Leonardo Rizzuto, the alleged head of the Montreal-based Italian mafia, is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday morning alongside 10 other individuals believed to have ties to organized crime.
The legal proceedings will be held at the Centre judiciaire Gouin and will primarily involve case management discussions.
Following their arrests on June 12, Rizzuto and the other suspects entered pleas of not guilty to charges of first-degree murder or conspiracy to commit murder. These charges are in connection with alleged murders and attempted murders spanning from 2011 to 2021. Additionally, the suspects are facing charges related to various violent crimes.
In September, during their initial court appearances, the cases moved into a “management phase” where future hearing dates were to be set.
It’s worth noting that details of the case management and pre-trial proceedings are currently restricted by a publication ban, preventing the media from disclosing the filed documents and court discussions.
The arrests of Rizzuto and the other suspects were the result of a collaborative effort involving 150 police officers across Quebec, as part of Project Alliance, a joint investigation by Montreal and provincial police.
Pietro Poletti, a retired lieutenant detective from the Montreal police, hinted in September that a police informant could be a vital component in the upcoming court cases. He mentioned that the police had enlisted an informant who had cooperated with authorities on numerous homicide and conspiracy cases.
