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’s suburbs.
Francesco Del Balso, 53, is believed to have been an influential leader in the Rizzuto crime family and once controlled the syndicate’s illegal gambling activities.
But after the death of Sicilian-born boss Vito Rizzuto, Mafia experts say Del Balso attempted to expand his operations in the ensuing power vacuum, which irked his criminal colleagues.
Rizzuto was arrested in 2004 and extradited to the US, where he was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and racketeering. He died in 2013 of natural causes.
And Del Balso’s push for power within the syndicate meant he quickly went from a made man to a marked man.
Francesco Del Balso, 53, is believed to have been an influential leader in the Rizzuto crime family and once controlled the syndicate’s illegal gambling activities.
But after the death of Sicilian-born boss Vito Rizzuto, Mafia experts say Del Balso attempted to expand his operations in the ensuing power vacuum, which irked his criminal colleagues.
Rizzuto was arrested in 2004 and extradited to the US, where he was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and racketeering. He died in 2013 of natural causes.
And Del Balso’s push for power within the syndicate meant he quickly went from a made man to a marked man.
