Montreal businessman Tony Magi appeared in court Wednesday on gun-related charges after he was arrested in Notre-Dame-de-Grace as part of a series of raids.
Montreal police raided the offices of FTM Construction on Upper Lachine Rd. Tuesday, along with several other locations in west-end Montreal and in the Outaouais town of Montebello, 130 kilometres west of Montreal.
Seven people were arrested, including Magi, FTM's president, who was charged with illegal gun possession. Magi's heavily armored car was also seized.
Two of Magi's apparent bodyguards, Luciano Canci and Michael Fanelli, were also among those arrested. Police say that Canci was found with a loaded gun and a quantity of cocaine, and Fanelli was arrested with a loaded gun, and illegal brass knuckles.
In total, police seized 24 weapons.
Magi was released Wednesday on $25,000 bail, and must respect a curfew. Canci and Fanelli return to court Thursday, when Fanelli is expected to be asked to explain why he shares the same address as another jailed mobster, Carmine Serino.
Serino and another bodyguard, Jesse Petrocco, were arrested in August while acting as a bodyguard for mobster Tony Mucci. All three face weapons charges.
Magi suspected to be tied to mafia
Tony Magi has long had a reputation for being linked to the mafia. Best known as a real-estate developer, two years ago, Magi survived an attempted murder on Cavendish Blvd. near Sherbrooke St., where unknown gunmen shot him several times.
Police have raided the offices of Magi's FTM Construction on a few occasions, including in November 2009, in an investigation involving alleged extortion attempts.
Magi's former business partner was Nick Rizzuto Jr., the son of jailed mob boss Vito Rizzuto, shot dead in December 2009 as he left Magi's NDG office.
Police arrested street gang leader Ducarme Joseph in March as he left Magi's office, less than 24 hours after escaping an attempted murder in Old Montreal.
The daytime shooting claimed the lives of two men and left two others injured.
