Reports: Woman fatally shot in a Côte-des-Neiges–NDG parking lot, is wife of a man linked to mafia
Posted May 16, 2023 6:47 pm.
Last Updated May 17, 2023 6:36 pm.
There are reports the woman who was shot dead while driving her car in a parking lot Tuesday afternoon in Côte-des-Neiges–NDG is Claudia Iacono, who is married to the son of late mobster Moreno Gallo – murdered a decade ago in Mexico.
Montreal police (SPVM) spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant says a call came into 911 at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday about a 39-year-old woman who was shot outside Salon Deauville Coiffure Spa, which is owned by Iacono, located near Jean-Talon and de la Savane streets.
“A woman being shot in a car like linked with a family, linked to organized crime, I don’t know if it’s the first, but if it’s not the first time, it’s certainly something very rare because out of memory, I was a police officer for 40 years. I don’t remember such an event happening, said retired SPVM inspector André Durocher in an interview with CityNews Wednesday.
“It’s a major concern. It means that all rules are falling. Whoever is doing this, they don’t respect any type of codes of honour,” he added.
“We’re seeing a new wave of violence that is putting the public in danger,” said Pietro Poletti, former lieutenant detective with the SPVM who investigated organized crime. “I think it was it’s probably related to some other issue that could have been personal conflict with other individuals, but I don’t think it’s directly related to organized crime, if it is, I think we have a serious problem now.”
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When officers arrived Tuesday, they found the woman in her car. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The suspect fired a gun in the woman’s direction and fled on foot.
The victim’s car was in motion at the time and collided with a building when she was shot.
“It seems like there’s no normal rules, and I think that’s a major preoccupation for investigators at the moment, because we’re just at the beginning of the summer,” Durocher said.
“An accident could happen. Innocent bystanders could get shot. This is why I think they’ll put all the efforts to try to resolve this, or at least to send a message to the people committing these acts that it’s unacceptable,” he added.
“There’s no more balance of power. The criminal organizations were very well structured. There was one leader and things were under control. Today, there’s no leadership and everybody’s trying to take this position,” Poletti explained.
The SPVM’s major crimes unit is investigation this eighth homicide of the year, but as of Wednesday no arrests had been made so far.
Spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant says a perimeter has been set up, field work is ongoing, crime scene technicians are on the scene, and there is still some surveillance footage to comb through.
“We’re asking the help of the public, if anyone has information to come forward by dialing 514-393-1133 or 911, all information will be passed on to investigators,” Brabant added.
Montreal’s police chief Fady Dagher says it’s too early to know whether this was officially linked to the Mafia, but says that a woman targeted is rare.
“It is concerning,” he said. “As Chief, I was like, ‘Oh, wait a minute. Did we cross the line? Are we are we going somewhere else now?’ This is why back also now we are we are looking into it and to find out why it happened to that person at that moment.”
“We are preoccupied and we cannot minimize that,” Montreal mayor, Valérie Plante, said at a press conference Wednesday. “That being said, it is also important to keep in mind that our new chief of police has a plan for the summer. He’s very lucid and putting efforts and resources where it’s needed to make sure that Montreal, the streets, feel safe.”
A well-known businesswoman
Iacono was very active on social media, promoting her salon and other businesses.
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She appeared on CityNews on three occasions in the last three years, during the pandemic, speaking about COVID-related measures surrounding salons.
“Really I don’t think there’s anything to worry about, I just think we have to follow the protocols so we’re going to try our best to help each other and succeed,” she told CityNews in June 2020, as she added several safety measures to her business after being shutdown for several months during lockdown.
After a second shutdown in 2021, Iacono was eager to reopen once again and welcome her clients, to allow them to be pampered.
“I think it’s a big necessity, it makes people feel good,” she said. “These times are harder, the first shutdown was summer, it helps how people feel.”
And almost a year later, Iacono was outspoken about Quebec’s plan to apply vaccine passports to salons.
“I find that it’s not fair for clients that have been coming to me for 20 years and I would tell them you cannot do your service here anymore because you’re not vaccinated,” she said in January 2022. “This is something that would really really bother me and I just feel like they are removing a lot of our rights.”
