Legal proceedings began on Tuesday morning for Leonardo Rizzuto and 10 others, alleged to be linked to the Italian mafia in Montreal and other criminal organizations. The suspects are facing charges related to various violent crimes.
Following their arrests on June 12, all 11 suspects pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder or conspiracy to commit murder, spanning from 2011 to 2021.
In a Montreal courtroom on Tuesday, the cases entered a “management phase” to schedule future hearings.
The judge imposed a publication ban on the case management and pre-trial proceedings, preventing discussions in court and filed documents from being disclosed.
Rizzuto and eight other suspects, handcuffed and shackled, were in court, while two others attended via videoconference.
The arrests came after a joint investigation by Montreal and provincial police, known as Project Alliance, which involved 150 officers apprehending Rizzuto and the other suspects across Quebec.
The 11 accused will reconvene for more case management on Oct. 15.
