Alleged influential Quebec organized crime leader Gregory Woolley killed

An alleged influential member of organized crime in Quebec was gunned down in broad daylight on Friday.

It happened around 10:30 a.m. outside a CLSC in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, about 40 km southeast of Montreal.

Multiple reports say the victim is 51-year-old Gregory Woolley.

The Sûreté du Québec (SQ), who took over the investigation from the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu police department, would not confirm the identity of the victim.

Woolley was shot while standing next to his SUV in a parking lot. The area was said to be crowded at the time. 

He was pronounced dead in hospital.

The gunman then fled the scene in a black SUV according to witnesses at the scene and police are still searching for the person.

An SUV matching that description was later found on fire in Montreal. The SQ has not yet confirmed that this is the vehicle of the suspect(s), but this method of setting fire to a vehicle used to commit a criminal act is frequently used in organized crime circles. No suspects have yet been apprehended.

In recent years, Woolley’s home had been the target of gunfire and arson.  

According to La Presse Canadienne, Woolley was associated with the Hells Angels, the Italian Mafia and Montreal street gangs.

He was seen as a bridge between the bikers and the street gangs, of which he was said to be the godfather.

He also became close to the late Montreal mafia boss Vito Rizzuto, and then to his son Leonardo, finding himself at the heart of an alliance between the three major currents of organized crime in the metropolis.

Woolley had been sentenced in October 2018 to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to gangsterism and drug trafficking charges, but with time served he was released on bail in 2020 – two-thirds of the way through his sentence. He lived in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.

-With files from the Canadian Press