Restaurant frequented by Hells Angels and people tied to Mafia shut down for 25 days
Once during the pandemic, when restaurants were closed, police found Montreal Mafia leader Francesco Del Balso among a group of 35 inside Prima Luna.
Author of the article: Paul Cherry • Montreal Gazette
Published Oct 04, 2023 • Last updated Oct 05, 2023
A restaurant in the Rivière-des-Prairies—Pointe-aux-Trembles borough was ordered to shut its doors for 25 days because it was frequented by members of the Hells Angels and people tied to the Mafia during the worst parts of the COVID-19 pandemic, when all establishments were supposed to be closed.
During a hearing on the matter, the liquor board was informed that police officers saw several organized crime figures in the restaurant at times when all restaurants were ordered closed as part of health measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. At other times, the city’s restaurants were only allowed to deliver food.
Included among the people the police took issue with were Francesco Del Balso, the Montreal Mafia leader who was killed in the West Island in June, as well as Martin Robert and Stéphane Plouffe, two members of the Hells Angels whose homes were recently searched as part of a drug trafficking investigation led by the Sûreté du Québec.
According to the Régie’s decision, the first significant event occurred on Dec. 20, 2020, when all restaurants in Montreal were supposed to be closed. Police officers noticed several vehicles parked outside Prima Luna.
“When the police arrived, the vehicles left the parking lot, but three of them were intercepted. The police identified the people behind the wheels and recognized one of them as being criminalized,” the liquor board wrote in its lengthy decision.
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