(RightWing.org) – The media headlines are filled with reports of gunfights between rival Mexican drug cartels and other criminal gangs involved in human trafficking and other illegal activities. However, America’s northern neighbor also suffers its share of gang-related violence. Recent news reports detailing the brazen murder of the daughter-in-law of a former Montreal Mafioso have officials sounding the alarm on the possibility of retribution in the form of gang wars.
On Tuesday, May 16, Canadian media outlets erupted with the news that an assailant shot and killed Claudia Iacono, the wife of Anthony Gallo, the son of the late mafia member Moreno Gallo. Several witnesses told reporters the gunman shot Iacono five times after she pulled into the parking lot of her beauty salon in Montreal’s Côte-des-Neiges/Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighborhood.
The daughter-in-law of Montreal Mafia member Moreno Gallo was killed in a targeted shooting in the parking lot of her beauty salon, Radio-Canada is reporting. https://t.co/ij0NJOKBUS
— CBC News (@CBCNews) May 17, 2023
Montreal Police Department (Service de police de la Ville de Montréal or SPVM) spokesperson Constable Sabrina Gauthier told reporters the deceased’s car was moving at the time of the shooting and crashed into a nearby building. She also noted that witnesses said the gunman fled after the incident.
The Montreal Gazette reported that Retired SPVM Criminal Intelligence Division Sergeant André Gélinas said it was “extremely rare” for a woman to be targeted in a Mafia shooting. In fact, he said it’s never happened before in Montreal.
On Wednesday morning, SPVM Chief Fady Dagher discussed the shooting with local media outlets. He acknowledged the ongoing public concern surrounding the attack but pointed out the shooting was targeted, adding that Montreal remained “very safe.”
Dagher also expressed his concern that Montreal’s criminal underworld might take retaliatory actions that could lead to a gang war, given the likelihood that the shooting was related to organized crime. Gélinas echoed that sentiment. He pointed out that the killing of a spouse during a gangland dispute marked a significant escalation, sending a clear message that no one is safe.
I covered a fair bit of mob stuff over about 16 years and I don’t recall hearing about anything involving a woman like this in Montreal. Not good. https://t.co/03qctwtPfV
— Les Perreaux (@perreaux) May 17, 2023
Moreno Gallo suffered a similar fate when a black-clad assailant shot and killed him while he was dining at an Italian restaurant in Acapulco in November 2013. La Presse reported at the time that his slaying was related to the Montreal Sicilian Mafia’s pattern of exacting “slow but inevitable vengeance.” Gallo fled to Mexico, reportedly to avoid Canada’s ongoing Mafia wars, shortly after Canadian authorities deported him in 2012.
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