Montagna fled from convicted drug traffickers home during murder
A convicted drug trafficker remains in custody on an alleged parole violation after he was questioned by provincial police about what Salvatore Montagna was doing inside his home just before the mafioso was killed.
Jack Arthur Simpson, 69, was arrested in Ottawa on Monday for allegedly violating his parole on a 28-year sentence he is serving for attempting to ship 300 kilograms of cocaine from California to New York in 1996.
The Sûreté du Québec also wanted to ask Simpson about Montagna, who was fatally shot Thursday on Île Vaudry just east of Montreal.
Police believe Montagna, 40, was killed as he exited a house owned by Simpson or that he was shot inside and ran out to elude the shooter.
According to land registry records, the house is owned by a trust company controlled by Simpson. He also lists the property as the business address for Plancher en gros Inc.
"We did meet with the owner of the house where the crime might have occurred," said Sûreté du Québec Sgt. Benoit Richard. "He was arrested for a parole violation. He is still detained in the Ottawa region for his parole violation."
He said SQ investigators met with Simpson on Monday shortly after his arrest, reportedly by heavily armed members of the Ontario Provincial Police.
Richard said no charges were expected to be filed on Tuesday as a result of the questioning.
What is not clear is whether Simpson was on Île Vaudry when Montagna was shot or how the mobster ended up on the small island, part of the municipality of Charlemagne.
Montagna was deported to Canada from the United States in 2009 and resided on the South Shore of Montreal.
U.S. authorities alleged he was the acting head of the Bonanno crime family in New York when they realized he wasn't a U.S. citizen.
Montreal police believe during 2011, Montagna tried to generate a consensus over who should assume control over the Mafia in Montreal.
According to Simpson's parole records, he has been "suspected over a long period of time as being implicated in certain drug trafficking, counterfeit and (stolen) vehicle networks."
The same records state Simpson is not suspected of being part of a specific organized crime group and that he distanced himself from such people while he was behind bars.
His criminal record dates back to 1960 when he was convicted of theft at age 18.
In 1962, he was caught distributing counterfeit money. In 1980, he was sentenced to a six-year prison term for an offence involving counterfeit money. In 1997, the SQ and RCMP raided the Île Vaudry home and found $1.6 million in fake Canadian $1,000 bills and printing equipment. The raid was part of an investigation into a car-theft ring.
At the time, Simpson was in custody in California for attempting to ship 300 kilograms of cocaine to New York. He and a Canadian pilot were arrested in September 1996 at a municipal airport near Anaheim as they and a Colombian man were in the process of transferring boxes from a truck to an airplane.
In March 2000, Simpson pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to a 28-year term. His parents and wife died while he was behind bars.
Jack Arthur Simpson, 69, was arrested in Ottawa on Monday for allegedly violating his parole on a 28-year sentence he is serving for attempting to ship 300 kilograms of cocaine from California to New York in 1996.
The Sûreté du Québec also wanted to ask Simpson about Montagna, who was fatally shot Thursday on Île Vaudry just east of Montreal.
Police believe Montagna, 40, was killed as he exited a house owned by Simpson or that he was shot inside and ran out to elude the shooter.
According to land registry records, the house is owned by a trust company controlled by Simpson. He also lists the property as the business address for Plancher en gros Inc.
"We did meet with the owner of the house where the crime might have occurred," said Sûreté du Québec Sgt. Benoit Richard. "He was arrested for a parole violation. He is still detained in the Ottawa region for his parole violation."
He said SQ investigators met with Simpson on Monday shortly after his arrest, reportedly by heavily armed members of the Ontario Provincial Police.
Richard said no charges were expected to be filed on Tuesday as a result of the questioning.
What is not clear is whether Simpson was on Île Vaudry when Montagna was shot or how the mobster ended up on the small island, part of the municipality of Charlemagne.
Montagna was deported to Canada from the United States in 2009 and resided on the South Shore of Montreal.
U.S. authorities alleged he was the acting head of the Bonanno crime family in New York when they realized he wasn't a U.S. citizen.
Montreal police believe during 2011, Montagna tried to generate a consensus over who should assume control over the Mafia in Montreal.
According to Simpson's parole records, he has been "suspected over a long period of time as being implicated in certain drug trafficking, counterfeit and (stolen) vehicle networks."
The same records state Simpson is not suspected of being part of a specific organized crime group and that he distanced himself from such people while he was behind bars.
His criminal record dates back to 1960 when he was convicted of theft at age 18.
In 1962, he was caught distributing counterfeit money. In 1980, he was sentenced to a six-year prison term for an offence involving counterfeit money. In 1997, the SQ and RCMP raided the Île Vaudry home and found $1.6 million in fake Canadian $1,000 bills and printing equipment. The raid was part of an investigation into a car-theft ring.
At the time, Simpson was in custody in California for attempting to ship 300 kilograms of cocaine to New York. He and a Canadian pilot were arrested in September 1996 at a municipal airport near Anaheim as they and a Colombian man were in the process of transferring boxes from a truck to an airplane.
In March 2000, Simpson pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to a 28-year term. His parents and wife died while he was behind bars.
According to U.S. court records, he was transferred to Canada in 2003. He continued serving his sentence, which expires in 2016, in federal penitentiaries in Quebec and was granted full parole in 2007.
During a parole board hearing in 2006, Simpson claimed he was only helping "guard the cocaine shipment to protect (his) $140,000 investment in the aircraft that was to transport the narcotics from Los Angeles to New York."
The parole board referred to Simpson's credibility as "thin" and wondered how he managed to find money to start a business (not identified in parole records) with three branches while on day parole.
They also raised questions about a real-estate transaction he was involved in, but Simpson managed to address the board's concerns when he was up for full parole a year later.
Two conditions were attached to his release in 2007: He was required to provide monthly financial statements and was not allowed to associate with "people tied to the drug milieu or organized crime."
Richard was not able to say how Simpson is alleged to have violated his parole.
During a parole board hearing in 2006, Simpson claimed he was only helping "guard the cocaine shipment to protect (his) $140,000 investment in the aircraft that was to transport the narcotics from Los Angeles to New York."
The parole board referred to Simpson's credibility as "thin" and wondered how he managed to find money to start a business (not identified in parole records) with three branches while on day parole.
They also raised questions about a real-estate transaction he was involved in, but Simpson managed to address the board's concerns when he was up for full parole a year later.
Two conditions were attached to his release in 2007: He was required to provide monthly financial statements and was not allowed to associate with "people tied to the drug milieu or organized crime."
Richard was not able to say how Simpson is alleged to have violated his parole.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/investigates+Montagna+link/5786897/story.html#ixzz1fF9aJha4
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