A suspected mobster was formally charged in a Montreal courtroom Tuesday with conspiracy to import cocaine and gangsterism after four years on the lam.
Police have been searching for Giuseppe De Vito since November 2006, when a warrant for his arrest was issued as part of Operation Colisee.
"A hundred people were arrested in Project Colisee," said federal prosecutor Alexandre Dalmau. "Mr. De Vito was one of two people missing. There's another one called Ralph Duval who's still wanted."
De Vito was wanted on drug trafficking and other charges.
Sources tell CTV News that for a time, De Vito was living in Florida.
Arrested in Laval
Authorities received a tip that De Vito, 44, was exercising at a gym in Laval on Monday, and they arrested him as he walked out of the Centre Body Shop at Carrefour 440, barely a few kilometers from his former home.
Police say he was armed at the time of his arrest and was sheltered by a woman named Gina Conforti, who was also charged Tuesday for complicity after the fact.
"We have reasons to believe she was aware that he was under a warrant and she helped him to hide," said provincial prosecutor Jean-Claude Boyer.
De Vito is said to be an associate of the embattled Rizzuto clan, targeted in the Operation Colisee investigation.
Defence lawyer Daniel Rock said De Vito is eager to settle the case quickly.
Wife on trial
De Vito's wife, Adele Sorella, is currently awaiting trial for the murder of their children.
The bodies of the eight- and nine-year-old Sabrina and Amanda were found in the family home in March 2009.
Police had heavy surveillance at the funeral, but did not spot De Vito at the ceremony, despite rumours he would give himself up if he could attend.
Sorella was arrested after she crashed her car into a hydro pole, but after a psychiatric evaluation she was found fit to stand trial.
She was released on bail in July, after being in custody for 14 months, for reasons that must remain secret due to a publication ban.
