broken window. That made me very upset."
The first smash-and-grab was caught on security cameras, and the owner said it will cost thousands of dollars to complete the repairs.
Di Perna is trying to pick up the pieces in time to open his dining room next week after being forced to close as part of Quebec's COVID-19 pandemic measures.
"I was like, no way, it cannot happen, not at this time," said Di Perna. "We’re just trying to get back to normal next week. It just didn’t feel right."
Even if police can find the culprit, Di Perna is not sure he wants police to charge them.
He just wants to operate his business.
"I just don’t want it to happen again," he said. "I want to come in here in the morning and just work. What are you going to press charges for? It’s probably just someone who’s desperate, you know. We’re in desperate times. Just, stop doing this. It’s costing me money."
Di Perna said he filed a police report and will open his dining room next week even with a broken window.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
School police chief receives blame in Texas shooting response
The police official blamed for not sending officers in more quickly to stop the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting is the chief of the school system's small police force, a unit dedicated ordinarily to building relationships with students and responding to the occasional fight.

Fact check: NRA speakers distort gun and crime statistics
Speakers at the National Rifle Association annual meeting assailed a Chicago gun ban that doesn't exist, ignored security upgrades at the Texas school where children were slaughtered and roundly distorted national gun and crime statistics as they pushed back against any tightening of gun laws.
'Mom, you gotta carry on': 58-year-old Winnipegger inspired to graduate high school by late son
Fifty-eight-year-old Vivian Ketchum is set to receive her high school diploma at a graduation ceremony at the University of Winnipeg next month. It is a moment that is decades in the making.
Truth tracker: Does the World Economic Forum influence governments like Canada’s?
The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos was met with justifiable criticisms and unfounded conspiracy theories.
She smeared blood on herself and played dead: 11-year-old reveals chilling details of the massacre
An 11-year-old survivor of the Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde, Texas, feared the gunman would come back for her so she smeared herself in her friend's blood and played dead.
Girl told 911 'send the police now' as cops waited 48 minutes, official says
Students trapped inside a classroom with a gunman repeatedly called 911 during this week's attack on a Texas elementary school, including one who pleaded, 'Please send the police now,' as officers waited more than an hour to breach the classroom after following the gunman into the building, authorities said Friday.
Broken comet could trigger visible meteor shower Monday
Fragments of a comet broken nearly 30 years ago could potentially light up the night sky Monday as experts predict an 'all or nothing' spectacle.
Three Canadian cities rank among the world's best for work-life balance
A new report says Ottawa, Vancouver and Toronto rank among the top 20 cities around the world when it comes to work-life balance.
Feds aiming to address airport 'bottlenecks' in time for summer travel season
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says the federal government is working with groups on the ground to resolve air travel 'bottlenecks' in time for a busy summer.