Gangland Files
Investigative Crime Reporting
The arrests came in the summer of 2025, when a massive police operation called Project Alliance dismantled the upper echelons of the Rizzuto organization — long regarded as the dominant force in Quebec organized crime.
Project Alliance: Key Arrests
Rizzuto Leadership Taken Into Custody
Leonardo “Leo the Lawyer” Rizzuto
Considered the family’s boss; son of legendary Vito Rizzuto
David “Baldy” Barberio
Street boss of the Rizzuto organization
Stefano “Little Sauce” Sollecito
Underboss of the Rizzuto organization
Pietro “Black Pete” D’Adamo
Underboss of the Rizzuto organization
Judges have deemed each of them a flight risk, and all remain in pretrial detention. Trials are scheduled to begin in September 2026, with life sentences possible for the most serious charges.
Ongoing Violence
The sudden absence of the Rizzuto leadership structure created an opening that rival groups were quick to exploit. The conflict has been marked by targeted violence — Rizzuto-owned businesses have been firebombed, and extortion demands have been delivered to associates.
Rival Organizations Move In
Exploiting the Power Vacuum
- Arab Power: Linked to Ryan Wedding’s broader network operating under Sinaloa Cartel umbrella
- Rap Pack Mob: Composed primarily of Haitian and East African members
- Declared War: Both groups actively targeting remnants of Rizzuto organization
- Tactics: Firebombings, extortion demands, targeted killings
Sources familiar with the situation indicate that the incarcerated Rizzuto leadership is suspected of having ordered at least three killings of loyalists-turned-rivals since the summer 2025 takedown — including a high-ranking Arab Power member who was killed in prison.
— Intelligence Source
Historical Context: The Hells Angels War
The escalation is particularly striking given that the Rizzutos had only recently concluded a separate armed conflict. The family had spent nearly two years locked in a war with the Hells Angels motorcycle club, a confrontation that was resolved at a peace summit in December 2024.
December 2024 Peace Summit
That deal, brokered under pressure from the common threat of law enforcement, barely had time to stabilize the city’s criminal geography before Project Alliance shattered the Rizzuto hierarchy.
Ryan Wedding: The Sinaloa Connection
Ryan Wedding, named in U.S. federal indictments in connection with international drug trafficking and murder-for-hire plots, is believed to be operating from abroad, using his Sinaloa Cartel connections to funnel cocaine into Canada through street-level distributors, including Arab Power and related organizations.
International Criminal Network
- Ryan Wedding: Canadian fugitive; named in U.S. federal indictments
- Operation: International drug trafficking and murder-for-hire
- Cartel Connection: Sinaloa Cartel affiliation
- Distribution: Cocaine funneled through Arab Power and related organizations
Future Implications
Analysts tracking Quebec organized crime note that the Rizzuto family has historically demonstrated remarkable resilience — surviving the assassinations of multiple bosses over the past two decades — and that some form of reconsolidation may be expected once leadership trials conclude.
However, observers warn that the prolonged absence of a unified Rizzuto command structure may permanently alter the balance of power in the city’s criminal ecosystem.
— Organized Crime Analyst
Montreal police (SPVM) and the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) have not publicly commented on the current gang conflict. Federal prosecutors have declined to characterize the ongoing violence in relation to the pending Rizzuto trial proceedings.