Lugares de interés (POIs) del Mapa
0: Kardiologik, Le gym urbain
Oct. 19, 2012: Kardiologik gym near Jean Talon market became the latest arson target at 4:50 a.m. Damages were minor. Read the story here.
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1: Chops Resto Bar
Oct. 18, 2012, at 4 a.m., an "incendiary object" was thrown through the window of Chops, according to Montreal police. Two suspects are sought. Read the story here.
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2: Bar Primetime
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3: Café Ciociaro
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4: Restaurant Shekz
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5: Champion Pizza
Two firebombings
A small fire was set by two people in the Champion Pizza restaurant in Montreal North about 4:20 a.m. Jan.11, 2012. One suspect broke a glass door to the pizzeria and another was seen entering with a container before a small fire was quickly extinguished by firefighters, police said. The suspects were able to get away.
The Champion had been hit with a Molotov cocktail Nov. 3, 2010
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6: Pizzeria Nord
Montreal police are searching for two men after a Montreal North pizzeria was fire-bombed Sunday night.
The men entered the Pizza Nord restaurant, which was still open, at about 8 p.m., said Const. Anie Lemieux of the Montreal police department.
"One of the men threw what appeared to be a Molotov cocktail into the pizzeria," Lemieux said. "There were two or three customers inside at the time. The men then fled the scene."
A fire quickly engulfed the small pizzeria on Charleroi St. No serious injuries were reported.
About 25 firefighters responded to the fire, which caused about $20,000 in damage to the three-storey building. No one was injured in the fire, Lemieux said.
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7: Cafe Baccio
May 10, 2011. The cafe was also firebombed on Sept. 27, 2009.
The Montreal police arson unit is investigating after a fire seriously damaged a café in Rivière des Prairies late Tuesday.
The fire at Café Baccio on Gouin Blvd. near 38th Ave. started about 11:55 p.m. and firefighters later found that an incendiary device, possibly a Molotov cocktail, had been thrown through the front window. The fire spread to an adjacent building but the damage there was minor, Montreal police Constable André Leclerc said.
There were no reported injuries. Police did not have any suspects Wednesday morning.
Café Baccio was previously targeted by arsonists on Sept. 27, 2009
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8: Le Pigalle
Rosemont resto firebombed for 2nd time
The Montreal police arson squad was investigating Sunday following the firebombing of a restaurant Saturday night in Rosemont, the second such attack there in a little over three months.
Witnesses saw two suspects throw an object, likely a Molotov cocktail, at the façade of Le Pigalle restaurant on Bélanger St. near Pie IX Blvd. at about 9:30 p.m., Montreal police Constable Olivier Lapointe said. The restaurant was boarded up from a previous arson hit.
Several residents were forced out by the fire, but there were no reported injuries. The three-storey building is commercial at street level and has apartments on the upper floors.
The suspects fled in a waiting car driven by a third person, Lapointe said.
The restaurant sustained an estimated $75,000 in damages, a fire department official said.
The two-alarm blaze spread to the upper floors, but firefighters brought it under control about 11 p.m.
Le Pigalle was also targeted by arsonists on Oct. 31.
On Friday, arsonists hit the Granada pizzeria on de Charleroi St. near Drapeau Ave. in Montreal North. It was a second-round firebombing as well, as the place was also hit on Nov. 7.
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9: Granada Pizzeria
May 10, 2011 and Sept. 27, 2009.
The Montreal police arson unit is investigating after a fire seriously damaged a café in Rivière des Prairies late Tuesday.
The fire at Café Baccio on Gouin Blvd. near 38th Ave. started about 11:55 p.m. and firefighters later found that an incendiary device, possibly a Molotov cocktail, had been thrown through the front window. The fire spread to an adjacent building but the damage there was minor, Montreal police Constable André Leclerc said.
There were no reported injuries. Police did not have any suspects Wednesday morning.
Café Baccio was previously targeted by arsonists on Sept. 27, 2009
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10: Café-Restaurant Monte Cristo
Jan. 14, 2011
Firefighters were called to put out a small fire inside a cafe on Jean Rivard St., near Pie IX Blvd. in St. Michel. Montreal police Constable Olivier Lapointe said the blaze was "clearly criminal" in nature. Someone had tossed what appeared to be a Molotov cocktail through the front window of the Cafe-Restaurant Monte Cristo, Lapointe said.
No one was inside at the time, but apartments above the business were evacuated as a precaution. Lapointe said everyone was able to quickly return to their homes and no one was injured.
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11: Shish Poulet
Jan. 10. 2011
Montreal's arson squad is probing a suspicious fire early yesterday at a Montreal North restaurant. A witness reported flames at about 3 a.m. inside Shish Poulet on Pie IX Blvd. The blaze caused extensive damage but no reported injuries.
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12: Loreto Funeral Complex
Montreal police arrested the men just blocks from the Loreto Funeral Complex -a business owned by relatives of members of the Rizzuto crime family -shortly after someone smashed a window, poured an accelerant inside and set a fire.
The fire caused little damage, but is the latest indication that Montreal's underworld is still embroiled in a serious conflict. Nicolo (Zio Cola) Rizzuto, the octogenarian patriarch of the organization and a former vice-president of the funeral home, was killed in his home in November. His grandson was fatally shot in Notre Dame de Grace a little over a year ago. Also, Paolo Renda, Nicolo Rizzuto's son-in-law who was apparently kidnapped near his home last year, worked at the funeral home and was known to hold meetings there while he was investigated in Project Colisee. Renda was last seen in May and his whereabouts remain unknown.
The three men arrested after the fire was set -Sounthone Chareunsouk, 30, Alexandre Toualy, 27, and Julien Bourassa-Richer, who will turn 27 on Saturday -have criminal records, but prosecutor Pascal Dostaler said he knew little about them.
"Individuals who were seen, by a witness, at the scene of the crime fled in a vehicle and they were rapidly intercepted by the police who noted the smell of gas on the (three men)," Dostaler said. "For the moment, that is the information we have on those individuals.
"The investigation is at an early stage and we are not able to make a link to a criminal organization. However, considering the events the Rizzuto family have gone through recently, the police are continuing their investigation to determine the motive behind (the fire)."
Around 1 a.m. yesterday, a passerby saw two men running away from the funeral home. The two men jumped into a nearby vehicle that drove off. The witness called 911 and a vehicle matching the description given to police was pulled over on nearby Cremazie Blvd. E.
Firefighters quickly put out what turned out to be a very small fire.
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14: Resto Côte Est
Jan. 6, 2010.
Police probe firebombing at St. Michel cafe
By Paul Cherry, The GazetteMontreal police find themselves investigating the attempted torching of yet another Italian café, weeks after a spate of arsons in the north end of city appeared to have stopped.
The most recent fire, at the Café Côté Est in St. Michel on Tuesday night, is unlike the others in that it was set while someone was inside. Three men entered the tiny café about 10 p.m., pistol-whipped an employee, took money, spilled gasoline and dropped two Molotov cocktails on the floor before leaving.
The blaze caused little damage to the café, which was closed yesterday for repairs.
The employee, a 27-year-old man, was treated at a hospital for minor injuries. Witnesses described seeing the three robbers fleeing in a grey car driven by a fourth man, Montreal police Constable Anie Lemieux said.
Investigators are not yet aware of any links between Tuesday night's fire and 13 other blazes set over a period of several weeks last year in which Italian cafés in north-end Montreal were damaged by arsonists using Molotov cocktails, Lemieux said.
The fires suddenly stopped after an arrest warrant was issued for Mickendy Démosthène, 19, who has since been charged with setting a fire Nov. 24 in Rivière des Prairies.
Démosthène reportedly has links to a street gang, and some have speculated the fires last year were part of a conflict between street gangs and the Montreal Mafia.
According to the Quebec business registry, the Café Côté Est is owned by Salvatore (Sam) Borrelli, 48, of St. Michel. Borrelli was convicted in 2005 of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle. He also pleaded guilty to assault in 1983.
A man who shares the same name was mentioned often during Operation Omerta, a 1998 RCMP investigation into the Cuntrera-Caruana family, an international organization run in Canada by members of the Sicilian Mafia. The Borrelli referred to in the Omerta investigation was never charged but was described on wiretaps (recorded in 1998) as a relative of Gerlando Caruana, 66, a Montrealer who was arrested in Omerta and received a lengthy prison term.
Caruana recently admitted to the National Parole Board that he was formerly a so-called "man of honour" in the Sicilian Mafia.
Lemieux said she was unaware if the café was known to have ties to organized crime. She did confirm, however, that a man was shot dead inside the café more than a year ago. Gaetano Mingione, 46, of Laval was killed instantly on Dec. 23, 2008, after a gunman entered the café and shot him. The homicide remains unsolved. Mingione had no criminal record in Quebec.
Montreal police were called in to investigate an incident of arson yesterday morning in Pointe aux Trembles.
Witnesses told police a man threw something through the basement window of a home before fleeing. No one was home at the time.
The fire department quickly extinguished the blaze.
Lemieux said the two fires are not believed to be related.
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15: Rimi restaurant and Marco reception hall
Dec. 29, 2010 (read story)
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18: Marché Steve Anna and casse croute Steve Anna
November 24, 2010 (read story)
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19: Café Danesi
Police received an automated call about 3:40 a.m. generated by the triggering of an alarm system when a window was broken at Cafe Danesi on Maurice Duplessis Blvd. The suspects fled when the alarm sounded.
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20: Café Crystèle
Nov. 19, 2009
On Nov. 19, around 4 a.m., the perpetrators skipped the cocktail and just smashed the large front pane of victim No. 5, Café Crystèle on Villeray St., poured a puddle of gasoline inside and dropped a match. They left the empty gas can outside.
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21: Salon de Coiffure Nathalie
Nov. 21, 2010
'I'm just happy to still be alive'
By Susan Semenak, The GazetteAlim Cobon says he has no idea who threw a Molotov cocktail through the window of his Montreal North barber shop early yesterday, but his neighbours worry that a rash of recent firebombings is the work of street gangs looking to consolidate their territory.
Cobon's business was modest, located in the refurbished garage of a four-plex at Charleroi St. and Racette Ave. He was doing well, his customers say. His close-cropped haircuts had earned him a devoted following in the neighbourhood and among the male patrons of the Turkish cafe across the street. He had just bought a house in anticipation of his upcoming wedding and often worked late hours to earn extra money.
But yesterday all that remained of Salon de Coiffure Nathalie, which Cobon purchased two years ago, was the snow shelter covering the driveway. Inside, the grey leather chairs, sinks and equipment were destroyed or badly charred, the floor littered with broken glass.
Cobon was at home asleep when he was awakened at about 3 a.m. by an anonymous male phone caller speaking French, who warned him that his business would be torched if he didn't show up at the salon immediately. Cobon says he jumped out of bed, headed straight there and waited until 5:30 a.m.
"I don't know who they were or what they wanted. When nobody came I went back home," Cobon told The Gazette. "Then at 6 o'clock the police phoned to say my business was on fire.
"I'm just happy to still be alive."
Montreal fire officials estimated the damage at $30,000. Police said three men wearing black coats, possibly with hoodies, were seen leaving the building after the fire started.
Cobon said he would wait to hear from his insurance company before deciding if and when he would reopen.
Yesterday afternoon, several regular customers who gathered to drink Turkish tea and watch soccer in the cafe across the street tried to figure out who might be out to get Cobon.
"He's a nice young guy. He works hard, gives good hair cuts and minds his own business," said Metin Aksekili. "He had no trouble with anybody."
In the past several weeks, three pizzerias within the same stretch of Charleroi St. -Granada, Champion and Double Pizza -have been firebombed.
On Saturday morning, a Haitian snack bar on Jarry St., Casse croute Lavida, had a Molotov cocktail lobbed through the front window, though it sputtered out and caused minimal damage.
A high school student who lives in Montreal North says the word on the street is that members of rival street gangs are vying for territory by demanding "protection money" from local merchants.
"There is the red side of town and the blue side, with Pie IX Blvd. dividing them.
Each gang has its own territory," the student said. "They will tell a business owner: 'Give me $100 or $200 and we'll protect you from the other guys.' It's a quick way to make money."
But Montreal police say that's just speculation. They have no suspects in any of the cases, and say it's too early to say whether the incidents are linked.
Meanwhile, many on the struggling commercial street are on edge, worried they might be next. Arif Ugurlu, owner of the Turkish cafe across from Cobon's barbershop, says their fear is compounded by not knowing who is responsible.
Hector Paolino owns a bakery shop selling Dominican empanadas and French pastries on Charleroi, a few doors down from the burned-out barbershop and a couple of blocks away from the pizzerias that have been hit. Yesterday, he'd barely sold any of his breads or baked goods. Fear is keeping customers at home, and on some days he sells less than $50 worth.
"People here are afraid to walk the street these days and our businesses are all suffering," he said. "Just a few months ago we thought we could turn this street into a successful commercial area, but now we don't think we will be able to survive."
The firebombings have not been limited to Montreal North. In mid-October, someone used an accelerant to set fire to a pizzeria on Jarry St. E. in the Villeray district. More than two weeks later, fires were set within hours of each other at Cafe La Barca on Jean Talon St. E. in the St. Michel district, and at Cafe Pigalle on Belanger St. Last week, Cavallaro Fine Foods in Westmount was firebombed.
Antonio Nicaso, a Torontobased journalist-author and expert on organized crime, said the firebombings have the hallmark of criminal gangs looking to consolidate their territory while larger criminal organizations are in disarray.
"When there is no clear power and any kind of uncertainty, as there is now (after the killing of reputed Mafia leader Nicolo Rizzuto at his home Nov. 10), others try to take advantage of the situation," Nicaso said in a telephone interview. Smaller players, he said, feel bold enough to attempt to gain new ground.
"With just one firebombing on a street, they can "educate" other business owners on the same street," Nicaso said. "After that incident, others will be more willing to pay for protection."
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24: Cafe Pigalle
Oct. 31, 2010
About 6 a.m., firefighters were called to Cafe Pigalle, formerly the Firenze Cafe, on Belanger St. near 25th Ave. in Rosemont. They found a Molotov cocktail that had been thrown through a window.
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27: Bar La Barca
Oct. 28, 2009
About 3:30 a.m., police patrolling on Jean Talon St. near 14th Ave. in St. Michel noticed smoke billowing from Cafe La Barca, Montreal police Constable Danny Richer said. They called firefighters, who doused the relatively minor blaze, but noticed traces of accelerant on the premises.
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28: Bistro Solaris
Sept. 22, 2009 and Sept. 23, 2010
Almost exactly a year to the day after it was firebombed, a Cote des Neiges cafe was heavily damaged by a fire believed to be arson.
On Sept. 22 of last year, the Bistro Solaris at 5484 Decarie Blvd. became the first of about 20 Montreal cafes targeted by arsonists.
In the early hours of Thursday, the bistro, which has since moved across the street and changed its name to Cafe Solaris, was hit by a mysterious fire.
The Montreal police arson squad is investigating but could provide no other details, Sgt. Yannick Ouimet said.
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30: Cafe Vegas
A bottle filled with some type of fuel and plugged with a burning wick was thrown through the window of Café Vegas on Jean Talon Blvd. E., on the corner of 6th Ave., around 7 a.m. Firefighters doused the blaze quickly and damage was minimal, police said.
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32: Warehouse behind Berchicci Importing Ltd.
Nov. 5, 2010
A minivan appeared to have been used to smash through a garage door at Berchicci Importing Ltd., which sustained heavy fire damage, on Couture Blvd. in St. Leonard. The owner says he doesn't know why his business was targeted.
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33: Tapis Oriental Tehran
Montreal firefighters were able to quickly quell the latest blaze, inside Tapis Oriental Tehran. It didn't spread to adjacent stores in the outlet's small strip mall just west of the Marche Centrale shopping complex, north of the Metropolitan Expressway.
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34: Termarust Technologie
Termarust Technologies, a manufacturer of industrial coatings and paints in Anjou. Someone threw an incendiary device through a window at the firm, on Edison St. near Jarry St. E., about 11 p.m. Tuesday, June 8, 2010.
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40: Café Bar Aviano
Nov. 5, 2009
Café Aviano on St. Michel Blvd. sustained extensive smoke damage on Nov. 5.
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41: Café Bar Ferrari
The Ferrari Bar in Rivière des Prairies was be firebombed, at 3:55 a.m., when a Molotov cocktail was thrown through its glass door. As in every other case, the damage was minimal and the bar was located under residential apartments.
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