The Rolling Stones were a major deal when they came to Montreal in 1972 and locals responded to the Street Fighting Man anthemic crew with corresponding vigor.
   These photos were grabbed from the must-watch and must rewatch 1972 NFB Station 10 documentary.
  The guy on the right in the first photo is seen brazenly offering hashish, or trying to swap hashish for tickets in Pigeon Park, or Cabot Park as it's officially known, across from the old Forum.
   A police officer tells the filmmakers that there's no point in arresting the drug dealers because there were too many of them and it would just cause further trouble.

   Many of the tickets for the show turned out to be counterfeit and those who purchased them were refused entry, causing much of the ruckus.
   Some of the hashish being sold might have been fake too. So much for scruples in the hippie world.
   Someone tried placing a bomb in the place to raise their chances of getting in for free. Yes, that's the kind of time it was folks.







As the Rolling Stones rocked the Forum, many young people were rumbling around outside, cursing at police in frustration.
   The young woman with the white undershirt does heroic work trying to keep her male friends, including "Stewie" from fighting with the cops.
   At the end she is found lying on the ground at Pigeon Park crying with one of her male friends in her arm.
   High drama but for what reason?

   Alfie Wade was born and raised in Little Burgundy, lived at Weredale House from 11 to 18 and later brought disco, as we know it, to Montreal.
   Wade returned from New York and transformed nightclubs by replacing tinny shelf speakers with massive booming sound systems we now know and love.
   Wade moved from Montreal in the early 1970s and lived in New York and for the last 30-or-so years has been living with his wife in Sete on the French Riviera.
   Wade is aiming to visit Montreal for the 375th anniversary next year. We would somehow like to organize a sponsored invitation.
   We recently spoke about a variety of things he did in Montreal.
Leonard Cohen  We were all at Westmount High School together. There was Leonard, Robert Hershorn, Morton Rosengarten, Jimmy Richstone of Richstone Bakery. I split Montreal  in 1959 for New York City and returned in 1965. I hooked up (Crescent Street bar owner) Johnny Vago's Don Juan discotheque. All the Jewish guys from high school were customers. Leonard, Morton and I would get together on the eve of Sabbath at Robert's house in both in the city and sometimes in the family's place up in the Laurentians. We were working our way, trying to consolidate our inner spiritual base.
   Leonard decided that he was going to make his singing career and he would come to Robert's pad on Cedar (Elliot Trudeau was down the block). Leonard came with his guitar and and proposed what he wanted to do. My late friend (and godfather of my son) Alfred Vincent Brown got Mary to hook him up with  Columbia Records.
   I had just come back from New York and had been working for five years in a recording studio with the best people on the planet, (Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Jeff Barry, Bobby Darrin, Paul Anka etc). I learned the industry inside out.
   I said you need a little bit of that and this. We pitched Leonard ideas. Finally he got to Columbia. I used to run into him in New York. I lived on West 84th St. from 1960-65 and his sister had a pad on Central Park west.
   We were all seeking, talking about the Conference of the Birds and Gurdjieff and were deeply into the whole spiritual thing. I was not in any way surprised that Leonard wound up in California in the Zen ashram because this is what we were all looking at even before Robert's passing. It was like all the Jewish cats all of us sort of turned full circle. Robert  rediscovered his place in Judaism and Leonard too. There was a lot of that polarity going forth.
Rockhead's Rufus Rockhead was from the Barbados. They were the black Jews. They knew about business. Old Rufus, man he was a superb gentleman. He ran that place with an iron fist in a velvet glove. All the women loved him because he gave them a rose when they came in. He was a super gracious guy but he was a hard-nosed businessman. He had the tavern below and the cabaret upstairs. They flourished for years with second line entertainers, not third line, Guys like Red Foxx and Nipsy Russell and Flip Wilson. I knew Nipsy Russel in Montreal when I was aged 14. Also tap dancer Ralph Brown, Johnny Gardiner. Leo's Kids (local black kids). We would also meet the entertainers' kids. We were instantly locked into the show business situation. That's all we wanted to be.
Chez Paree Sammy Davis and the Mastin Trio played Chez Paree. Our apartment was above the floor. We'd listen to Tony Bennett and all those guys. My friend Jacko was a waiter at Chez Paree and we'd meet a lot of the entertainers. We were looking for the potheads. It wasn't coming to Montreal that swiftly. We'd talk to the tap dancers and all that. I saw Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin in the Esquire Show Bar when Norm Silver ran the place as well as King Curtis, Eddie Long, John Davis and other RnB pepole. It was fantastic.

See also: State of Montreal discos 1970

La Licorne The Licorne (on Mackay, west side, north of St. Catherine) was made by the Lallouz family and a French family from France. They formed a coalition. They then got (artist) Mousseau and opened like four or five places all in one shot. When I started to work for Johnny Vago I visited those places. They used bookshelf speakers, You couldn't catch the beat or get the feeling to dance. It was almost like you were in a bar just for conversation. So when I went to work for Johnny Vago I changed the entire system. David Greenblatt was the guy who installed the system. I brought super shit in there and everybody was saying "oh man the fucking shit is too loud." They got used to it. I brought my girlfriend Angela in there and revolutionized the entire musical presentation. I introduced Sly and the Family Stone and I got all the people rocking.
Le Drug I split and went to Le Drug and (owner) Bill Sofin took excellent care of me. He put in in an apartment in the back of the place and I had the time of my life. I went to work for him. He cleared up all my debts. Put me on my feet. Zubin Mehta came to the place where he'd have the meetings of the boards of directors of the MSO and the'd all come party. A whole gorgeous crew, the Lalouz family, they were like royalty and I had a spot in Le Drug downstairs. It was like a closed seating area. The dancefloor and so forth. I did good for Sofin. Sofin had multiple pharmacies going all at once. His wife Beverly had the bread. Those guys took good care of me.

Trudeau and Marleau

Vieux Rafiot The next place was Le Vieux Rafiot. It involved the late Jean Gaugin, art teacher at Sir George Williams. It was just at the point where the murmurings of the regeneration of old Montreal was about to take place and so he'd come whenever he'd see me on Crescent. We were all hanging out. The guy badgered me. He said Old Montreal is the next step. He said I even have my own studio loft down there. It was like people moving to Soho from Mid-Manhattan. I said ok. I went down and met the brothers. Guy and Robert Arnaud and cousin Claude and we struck a deal. I said ok I'll come and work there. I had already trained DJs. My friend Ralph Williams was the DJ and we had two other kids, young guys he ran with. I trained these guys how to program the music and I told people that I'm opening a place in Old Montreal. They said "who goes there?" I said, "the parking is free, the lot closes at 5 pm when all the businesses were done. there's 75 free spots." Everybody came down and it was all systems go from that point on. I had all white fabric suit,  an Admiral Alfie kind of thing. I got publicity your pop (Colin Gravenor) was still around I think he helped pointing me in the right direction. I ran it like a private club and it just took off. We opened in late spring of 1967 around the time Expo 67 kicked off. Even PE Trudeau would come and I'd hide him in the back. He was chasing French actress Louise Marleau before he got married. I'd put them in the back of the club discreetly. Everybody liked me I was discreet and cool about the personalities that came through there. I worked up until about 1970.
Oliver's Robert Herschorn asked me a favour he said Sydney Rosenstein is taking over Olivers. (Rosenstein  used to work for Johnny Vago at Winston Churchill - he lives in Israel now) My friend Herschorn said, "Alfie why not come work for Sydney you can make it run."
I was a bit disenchanted. I didn't want to take part in that business. The business manuals and books I had been reading said be careful when you get into a family business because you'll never get a real count. But I did things to see if I could take stuff to a manifest state, to see if I could materialize these things through my energy and ingenuity. Chuck Childers and his girlfriend Pinnie had escaped from New York City. They both worked at the Playboy Club. They brought the Playboy Club training manual. I used it to hire the girls. They all had to be at least 5'7"or 5'8" tall.  Penny trained them with the Playboy system and I had this young guy George at the service bar and Chuck would handle the main bar We did $2,000 a week. It was tiny. and we only operated from Happy Hour, more principally from 9 pm to 2 am. Unless you were  a cabaret you couldn't stay open until 4. If you were a bar you had to close at 2.
 Parents My mom used to work in the nightclubs selling cigarettes and flowers. She was friends with Billie Holiday when she came. My father and Mervin  Nash's father were activists even in the time of Diefenbaker. They broke color barriers from the standpoint of labor they had a Philip Randolph the prominent labour leader from the states. They brought him to Montreal during the time of Martin Luther King.

  Montreal's West End Gang, the Irish mob, the Gang de l'ouest, has been around for about 60 years, mainly in Point St. Charles and NDG.
  They specialized in truck heists and bank robberies before reaping much larger dollars importing hashish and cocaine into town. They have no code, structure or formal hierarchy.
   Some credibly argue that the gang doesn't really exist.
   Nonetheless they have amused generations with their tales, which range from Robin Hood generosity and gifts to the poor to cold blooded killing.
  Here are some of the icons associated with the WEG title, a group and mainly associated with the areas of Point St. Charles and NDG.
   Some are brilliant, talented, genuine and generous. Some not so much.


1 Frank "Dunie" Ryan Leader. Born 1942. Only child. Dad left when he was three. Grew up near Milton in McGill Ghetto. Chatty and approachable. Known as "mom" as he arranged stolen trucks full of irons and gifted friends cocaine and cash upon de-imprisonment. Convicted of minor B&Es, selling stolen swag. Won appeal of negligence conviction after accidentally running over a vagrant in his Pontiac, a case that left him with a grudge against the justice system. Busted for a bank robbery in 1966. His mother was to bring his $12k bail cash to Boston but someone robbed her. Sentenced to 15 years in an Indiana prison. Freed in 1972. Brokered stolen goods. Minor convictions for theft and assault. Known as a money launderer. Tells crime commission he's a loan shark who buries his cash money underground. Gets into drug importation. Meets with about 40 people a day at the Belvedere Motel bar. Had associate Hughie McGurnaghan killed over money. Charming. Police estimate his wealth at $100 million. Had 300 people working for him. Laval bikers owed him $300k so they plotted to kidnap his kids. Ryan was not pleased. Told bikers their supply is shut. Two bikers are found dead. Problem solved. Hinted that the IRA would go to war for him if required. Always had $500k or more with him. Bars, mostly on St. James W., were his offices until he was killed at Nittolo's on St. James West on Nov. 13, 1984 by Paul April and others over money. Had two kids who grew up to be straight arrows. One out-of-wedlock son Shane Maloney. No consensus exists for the spelling of Dunie, as it was a baby word that stuck.


2 Jackie Matticks Smiling Jack led the Matticks faction of the WEG that controlled contraband shipments to the port thanks to tipoffs from official Kenny Mann. Skilled truck hijacker. Acquitted of the attempted murder of a bookie in the back seat of a car once, as the money-owing target caught witness amnesia. Worked hard days in his job as longshoreman. He could read and write, unlike several of his other 13 siblings. He died at age 55 in 1975 of a brain aneurysm. He was at a bar on Centre (north side four doors east of Shearer) and left to check out a swag garage on Le Ber. He just keeled over and died, leaving a couple of daughters behind. That pic of him as a small kid is the only one we could find.

Mikey Johnston

3 Mikey Johnston One of several brothers who worked as elevator repairmen while not robbing banks and trucks in the 1960s. Mikey engineered a massive security box heist in British Colombia. The gang was only caught after guards noticed them carrying heavy bags at the Vancouver airport. The only one of the six brothers still alive is Eddie, who was a star goaltender for the Boston Bruins and GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins and had no connection to the underworld.Mike was the last of the five gangster brothers to die off at the age of 77 in April 2016.

Keith "Rocky" Pierson

4Keith "Rocky" Pierson The 5'6" Pierson grew up in the area behind Schwartz's Deli and was a boxer before he started fixing elections and robbing banks through clever methods. Acquitted on a murder rap in 1951. Lived in Outremont where he was friendly with cops. Shot some guy dead for threatening his family, felt traumatized by the episode. His family fell apart and his own crew killed him in a splashy affair in Longueuil in 1961.

•  Keith Pierson - local anti hero killed by his own budsMontreal Murders from Keith Pierson to Donald Cote
• Montreal's Top 10 gangland murders: # 6 The hammer death of Rocky Pierson

Allan Ross

5Allan Ross Became de facto leader of the West End Gang after Dunie Ryan was killed at Nittolos in 1984. His first business was to get revenge by delivering a massive bomb to the apartment where the killers were staying in a highrise on De Maisonneuve West of Guy. It was hidden in a VCR. He promised killers Michel Blass and Apache Trudeau $200k and to clear their debts. He didn't have the money so he granted them the right to collect $100k owed to him by the Halifax Hells. The attempt to collect started a war within the Hells that led to six Laval members being killed. Edward Phillips, 41, was also suspected in the murder of Dunie Ryan and was shot dead in a parking lot on Victoria in March 1985. Ross was nailed for drugs in the states and has since been doing diesel therapy, as inmates call the system of being transferred constantly as a means of keeping people from keeping in touch with him.

Gerry Matticks

6 Gerald "Gerry" Matticks Still alive, helped control, with his brothers, a vast drug importation empire at the port. Sentenced in 1992 along with brother Richard to 45 weekends in jail for a truck heist. Escaped a major rap due to police evidence tampering. Convicted of other importation misdeeds soon after. Likes country music and had his own bar for a while. Helped organize Christmas parades in the Point. Not known to be a huge fan of certain visible minorities. Was nailed for drug importation after associates rolled over on him. He felt particularly betrayed by his old friend John McLean. Declared bankruptcy. Grew up in a family of 14 with roots in Goose Village.

McLaughlin

7 Jackie McLaughlin Estimates vary on how many people McLaughlin killed in his role as Dunie Ryan's bodyguard. He was considered a suspect in the murder of biker Mike French, who was said to have committed an awful crime. Other accounts have McLaughlin gunning down a female friend, Cavalier barmaid Carole Monahan, 38, after she witnessed him killing her boyfriend Joseph Ricciardi, 26, in a contract hit in their basement apartment at 2675 des Trinitaires on 6 July 1982.  Another time he shot a guy in the leg for mistreating his own girlfriend in a bar in the Point.  He and his German girlfriend were killed by Noel Winters in New Brunswick who killed himself in prison soon after. 1938-1984.
See: West End Gang assassin - how he was killed

• Did language issues create one of Mtl's worst mass murderers? 

Richie Matticks

9Richard "Ritchie"Matticks The Matticks brothers were street smart longshoremen who masterminded contraband at the port with a combination of discipline, hard work and craftiness. The brothers were not known to visit bars at the same rate as others and if one went on a bender the others would make sure he was brought into line fast. Richie lent money around and would be insulted if someone tried to pay him interest. He enjoyed cooking and lived somewhat off the grid with no phones or devices around. One visitor to his place was asked to guess how much a hockey bag full of cash sitting on his floor contained. It was a lot. He died in Jan 2015 at age 80. See:  Richard Matticks of the West End Gang: dead of cancer 

B. McAllister

10 Billy McAllister Now in his mid-70s, longtime bank robber lives in rural Quebec after spending almost all of his life in prison for bank robberies after his first arrests in the late 1960s. Shootout with cops alongside Paul April in a Drummondville bank heist left an officer paralyze in 1970. Was freed from 1980 to 1986 but then got in hot water for attempting to import guns and cocaine. Kept in prison until well after the year 2000. Was wealthy for a while but borrowers didn't always pay him back and it was hard for him to collect while in jail. Great looking head of hair, very strong in the hair department.

Hughie McGurnaghan

11Hugh "Hughie" McGurnaghan Clashed with newly-released leader Dunie Ryan as he rebuffed demands to pay a debt. Ryan hired biker bomb expert Yves "Apache" Trudeau to settle the case and McGurhaghan was blown up by a car bomb while driving near Westmount Park in October 1981. Had several brothers, one of whom was also killed.

Dickie Lavoie

12 Dickie Lavoie Assassination specialist who described killing someone as "taking out the trash." One of his tricks was to carry a paper bag with a big knife concealed inside. He'd stab the unsuspecting victim without even taking the knife from the bag. Once sat next to Billy Fraser at the Blue Top Lounge and asked to see his gun and then shot dead him with it. Did hard time in the States before coming to Montreal at an advanced age. Split from his wife and lived in a small apartment upstairs from what's now Goldie's on St. James. Killed a guy over a woman once. Had many devoted friends who held parties for him. Received relatively short prison sentences.

Shane Maloney

 13 Shane Maloney B. 972. Dunie Ryan's love child with the lovely Sandra Maloney who tender bar at the Cavalier bar on St. James. Arrested Thursday Nov. 1, 2012 on a big drug sweep of Montreal. Paralyzed after crashing a snowmobile in British Columbia in around 1997. Accused of getting friends to beat up a Montreal police officer for taking his photo in Mexico. Likes pit bulls. Said to be generous and polite.  See: Shane Maloney's West End Gang lineage 

Campbell Ashton

14 Campbell Ashton Prolific bank robbery who once robbed four in a single day. Finally shot dead by police on Jan. 4 1962 after robbing a bank on Beaubien. Ashton had $100,000 from his past robberies, so he wasn't doing it because he needed the money. He did it for the thrill and the greed. This collage pic is of his real head on another person's body.
See: Campbell Ashton - Montreal's epic bank robber

Livsey

15Harry Livsey (Lepsky) Bank robber who owned the Fort du Nord strip club on Chabanel. Once acquitted after carrying a massive amount of TNT to crowded Expo '67. He claimed it was for landscaping purposes at his home although it was likely to create a explosive diversion for a bank robbery elsewhere. Killed by Paul April at the bar on 12 Feb. 1969. Livsey had kicked April out for fondling a dancer. See: Lest we forget Harry Livsey

Danny Pelansky

16 Danny Pelansky Gangster hustler survived many murder attempts. Word got out that he killed Mafioso Giacomo Pocetti. A few days later "One a Day" as he was known, was blown up by a remote bomb lodged in his 1968 Buick rolling down the Met in Montreal. He died at age 31 on 17 July 1970. Theodore Aboud told a crime commission that Pelansky was dishonourable, as he shortchanged people on debts.   See: The golden age of Montreal car bombings

17Richard "Ricky" Griffin NDG resident sought to establish deeper ties with the Mafia, with whom he had dealings. Flashy dresser. Ambitious. One friend said he went "gangster crazy." Shot dead in 2006 due to a debt. Killed by the Mafia. Had been trying to import cocaine at the time.

MacDonald

18James MacDonald Truck hijacker. Was irritated with truck heist partner Eric McNally for failing to fairly distribute loot so MacDonald killed McNally and his girlfriend Susan Clark at their Pierrefonds home according to Theodore Aboud's testimony. Tough guy. Truck heists. Sold guns. Wiped out while sitting at the Cat's Den on Guy, now known as Andrew's Pub, in March 1969. See: Murder at Andrew's Pub - who did it?

McNall

19Eric McNally Said to have killed a guy in Boston. Ripped off his truck theft friends and stayed inside his home to ensure his own safety. Had some legit business interests. Police suspected him of a bank robbery and an assault on a taxi driver. Was killed with his girlfriend Susan Clark at his home on Gouin in Pierrefonds on 22 April 1968.

20James Ashton Born 1950. Busted for 17 hold ups when he was 19, just as he was going to announce his engagement to a beautiful young woman. Idolized his dad who was also a prolific bank robber. Sentenced to seven years. Released on parole in April was back inside fast after committing a dozen armed robberies in Montreal and Westmount. Shot at four people in one bank heist. Escaped prison August 1972 and captured in BC. A nice guy to those who know him.

Ricky McGurnaghan murder

21 Richard McGurnaghan Hughie's brother, was shot in the head at the Olympic Tavern on Wellington Point St. Charles on March 18, 1991
possibly as punishment for cutting Alan Ross in the face with a broken bottle. Ross had, according to a report, provoked him by telling him that he might end up dead like his brother if he didn't behave. McGurnaghan owned the bar. Pakistani immigrants had purchased the bar as part of an immigration investor program but were overwhelmed by the unruliness so they sold it.

Frank Ward Sr

22Frank Ward Sr. From the Point. Bank robber. Sentenced to death for murder in 1959. It was commuted. His son also made the list.

Earl Poirier

28 Billy Morgan Top safecracker through the 1960s and 1970s. Spent his days at various west end bars like the Cavalier. Was interviewed by Darcy O'Connor for his book.

Frank Ward Jr.

29 Frank Ward Jr. Hung around Smitty's on Shebrooke and Cavendish. (Police had a wiretap on the phone at the bar for a couple of years. If anybody knows how to find the transcripts please let us know!) Son of a killer. Raised in foster homes. Taunted by other kids. Killed a giant-sized bouncer named Tomlinson at a club on DeMaisonnevue near Crescent in 1985. The bouncer turfed him out for carrying a knife into the bar. Ward, drunk, shot him in the head. (One version suggests that the bouncer enraged Ward by holding his head in the toilet but that's not confirmed.) Recently paroled. Now old. Told a student journalist that he regrets his crimes.

Calderwood

30 George Calderwood Participated in at least one bank robbery in Montreal. Owned the Blue Top Restaurant on St. James near Cavendish. Was killed while walking a few blocks west of his place. Crime likely committed by John Slawvey. Calderwood had barred Slawvey from his establishment for misebehavior but there might have been deeper friction. Said to be a good guy. See: The murder of George Calderwood

April

31 Paul April Married into the WEG and ended up killing Dunie Ryan. Died with three others when a VCR bomb sent by Alan Ross exploded at 1645 De Maisonneuve W. apt 1645.

Cooney

32Larry Cooney Bouncer at the Do Drop In on Wellington in the 1990s. Various episodes. Solid beard. Born around 1970.







33Peter White Dunie Ryan's cousin. Did time for marijuana importation. Grizzled Boston-connected guy whose girlfriend owned Maz bar for many years on Sherbrooke near NDG Park. Son Peter Jr. played 200 plus games in the NHL.

McLean

34 John McLean Close to Matticks clan. They felt he betrayed them when he cooperated with prosecutions in the Gerry Matticks trial around 1997. No longer lives in Montreal.

Diamond

35 Roddy Diamond Ran for mayor of Verdun in 1973 and got 1,400 votes against 12,000 for the winner. Outspoken about English language rights. Involved in a LaSalle shooting but was cleared of suspicion.




Others:
Donald Matticks Son of Gerry Matticks sentenced to eight years for cocaine and hashish

Donald Matticks

importation in 2005. b. 1963.
Johnny McGuire 1929-1984. Shylock. Rosemount. Brothers Gerry, Paddy, Richard et al. Boxer. Grew up fighting with the Bouchards, who went on to become cops. Did a heist at a Coca Cola plant. Once threatened a guy with a chainsaw he had rigged not to work. Owned action in many bars, mainly PJ's on Peel. Married a relative of Harry Ship. Said to have given Charlie Chase a good beating with a baseball bat at Chez Paree for trying to pimp out dancers. Seen more as a businessman than a thug. Would love a photo.

Raymond Desfosses

Raymond Desfosses Alan Ross's right hand man. Lived in Three Rivers. Accused of murdering David Singer in Florida.

Donald Driver Born around 1942, good friend of Gerry Matticks. Sentenced to eight years for importing drugs in 2005

John Griffin

John Griffin Convicted of killing debtor Denis Poirier in 2003. Currently in prison.

David "Abie" Johnston Little is known about him other than that he recently died and liked to golf and was friends with Bobby Orr. Not all of these people are bad people folks, so get over your prejudices.

Abie Johnston

Dougie Nemo looked like a school boy but was a killer who ran a crew and likely did contract hits for Dunie Ryan. Had some wealth, owned a Rolls Royce but lost his money and health and died of a massive heart attack.

Nemo

David Singer, believed to have killed Edward Phillips in 1985. He was found two months later dead in Florida, perhaps because he knew too much.

Shayne

Rory Shayne German-born copter bank heist introvert oddball, not WEG but was best pals with Peter Fryer in prison.Sentenced to life in prison for pulling a 100 mm long .22 calibre Italian made gun on a judge in 1981. An expert said it could kill someone within 20 feet. For a while lived at 6255 de Bellefueille St. Leonard.

Cody and Jamie Larramee

Cody Larramee Friends with Richard Matticks. Killed in a LaSalle bar in 2013 at age 25.
Jamie Larrammee was 37 when shot dead in the Nite Lite bar on Newman in LaSalle in 2013.
Peter Fryer Now lives out west. Has written about his life in the mileu. Claims he helped steal Brother Andre's heart from the St. Joseph's Oratory.
George McAllister, Eldest of the McAllister brothers. Involved in bank robberies. Died young.
Ken McPolland, brother of Edward "Crazy Eddie" McPolland
Tommy O'Neill b. 1944, brother Eddy O'Neill, b. 1941, and Danny Sullivan b. 1942 were accused of taking part in an attack on a police officer Kevin McGarr at Molly McGuire's bar at Closse and St. Catherine in early May 1976. Someone had tried to run him down outside of Nittolo's and also rigged a gun to shoot his partner Ross Trudel at a bar called Little Club on Bishop.

Kato McGuire

Brian "Kato" McGuire Serving time for his involvement in the McDonald's double murder in 2010, even though he was not directly involved in the affair. Has a brother known as "Brother" who is also serving time.

James Fryer

 James Alexander Fryer From LaSalle. Found dead at 28, shot in the head, along with Russel Howie Oct. 1, 1968 in a trunk of a torched car outside of 9200 Meilleur.
Gary Snor Robber who came up from the States. Found dead in the fall of 1968.
Frank Pretula Seen by some as 1950s progenitor of the WEG.
Ernie Nittolo Best buds with Dunie Ryan. They'd chase young ladies together. Still alive. Not a criminal as far as we know.
Carl "Porky" McGurnahan diabetic. Brothers Patrick, Ricky, John were among the 10 kids raised by single mother Mary.
George Groom Found dead 29 Sept. 1968 near Ormstown.

Murray Jones

Murray Jones Thief. Armed robber, particularly active in 1965. Did 15 years in prison. Robbed a cabbie. Married to Susan McGurnaghan of the 10-kid clan from the Point. At age 40 chose to kill himself rather than get re-arrested for theft at his friend Emitt Killen's place at 01126 Richmond on 28 Jan. 1981.

Connerney

John Connearney aka John David Skylar Sentenced to life in prison in the United States for murdering a fellow inmate. Fled prison and came to live in Montreal in 1962 at the age of 25. Lived under the radar in NDG until he killed police officer Richard Larente June 14, 1973 in LaSalle. Sentenced to hang. Commuted. Killed in Laval prison riot a few years later.
Peter McManus Worked with John Slawvey in the early days. Liked guns. Single father of Mike McManus, noted boxer and stand-up guy who survived a seven bullet shooting at the Palomino on Wellington. Now religious.

Richardson

Bryce Richardson Drug dealer. Killed boxer Robert Crowen, 31, at 4311 Old Orchard in 1968 and dumped the body in a river. Girlfriend Aline Giguere Brochu, 30, was a witness in court. Shot Elwood Marsman at the Hawaiian Lounge two years earlier. Richardson managed the Lune Rousse at 1432 Stanley. Had a brother named James. One of the Dubois clan shot him at Harlem Paradise at 772 Mountain in April 1967. He was either confined to a wheelchair or walked with a cane after that, depending which version you prefer.
Steve Johnston Lots of sports betting. Arrested in 1976 for illegal sports gambing with Peter Skylar and Fred McCarthy back when Johnston lived in the tower at Claremont and St. Catherine. The scam? They'd exploit the different odds given out in different cities. Gamblers tend to bet on the teams from their own cities. This ring exploited those variations. 

     A shocking sexual assault took place on Souvenir Street in 1971 or 1972.
   The young woman was from the countryside, and was going out with one of the guys, who seem to have been unaffiliated bikers, all who appear to be aged from around 18 to 27.
   The others held a gun on her and forced her to eat a handful of speed pills and nine of them raped her, according to what police said in the game-changing, must-watching NFB Station 10 documentary.
   The victim was too scared to testify against them, according to police,
   One of them is seen inside Station 10 on De Maisonneuve denying all allegations and discussing how being a criminal is the only alternative to starvation, a moral rationalization commonly invoked at the time.
   The photo collage of the men at the top are taken from inside the apartment during the police raid, except for the second from the right on both rows. The bottom row, second from right, are of two young men who were present for the interrogation of a suspect but it's unclear if they too were also possibly involved in the affair.
   We are not saying that anybody in these images is guilty of any crime.
   We would, however, like to identify them.
   Seeing as these images were taken about 45 years ago, it's means that those in the pics would be now aged from say 63 to 73. 

 
 Man of mystery: Mitchell Bronfman.
  The title might not seem a natural fit for Bronfman, who died two years ago at age 80, as he had the sex appeal of a head of wilted Romaine lettuce (and about as much hair - Chimples)
   Though he might not come off as a man of action or intrigue, Bronfman, remarkably, had one degree of separation, from Italian mobsters, Jewish Mafia, the airline industry, pump and dump stock market fraudsters, airport drug crooks, corrupt RCMP and FLQ terrorists.
   His name came up in just about every scandal, even though he looked incapable of villainy of any sort.
   His legacy has never been clearly resolved.
   French media cited RCMP reports suggesting that he might have been in on a big ring of drug importers at the airport.
   Other media, including a book by Richard French and a long article in the Vancouver Sun, portray him as an innocent lamb.
    Bronfman was born on the outside of the serious coin associated with his family.

Willie Obront

   Psychologists could tell you that it's more psychologically healthy to be raised poor among the poor than be raised merely comfortable in an environment of people who are much richer than yourself.
    So unlike many other Bronfmans, Mitchell had to hustle. To his credit he started businesses here in Montreal and employed people and so forth.
   He reportedly owned a restaurant downtown and started an airport service for luxury seeking passengers. He also started a company called Securex which helped do security at the airport.
   Bronfman's main troubles stemmed from doing business with Willie Obront, who was a butcher but also the mastermind behind legitimatizing, reinvesting and laundering Mafia cash.
   The RCMP noted that Mitchell Bronfman was very close to Obront.
   Bronfman borrowed great sums of cash from Obront at a crazy high interest rate to subsidize his unprofitable luxury air travel business.
   Bronfman claimed that he was not close to Obront, who may or may not be still alive nowadays in Florida, he'd be in his 90s.

Donald Mcleery

   The unusual chain went something like this: Italian Mafia (Frank Cotroni)- Jewish Mafia (money launderer Willie Obront) - Mitchell Bronfman - RCMP anti terrorism squad (McLeery) - FLQ.
    Bronfman was called to testify at the crime commission and answered questions about how his cash managed to get put into fraudulent pump and dump penny oil stock New Gateway Oils and Ministers Ltd. traded by his brokers Grant Johnston between 1965 and 1968.
  He said that his brokers were acting on their own and he was oblivious to the scam and that his only instructions to them were to sell the Seagrams shares he inherited at the best possible price.

Paul Michelin

   Mitchell Bronfman told the CECO crime commission in the mid-1970s that the affair made him lose faith in broker Paul Michelin, Harry Workman and Willie Obront.
   However in 1971 Bronfman wrote a letter pretending that Obront owed him $350,000. He said his lawyer said it would be okay to do it. His lawyer had since died.
   Bronfman borrowed big money from Obront at 100 percent interest even though he earned $2.2 million between 1969 and 1969 by selling 5,000 Seagrams shares.

Airport security  

   Bronfman claimed to be such a fan of police that he started his own security force at the airport.
   This did not end well.
   The RCMP advised against allowing Bronfman's Securex company to do airport security, citing his links to Obront.
 

Mitchell Bronfman. 1975

Annapolis MP Patrick Nolan told Parliament that former Solicitor General (a post invented to take some files away from the Justice Minister) Francis Fox intervened to allow Bronfman to get the gig in 1972.
   At the time about 60 Dorval Airport employees were said to be involved in a gang that brought drugs into the country. Bronfman's Securex lost its contract in the spring of 1975.
    Bronfman was close to Donald McLeery, who was born within a few months of him and died within a few months of him as well.
    McLeery was an RCMP figure who was fired from his top post as an RCMP counter-espionage boss in 1973 for being associated with Bronfman.
   Bronfman later gave him a job and protested his innocence, noting that he was so much on the side of police that he'd frequently offer unsolicited tips to cops.  
   McLeery's dismissal received much attention, as he was considered a victim of unfairness. At least one book and one lengthy newspaper article protested his firing.
. Nonetheless McLeery had burned a barn in Ste. Anne de la Rochelle in the Eastern Townships on 8 May 1972, to prevent the FLQ from meeting the Black Panthers.
   McLeery had also stolen TNT from St. Gregoire in April 1972 in a way to infiltrate the FLQ.
   McLeery's partner Gilles Brunet was also considered a victim as he was fired a the same time.
   Only after his death in 1984 did the RCMP learn that Brunet had been selling secrets to the Soviets, so the argument for McLeery's victimhood seems a little more tenuous in light of the laterrevelation that his partner was a mole.
   McLeery's barn burning only came to light after a crooked RCMP agent named Samson spilled the beans on a bunch of affairs after being caught trying to bomb Steinberg's grocery store executive Melvin Dobrin's house in TMR on July 26, 1974, an effort that cost him fingers and part of an ear.
  Samson was charged in court and then confessed that he had taken part in an illegal RCMP break and entry at 3459 St. Hubert Street, aimed at getting the membership lists of two obscure separatist-sympathizing groups that were already on their way to extinction with the rise of the more legit Parti Quebecois. The groups were calle dthe MDPPQ and the APLQ.
  The revelation brought considerable shame to the RCMP.
   Little was heard of Bronfman after February 1985 when Revenue Quebec claimed he owed them $1.1 million in unapid taxes. He had a job at Seagram's at the time.
   He died in Florida in 2014, leaving three daughters behind. 

Nancy Sellers and Norman Flinkman naked at city hall 1974

   Miss World Nude 1973 Nancy Sellers, from Iowa, who history tells us weighed 104 lbs and stood 5'4," wasn't too happy that her nude performance at the Casino Royale of the Motel Diplomat at 4645 Metropolitaine Blvd. E. was not seen with approval by Jean Drapeau when she came to town as a 22-year-old in 1974.
   Sellers, who performed under the name Nancy Novak and was also called Nancy Radke, decided to head down to city hall with her boyfriend and co-star Baltimore's Norman R. Flinkman, to talk to the mayor on January 3, 1974.
   She sported only a fur coat and boots. Flnkman, 32, who stood 5'8" and weighed 160 lbs, was clad in silver shoes, a raincoat and sunglasses.
   Both made an impression on Notre Dame Street, turning many-a-head as they approached city hall with their nudity evident for all to see.
   La Presse had a reporter and photographer on site. The reporter noted that the security guard had no objections to their strolling around city hall nude. They were not arrested or reprimanded in any way for showing their epidermis.
   La Presse published an image of the naked visit in its news section the next day.
   Sellers had come to tell Drapeau that there was no need to ban their show in St. Leonard, as nobody objected to earlier performances in Ottawa, Quebec City and Halifax.
  The duo were arrested at 9 pm on Tuesday 8 January 1974 during their show.*
  They pleaded not guilty the next day.** "
   Flinkman passionately defended the show in court, as reported once again by La Presse.

   They told us that Mayor Drapeau is a big defender of culture. When we think that the chief of police in Quebec City said our show is lively, decent and highly artistic' and that the mayor of Halifax and his wife called it a 'particularly refreshing.' So we are surprised by the willing blindness of the Montreal mayor and his police force. But the public made us forget the mayor. Montrealers are the most spontaneous, progressive, intelligent and generous people that we have seen. They understood us right away. The show we give isn't pornographic, it's just beautiful. Our nudity is beautiful and uplifting  both for us and our fans.  Why is the mayor so scared of bodies? 

    On the next day, 11 January, about 100 people watched a 35-minute video of the event in court on a 12 inch TV.
   Sellers was seen dancing around. At the end of the show Buddy Evil, as Flinkman called himself, came on stage without pants to thank her.
   Judge Raphael Beaudette said that he would wait until Feb. 7 to render a judgement. He ordered them to do no more nude shows. Novak said they'd finish their week of shows wearing a little bit of cloth covering their private parts.***
   Prosecutor Patrick Long asked the judge to fine both $500 for what he called a vulgar show. The penal code allowed for six months in prison for such a crime. ****
   Their lawyer Jacques Roland noted that the show was held in a cabaret where everybody who paid $2 to get in knew what to expect. "This is not at Place des Arts," he noted.
    The two were find $200 each for appearing naked on Jan 5, 1974 at the Casino Royal of Motel Diplomate.
   Flinkman and Novak left town and never returned.
   They married in 1976 and owned Fancy Nancy's and My Club in Dothan, Ala., together until they divorced in 1979.
  Flinkman was born in Baltimore and spoke Yiddish as his first language. He wrote a minor pop music hit in 1958 hit at the age of 17 called "I've Got the Feeling," He served in the army and later managed strip clubs. He died in 2015 in Florida.
   It's not known what became of Sellers, aka Novak, aka Radke. She would be about 65 now.
   As for Drapeau, his campaign against nudity was doomed, as courts repeatedly ruled against such bans.
*La Presse 9 January 1974  La Presse 10 January 1974 ***La Presse 12 Jan 1974  **** La Presse 8 Feb. 1974

James Drummond Ross

   When McGill Philosophy Assistant Professor James Drummond Ross, 36, was shot dead in cold blood on  Pine Avenue in October 1967, it created waves that would change Canadian history.

 
   Vanier College will be the magical spot starting February 6, 2017 for the first-ever adult-ed history course taught by no other than myself,
   It's a 30-week no-credit, no-homework affair that will give you a perspective and insight into an offbeat Montreal that your neighbour with the fancy car can only dream of having.
   Sign uphere.
   Courses are Mondays and Wednesdays at 6 30 pm at Vanier. See you there!
***  
Meanwhile for your infotainment pleasure here are some spots around Montreal that have an interesting past.

1420 Towers apartment 512. German Gerda Munsinger's mistake was to put two  cabinet ministers as references on how application for Canadian citizenship. She knew them both in a personal way, not that there's anything wrong with that. Gerda started out as a nanny in hicksville before moving to Montreal and hauling tray at the Chick'n'Coop. She got around to such places as the Chez Paree and Ruby Foos and might have accepted the occasional tip for her intimate charms. The Liberals were hoping to scare up a Profumo-type scandal here in Canada so they hyped up a notion that Gerda was a honey pot passing information to Soviets, as she was also familiar with gangster Willie Obront, who worked for the Mafia. Indeed Obront and his chauffeur Robitaille wandered around this very building bugging neighbours about her at one point. She moved back to Germany and sold her story to all scribes who were willing to pony up, so suddenly the splashiness was splashing, as all sides had an interest in hyping the scandal, except the poor Diefenbaker Conservatives. Anybody who shopped for bell peppers at the now-extinct Provigo on St. Cat near Fort will have seen this building behind. It was described as being posh but nowadays it looks pretty rundown.

  19 Cressy in Hampstead was the home of Willie Obront in the early 1970s before he moved to Florida around 1975. Obront was a butcher by trade who laundered massive amounts of Mafia cash and was eventually nabbed in the states in connection with a dopey fake Quaalude ring. He was the personification of what was sometimes called the Jewish Mafia. He might still be alive in Florida, if so he'd be in his 90s.


3270 Jean Talon E.was known as the J.J. Bar on 38 June 1985 when Pierre Paul Poulin,, 37, shot Yves Andre Carpentier, 33 and Jacques Van Meerbeeck, 25, with whom he had likely been making a minor drug transaction. He also gunned down manager Jean Claude Samson and waitress Manon Lariviere, 27, who was on her first night. She was probably killed for being a witness. Poulin was excited to hear a radio report on the affair the next day and insisted on returning to see people milling around outside. He was only caught in 1989 as his wife soured on him after he threatened to kill their daughter. Sophie Saint Marseille was just 16 when she was working at the bar as a dancer and was going out with him at the time of the shooting. She kept her mouth shut. Poulin also confessed the grisly quadruple slaying to his cocaine dealer


 4750 Ontario Conrad Bouchard enjoyed pretty much his last days of freedom at this building just west of Viau, although how free do you feel when being hunted by cops? Bouchard endeared himself to Italian mobsters by singing opera in downtown nightclubs and became known as the king of heroin after befriending mob boss Louis Greco. Bouchard took part in a few massive bank robberies and major frauds. He was busted at apartment 407 of this apartment in building on July 31, 1981. Downstairs neighbour Rolland Emond's apartment 103 contained a massive stash of cocaine and PCP. Bouchard had the key. He had been given two life sentences for heroin importation in 1974 and was also previously nailed for forging six cent stamps. At the time of this bust Bouchard was only out of prison because he had escaped custody on a supervised dinner date with his wife. Bouchard was sentenced to 24 years for importing cocaine a few years later. He died of cancer in 1995 at the age of 65.

3666 St. DenisThe Rajastan restaurant was, for decades, home to the Fontaine de Johannie which author Dany Laferriere described in his breakout novel as "a roach ridden restaurant frequented by small time hoods." A decade before Laferriere moved in next door, the spot was where Jacques Morin and Jean Claude Arbour, both aged 27, were gunned down at 2:45 a.m. on July 21 1974, in as an early moment in the Great Meth War of 1975, which saw dozens die following infighting among the Devils Disciples gang. We're not sure if the building is new or has just been rebricked. The La Presse newspaper devoted a big 30 words to the double-slaying.


20 Metropolitain E. Angelo Lanzo was a top lieutenant in the early 1970s Montreal Mafia, as he was trusted by Paolo Violi and Frank Cotroni. But he really was not into testifying at the crime commission. So when ordered to attend, he attempted to fight it in court and then he simply went underground, renting an apartment near Highway 40. It was just his little flop house as he didn't even have a TV in there when he was found dead of heart failure one week after moving in at the age of 46 on May 21, 1974. Lanzo didn't have much of a criminal record but he had been busted for having a gambling house in 1952. He was the top assistant of Nick Di Iorio and was closely associated with Vic Cotroni, Willie Obront and even knew Joe Bannano. (La Presse in its reporting of the address might have been confounded with 4520 Cremazie which seems like a likelier spot for him to have been living, so if that's the case here is the more accurate image).

"In Montreal, everything always ends up in tears." -  Dan Burke
 Drama is king in Montreal.
 The city's most prominent routinely tumble into a spiral that leads far below the surface of the earth; Mom Boucher, Arturo Gatti, The Rizzutos, Dunie Ryan, Nelly Arcan and so many others.
     "Famous acrobat dancer" Johnny Starr is the subject of a Daniel Proulx La Presse article from 24 May 1992, called Grandeur and Decadence, which tells the story of a lesser-known tap dancing sensation.
   I have imperfectly translated it below.
   Starr's story appears to have been made into a minor mid-eighties stage play"Ou Es Tu Johnny Starr?"
   No idea where or what Cafe Romeo was.

   All of the greatest, most powerful men dress in white suits: Sir Ricardo Montalban..Sir John Travolta... Sir Hervé Villechaize...Sir Colonel Sanders... Sir Man From Glad. (That lede will finally bag a Pulitzer Prize! - Chimples)
   But you probably forgot Montreal's very own Gilbert Croteau.
  Montreal's Man in White only wore white after a Pope he had met died.
   The white attire became his trademark.
   Croteau ran for mayor in 1962 and 1966 and might have tried again in 1970 had the Montreal police - under the power of his arch-rival Jean Drapeau -  just left him alone.
   Croteau was a chiropractor who lived and worked at 4725 St. Denis and gained prominence in city politics under the brief mayoralty reign of upstart Sarto Fournier, seen as a puppet for the Duplessis Union National provincial government.
   Croteau quarterbacked the disastrous Dozois Plan slum clearance project, which saw an entire downtown neighbourhood demolished for the horrific Jeanne Mance social housing project that stands to this day.
  Drapeau returned to power and Fournier went back to being a senator.
    Croteau created his own Montreal Liberation Party,
   He denounced Place des Arts, attacked the metro as "catacombs" and claimed it had a 70 percent cost overrun, and predicted the CBC tower would never get built.
    About a year before the 1966 election, Croteau got a knock at his chiropractor office.
   Thirty cops came in and arrested him for quackery, as the prosecution noted that he had equipment lying around that he couldn't even explain its use. He was fined. He then attempted to sue the city.
   That didn't stop Croteau from putting on his white socks, white underwear, white tie, white jacket, white shoes and white whatever else every morning and fighting the good fight to become mayor.
   His rallies attracted 200 people and he hustled to get as much publicity as possible.
   But Croteau didn't turn out to be much of a threat in spite of his eye-catching white threads.
   The man in white scored under 5,000 votes in the election of 26 Oct. 1966, compared to 117,000 for Drapeau. so it was no photo finish.
  Indeed rando candidate Louise Parent got almost half of Croteau's total.
  Croteau promised to fight again for the mayoralty in 1970.
  But authorities had other ideas.  
  He was arrested again and sentenced to 30 months in prison by judge Maurice Rousseau, who said he gave legit chiropractors - which he believed existed - a bad name. Croteau sported a black suit during his trial, even though he had vowed only to sport normal colours after he became mayor.
  The sentence seems awfully harsh but heck you can't fight city hall.
   Croteau remained free as he appealed the sentence but the distraction derailed any hopes he had of running for mayor for a third time.
   Drapeau was re-elected in a landslide, as opposition was in disarray due to the FLQ separatist-terrorist October Crisis of 1970, as soldiers patrolled Montreal streets as part of the War Measures Act.
   Croteau also had a precocious 14-year-old son named Gaetan Croteau who called himself the Great Donovan as a young showman hypnotist in 1969. He was sentenced to eight years in prison for having $275,000 in counterfeit cash at the age of 19. He would be around 62 now if still alive.
   Gilbert Croteau is surely dead by now but if anybody ever sets up a man-in-white museum he deserves his place. 

    Montreal once had a bureaucrat whose pension was so hefty that they might have sent a cop out to run him over so they would no longer have to pay him.
   Jules Crepeau ran Montreal's City Services Department from 1921 to 1930.
   He came under fire after the Laurier Palace fire, which killed 78 children, as his tireless granddaughter Dorothy Nixon explains on her excellent website.
   Crepeau wasn't to blame for the blaze, nor was his to blame for a scandal within his department by underlings.
  But Mayor Camilien Houde had enough of the guy and pensioned him off.
  Crepeau struck a pension deal that was quickly derided as being far too lavish, as he remained the highest-paid person in the entire city administration, even though he was retired.
   The pension became even more onerous as the effect of the Great Depression drained city finances.
   The city tried to axe the pension but Crepeau won a 1931 court judgment confirming his pension.
   But on March 22, 1937 the province passed the wide-ranging Montreal Bill which canceled his city pension.
   Crepeau might have been musing about fighting in court once again to keep his pension, we're not sure.
   Regardless, there was another surprised awaiting him.
    About six weeks after the bill was passed Montreal undercover cop L.P. Coulson slammed into the 63-year-old Crepeau who was walking at the corner of Royal and NDG Avenue. breaking his leg.
   Crepeau was hurt badly enough to require hospitalization.
   Crepeau, who lived on Harvard, about seven minutes walk away from where he was struck, died the next summer, and the city's pension headache was solved. 

 Montreal has been hammering away at parking lots. forcing them removed as fast humanly possible, regardless the inconvenience that policy has on residents.      
  They do not, however, apply the same rigor to their own parking needs.
  Some examples of the hypocrisy and confused policy below.
Parking for you, no, parking for us, yes  A glorious, 10,000-square foot piece of land with endless potential sits atop a hill in prime Montreal real estate but, alas, authorities have chosen to keep it for their own parking needs.
 Parking lots are bad and must be eliminated, or so goes the new urban doctrine relentlessly pushed by municipal authorities.
   Come to Madison and St. James where the borough of NDG owns a huge piece of land that they are employing as a spot to park their snow trucks.
   The space, about one kilometre west of the multi-billion dollar new superhospital, was once an eco-centre for recycling.
   It's now employed exclusively for various truck-related and storage and maintenance.
   You don't see pig farms next to Place Ville Marie, that's because municipal taxes would make such unprofitable land use unsustainable.
   But the city does not pay taxes, of course, so they have no such pressure.
   But authorities should act responsibly and move the facility to cheaper land in a more industrial area such as Ville St. Pierre where land is more plentiful and less valuable.
   It could pay for that rental space with cash it makes from selling off this land and collecting taxes on development.
  The city could reduce also reduce or eliminate its truck parking needs simply by contracting out more blue collar services, in which case the truck owners would be responsible for their own parking and maintenance.
    Coolopolis would like to see beautiful housing built at the site, as well as parkland and recreational space.
    ***
Point St. Charles parking ban hurts kids 
 Now let's talk hockey and skating, pursuits which Montreal invests massive amounts of money and effort to provide, mainly to young people whose entire seasons can be paid for with under $400 in (tax deductible) cash, a real steal considering the money parents get from government.
   The real challenge about enrolling one's child into hockey isn't the cost of equipment- used skates and shin pads are cheap - but rather the headache of getting the kid to the game.
   Lugging a 30 pound bag to remote areas on a bus isn't much of an option and no parent or child does it.
   Montreal ensures free parking comes with all rinks, to allow families easier access for their kids sports.
   Every rink has about 40 or more spots, with some like the Verdun Auditorium and the St. Henri Mantha arenas offering far more.
   However one arena not allow offers zero parking and has banned parking on streets around the facility on the imaginary basis of social progressivism.
  The Point St. Charles arena at Hibernia and Grand Trunk (which is not near a metro station) does not offer a single parking spot to relieve the burden of beleaguered hockey parents
   It has also removed about 15 parking spaces from the north side of the rink to allow a bike path to pass by the building and parking is forbidden out front too.  
   The little-used and debatably useful bike path is not operational on the quiet street during the winter but the parking remains banned for reasons which cannot be explained, at a peak demand for the arena and adjacent indoor pool.
  The lack of parking hurts locals because it engenders negative feelings towards the area, which effectively acts as a parasite, taking parking when it needs to go to other facilities but offering none when it hosts.
   Those driving to the arena - probably about 40 cars per hour - just grab parking in spots which are needed by locals for their own purposes. City councillor Craig Sauve is aware of the situation but so far has not opted to address it.
Montreal subsidizes parking for the poor
  You have heard of subsidized housing, but were you aware that Montreal routinely subsidizes exclusive parking spots for the poor, a luxury that most private Montreal home owners cannot even afford themselves?
   Residents of the social housing project known as the Habitations Jeanne Mance are allowed to park their cars for about ten bucks a month last time I checked.
   Those who live in the complex pay one quarter of their income to live in the premises. Those outside can get a spot but it cost $120 per month, I was told in 2012.
   Similar parking is likely available at other subsidized facilities, which begs the question, if these people are so poor, then why do they need cars?

 More here: City to remake Jeanne Mance housing project

 

Applebaum, Provost,  Tremblay

Michael Applebaum will finally learn his fate on January 26 after Justice Louise Provost renders her verdict on 14 charges of corruption.
   Applebaum served as CDN/NDG borough borough mayor for a decade and had been interim Montreal mayor for seven months when arrested midway through 2013.
   His prosecution has taken almost four years to complete.
    Applebaum did not testify and was represented by his lawyer Pierre Teasdale.
   Prosecutor Nathalie Kleber attempted to convince the judge that Applebaum was guilty of taking $60,000 in bribes between 2006 and 2011.
   Applebaum's former aide Hugo Tremblay took the bribes.
  He might have faced charges but avoided them by testifying Applebaum.
   Applebaum's lawyer described Tremblay as being perpetually in debt and frequently got contractors to give him hockey and concert tickets and managed to find ways to get kickbacks for himself.
   Applebaum's personal activities involved pushing people to attend pricey party fundraisers and to pay in cash, which he did not deny.
   Tremblay told the court that he thought up a plan to squeeze Sogep's Pierre Laporte for $25,000 in exchange for a maintenance contract at a sports facility in 2010.
   The company said they assumed the money would go to Applebaum but Applebaum had no contact with them about it.
   Tremblay also collected $30,000 from developers Anthony Keeler and Robert Stein.
   Tremblay claimed he kept $10,000 for himself and gave the rest to Applebaum.
   Applebaum, of course, denied all knowledge of such affairs.
   Prosecutors were unable to seize any actual cash from Applebaum and could not find anything unusual in his banking records.
   Prosecutors gave Tremblay a concealed recording device, a wire, in an attempt to get Applebaum to say something that might seem incriminating.
   Applebaum never said anything about bribes, although he made a remark about prosecutors being unable to pursue a bribery case if they were unable to locate cash as evidence.
   Cases that rely on informants as main witnesses often fail because those witnesses have committed crimes and have a vested interested in blaming someone else in order to avoid punishment.
  The businessmen who paid the bribes could have been charged with bribery.
  They were not subject to polygraph tests, as is usually the case, nor were they required to sign admissions of guilty, as Teasdale noted.
  Observers noted that there is a solid possibility that Applebaum will be found not guilty of all 14 charges.
   If that happens, it will raise questions as to why Applebaum was arrested in light of such underwhelming evidence and forced to wait three and a half years before being cleared.
   Leger Marketing did a poll in Nov. 2012 that showed Applebaum had an approval rating of 69 percent among non-francophones, which made his a serious possible mayoral candidate.
   Any idea he had of running for mayor were quashed after his arrest.
   He could conceivably make a serious bid for mayor of Montreal later this fall if exonerated.
   One might wonder whether those who ordered Applebam's arrest and prosecution might have been entirely impartial about Montreal city politics.
   Potential mayoral candidates who find themselves suddenly arrested is not an unprecedented occurrence in Montreal as Coolopolis has noted. 

   A 41-year-old single mother's split-second decision to grab for a gun on July 21, 1989 has reverberated through history.
    Colette Pétel's effort to get cocaine dealers out of her home left two dead, another disabled. She and another man ended up serving long prison sentences, with her case bouncing all the way up to the Supreme Court.
   Colette Pétel was living with her daughter Josée  Desjardins at 1545 Godin in St. Hubert when the 19-year-old fell for a cocaine dealer named Alain Raymond, 33. The two also had a 19-month-old daughter.
   Mom allowed Raymond to move in but started souring on him after he failed to repay her $5,000 that she lent him. He also started selling copious amounts of cocaine from her home and got her daughter hooked on cocaine.
   So one day Colette expressed her displeasure. The two quarreled and Raymond left.
   He left and returned with Josée and their daughter and his friend Serge Edsell, 26.
   They had a bag full of cocaine, a scale to measure the drugs and a gun, which they wanted her to hide.
   Pétel noticed the gun in the bag and figured that it might be used to shoot her, so she furtively removed it.
   She then shot and hit Edsell and then fired four shots at Raymond, killing him.
   Edsell was badly injured and is believed to have been left handicapped.
   Pétel was arrested and charged with second degree murder for killing her daughter's boyfriend Alain Raymond.
   Desjardins, who watched her mom shoot her boyfriend, told reporters that she was deeply upset by the murder and she also told the court what she witnessed.
   A few days later Desjardin's dead body was found by cyclists on an island in Boucherville. She had been strangled and hit on the head.
  Yves Saint Germain was later sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in prison for killing Desjardins on Aug 7, 1989.  He killed her because she apparently knew too much about the drug network he was involved in.
   Pétel's own trial was ongoing when her daughter was murdered.
   Her defence lawyers produced witness France Gagnon who painted a negative picture of the dead man Raymond, allegedly stating that "if she hadn't killed him, I might have."
  Gagnon said that in the two years living with Raymond she suffered 11 miscarriages and gave birth to two others, one of whom had to be given away to adoption. She said Raymond beat her so badly that she was unable to have any more children.
   Pétel was found guilty of second degree murder. She was later also charged with attempted murder for shooting Edsell.
   She was granted a new trial in 1994.  Her case went to the Supreme Court and has become a case study for the right of self defence in Canada. It's unclear how long she actually spend behind bars or if she's still alive. She would be aged about 68 now.
   

  "I'm 68 now, retired...well I'm retired although I've never worked in my life anyway," laughs Melvin Mingo.
   Mingo, 68, sits in front of a plate of eggs at a West Island hot dog joint.
   He has a glint in his eye and  a story to tell of surviving the brutal world of Montreal crime with sense of humour and charm still fully intact.
  "I'm likable, I'm a story teller," said Mingo, who dreams of taking the stage in a one-man performance telling his life story.
   "I was a happy guy, a person you wanted to be around. I was fun. I'd rent an entire club on Crescent on New Year's Eve just for my friends."
 ***
 On 21 December 1984 Melvin Mingo, 36, and his crew awaited a pair of employees to board an elevator at the Merrill Lynch office at 800 Dorchester W.
   An insider had tipped Mingo off to the precious package which was delivered unguarded downstairs daily, containing up to $100 million US in bearer bonds.
   Two unsuspecting Merrill Lynch employees, Michael Iasenza, 24, and Frank Destaulo, 65, moved the boxes every afternoon at the same time. It was considered a casual affair and neither were armed or trained to protect the cases.
   Mingo's crew were experienced bank robbers but this caper required an entirely different approach. The thieves could not wear masks, as that would make it impossible to blend in.
   Their plan entailed riding the elevator with guns furtively pointed at the unarmed employees.
   The employees needed to choose the right elevator for the plan to work.
   The thieves cased out the building and noticed that the two always took the same elevator.
   "It's because they were lazy and didn't want to go to the one further down," said Mingo.
    Mingo noticed one of the employees craning his neck to get a view of an attractive chesty woman. So Mingo enlisted a woman of that description to lure them towards the correct elevator on the fateful day.
**
   Melvin Mingo's father was a Polish-Canadian carpenter familiar with the ways of the criminal world. His mom, now 94, is an Irish-Montrealer. The family of five moved almost annually, living in Ville St. Laurent, Addington in NDG, the Point and Selby Street in Westmount where a total of 17 kids were staying in the same house for a while.
   Melvin spent two years in prison awaiting trial for robbing a TD bank on St. Catherine at the age of 19 after teller Bruce Dawe was shot in the stomach and injured.
   Mingo was acquitted in Dec. 1970. "I wasn't there and had nothing to do with it," says Mingo.
   The judge made it clear, however, that he would have found Mingo guilty had the case been decided by judge.
**
   Mingo became a familiar guest at Quebec prisons for various other misdeeds and formed deep friendships with the all stars of crime, including Machine Gun Molly, Richard Blass and Ted Orban who tried to tunnel across into a bank in Snowdon,
   He knew and liked mob hit man Dickie Lavoie, "He could do 1,000 push-ups straight."
   But Mingo was less fond of West End Gang killer Jackie McLaughlin who he often saw at the Cavalier Motel on St. James. "He was a strange dude. A deadly man. He could go off at any time. A crook of an eye and you'd be dead. That was the world that I lived in."
  Others were more civilized, such as Davie Johnston, who became a close friend and nightclub pal with Mingo and the two spent countless hours in the bar at the Windsor Hotel and the Hotel Colonnade among others.
**
   One time after being released Mingo decided that he did not want to mooch cash from his friends, so he rented a restaurant on St. Paul Street and hosted a one-man variety show, called the I Need Money show.
    All variety of local Irish, Italian and French criminal showed up for the two shows, which he still raves about.
    One friend later lent him a car that had no registration. When a cop pulled him over, Mingo inserted a $100 bill in his wallet next to his license. He was tossed back in jail for a parole violation of attempting to bribe a police officer.
  Indeed Mingo was in prison for all of the 1980s with the exception of a nine month period starting in 1984, the time the magnificent heist would take place.
 **
   Mingo and his crew stood inside the Merrill Lynch building nervously awaiting a pager to buzz, a sign that the duo had entered the elevator with the precious package.
   Once the pager went off, Melvin pushed the button to board the same elevator on another floor.
   Melvin and an accomplice entered the elevator and calmly told the two employees that they were armed and ready to shoot if necessary and that they would be taking the package once they arrived in the basement.
   The tense descent down into the pit of the building was halted as a mailman entered.
   The letter carrier happily chatted away in French. Had he stayed on to the bottom someone might have gotten hurt, Mingo notes.
   The mailman disembarked without suspecting a thing, leaving the thieves pointing guns furtively at the employees while the elevator descended.
   Once the elevator arrived at its destination Mingo and his crew tied up the two employees to a urinal in a bathroom. A janitor noticed them about 15 minutes later and untied them.
   But by then Mingo and his fellow thieves were long gone. Nobody saw their vehicle. They drove away normally. Nobody pursued them and they made no effort to hide the car.

See also: Montreal's West End Gang all-time power rankings

**
   Once safely arrived, Mingo opened the boxes and counted $68.5 million US in bearer bonds, which could be cashed without question of ownership.
    Detectives were sent up from New York City in an attempt to recover the lost loot and Merrill Lynch offered a reward for anybody able to help locate the thieves.
   The Mingos went to Toronto and struck a deal with an offshore banker to give them ten cents on the dollar for the bonds.
   The bearer bonds came with identification numbers that could eventually make them null and void. A crafty banker might have been able to bury the bonds for a very long time, swapping them with legit bonds whenever someone made a withdrawal.
  The offshore banker, Mingo believes, planned to flee once he switched the stolen bonds with legit bonds.
   Mingo was not concerned with such details. He just wanted to cash in and was drooling at the thought of the over $6.8 million that awaited.
   Eventually, however, detectives got a tip and started following the brothers everywhere.
   The brothers were ultimately nabbed driving to a meeting to finalize the transaction of their stolen goods.    
   Melvin's brothers Robert, Nelson and Miles were charged with possession but prosecutors sought to pin the robbery on Melvin. Two women, Colleen Delaney and Frances Greeley were arrested but released without charge.
   Melvin's brothers pleaded guilty and were sentenced to nine years for possession.
   But Melvin fought the armed robbery charge and went to trial. Their father died at around that same time.
   When prosecutors asked Melvin Mingo to sign a document allowing the return of the evidence to Merrill Lynch, he balked, knowing that its absence was costing the company every day.
   Melvin Mingo did not testify and was eventually found guilty. Prior to sentencing he spoke to the court passionately claiming his innocence.
  The prosecutor sought 10 years, the defence asked the judge for seven. He was given nine years, the same sentence as his brothers who were charged with the lesser crime of possession.
  Mingo quit drinking and renounced crime upon his release. He fell in love and married 28 years ago and has stayed clean since. He blames cocaine for encouraging crime.
  In spite of his rough road he wouldn't change a thing.
  Actually, "I'd change one thing. I'd be taller," he says.
  Only $62.8 million of the $68.5 million from the heist was recovered.
  What become of the $5.7 million missing?
   "That's a story for another time," says Melvin Mingo.

   The typical Montrealer requires 4.8 years of full salary pay off their house in Montreal, according to a new study
   The 13th annual Demographia International Housing Affordability study places Montreal at 285 of 406 studies, just barely avoiding the severely affordable category, which starts at 5.1.
   Montrealers, on median paid $284,700 for a house last year while their median household income was $59,500.
   (Coolopolis has noted that Montreal has a much higher percentage of people living alone than most other cities, which surely lowers household income average).

  Toronto situation more dire

   Toronto is not too inviting these days as its median multiple has shot up to 7.7.
  Consider that in 2004 it was at a very affordable 3.9, only one other the 400 cities has shown a greater increase since 2004 and that is Vancouver at 11.8, which is to be avoided at all costs for anybody who ever wants to put money aside.
   Toronto now only trails Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Sydney, Auckland, Tianjin, LA and London for affordability in housing markets over five million.
   Calgary turns out to be a better deal than Montreal, with a median multiple of 4.6, as  you will pay more for a house there ($427,700) but you'll earn a ton more there ($93,100).
   The best place to live as an employed person in Canada would be Moncton as it would only cost you 2.1 years to pay off a house using your full salary. Fredericton is 2.2, Saint John NB 2.4, Saguenay 2.5, Charlottetown 2.6, 3-Rivers 2.6, Windsor 2.7, Sudbury 2.9,  Moose Jaw 3.0, Thunder Bay 3.0, North Bay 3.1,  Medicine Hat 3.5, Quebec City 3.6, Regina 3.6, Lethbridge 3.7, Red Deer 3.7, Winnipeg 3.7, London 3.8, St. John's NL 3.8, Halifax 3.9, Kingston 3.9,  Ottawa is a reaosnble 3.9, Edmonton 4.1, Kitchener 4.1, Sherbrooke 4.2, Saskatoon 4.5, Guelph 4.7, Brantford 4.9, Barrie 5.0, Peterborough 5.0. Oshawa 5.1, Hamilton 5.7, Kelowna 6.4, Fraser Valley 7.0, Victoria 8.1,
     Those behind the study believe that government policy should be to make homes more affordable. They note that places like Germany do this successfully by incentivized areas to grow, whereas those with restrictive policies on development (protecting agricultural lands, etc) often see home prices spiral too high for many people.
 
     See also: 

• Montreal houses more affordable than last year: study
• Montreal real estate still overpriced: report 
• Montreal now severely unaffordable
• Montreal housing now costlier than Calgary!
• Montreal cheaper than Toronto? Think again
• Montreal - a good deal for a swanky town

 Large houses were and are the ultimate sign of wealth and accomplishment.
   Take a big piece of land and put a big, sprawling structure on it to call home and all is good.
   It has been so since the big guy with the club expanded to the biggest cave.
   But here's a list of reasons why we need to ban all future mansions in favour of a similar-sized home that sprouts upwards rather than sideways.

1. People in large mansions secretly find them a pain in the ass as there's a load of time-and-energy consumed fetching the phone you forgot in your bedroom, or the socks you seek in the laundry room. It's a ton of useless hiking.  
2. Walking by an empty room - and you've got a ton of 'em in a mansion regardless unless you've got 20 kids - is a depressing experience and invariably makes you feel lonely. 
3. If you have kids you never see them in a big house, as they're always in their little hotel room bedrooms. 
4. A study (Nice of you not to link to it- Chimples) indicates that square footage is the single most overrated happiness factor. 
5. A sprawling house gobbles up lots of land would otherwise have been used for nature, stuff like woods, gardens, rabbit patches and dirt bike races. 

   Those seeking to own huge houses can still get what they want in terms of square footage. But it would be in the form of a building with a 1,000 square foot footprint that rises to up to 10 storeys.
    Here are the advantages.

1.    Shorter walks around the home, as the furthest you'll ever have to stroll is to the elevator and back. 
2.    You want a 8,000 square foot mansion with enough room for your hula hoops, cross country skies, book collection and pool table? No problem, just put your stuff on another floor.
3.    Outside your home will sit verdant patches of grass, flowers and babbling brooks, freeing up precious land and making the area pleasant for your neighbours to pass by.
4.    If you want to downsize, you can easily convert the vertical mansion into a multi-unit apartment or condo building by renting out the other floors. 
5.    Smart elevators can be rigged so unauthorized people could not enter your home and would be there waiting with your smart phone command. 

     So hello municipal zoning authorities.
    Click print on this post and collect it from your ink jet to bring to your next meeting.
   Time to say no to all new sprawling mansions and yes to more sensible structures with smaller footprints.