Either way, it is a major force in Canadian organized crime, with tentacles stretching into most of southern Quebec and Ontario. But it was divided and weakened by the death of its patriarch, Vito Rizzuto, and Del Balso\u2019s assassination suggests the war that followed is ongoing.<\/p>\n
Vito\u2019s son, Leonardo Rizzuto, was shot and injured by unknown assailants in March. Del Balso was one of the suspects.<\/p>\n
This murder confirms that the Montreal war is not yet over,\u201d<\/strong> Antonio Nicaso, an organized crime expert and lecturer, told The<\/em> Montreal Gazette.<\/em> \u201cThe power vacuum caused by the death of Vito Rizzuto continues to provoke violence among the various factions of what was once the most powerful Mafia family in Canada.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nDel Balso was first arrested in 2006 as part of Operation Colis\u00e9e, the biggest Mafia bust in Canadian history. He served ten years on charges of gangsterism and conspiracy to import cocaine.<\/p>\n
On his release in 2016, he was ordered back to prison because of concerns for his safety. Despite being described in filings to the parole board as \u201cnext on the execution list,\u201d he was freed in 2018.<\/p>\n
At the time of his death, he was under investigation for drug trafficking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A high-profile member of the Montreal Mafia was shot dead in broad daylight on Monday afternoon on a street corner in Dorval in the city\u2019s suburbs. Francesco Del Balso, 53, is believed to have been an influential leader in the Rizzuto crime family and once controlled the syndicate\u2019s illegal gambling activities. But after the death […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":276380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81887,21],"tags":[86596,86597,86598],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Mafia Gambling Figure Shot Dead in Montreal<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n