Written by :
Published on :
A commercial mall that burned to the ground Monday was home to a hair salon owned by an individual with alleged Montreal mob ties.
The Montreal Gazette reports that gas had been doused on the hair salon located in the Laval’s Vimont district then set ablaze. A number of neighboring stores that included an ice cream parlor and bakery were also destroyed in the blaze.
A 2006 court document identified the hair salon’s owner as Caterina Miceli, wife of Carmelo (Mini-Me) Cannistraro, 46. The Gazette reports that Cannistraro headed an illegal bookmaking ring tied to the Rizzuto organization that was uncovered during Project Colisée, a major investigation into the Montreal Mafia that produced dozens of arrests in 2006.
Miceli’s other salon, also called Streakz Coiffure and situated within a strip mall on Robert-Bourassa Blvd., caught fire last Thursday at 2 a.m. That fire was also a suspected arson.
From the Gazette:
Monday’s fire appears to be the most recent in a series of arsons targeting businesses with alleged ties to the Montreal Mafia in recent months. Montreal police told La Presse in December that 13 arson fires investigated since September appear to be related to an internal conflict within the Montreal Mafia. In 11 of the cases, the properties could be linked to people with ties to the Rizzuto organization.
Cold temperatures and a propane tank explosion helped cause the fire to spread more rapidly through the strip of stores.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
