A fire heavily damaged the Rivière-des-Prairies residence of Montreal mafia clan leader Serafino Oliverio on Tuesday morning, prompting an investigation by criminal arson investigators.
Emergency services responded to a 911 call about the blaze at the property on Gouin Boulevard East around 7:45 a.
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m. , according to La Presse.
The Montreal Fire Department battled the flames for several hours but could not determine the cause, transferring the case to the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal.
“We have not yet been able to analyze the scene.
The structure is too fragile for firefighters and our investigators to enter and will need to be examined,” said Jean-Pierre Brabant, SPVM spokesperson.
“For now, we consider the cause undetermined since no criminal element has been found. The scene analysis will be done in the coming weeks.
It will be a long investigation. Our investigators will check the suspect’s surveillance cameras in case they see a suspicious vehicle,” Brabant added.
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Property and business registry records indicate a real estate management and financing company, where the 74-year-old Oliverio serves as president and majority shareholder, acquired the property in July 2008.
The Montreal municipal evaluation roles value the total property at $2.3 million, with the residence itself valued at $220,000.
Oliverio, a former construction entrepreneur with no criminal record, has been identified by police as the leader of a discreet, independent mafia clan operating in north Montreal.
He previously survived a November 2021 assassination attempt on the same street, and his family businesses have repeatedly been targeted by arsonists over recent years.
Separately, Montreal firefighters also responded to an unrelated major fire on Thursday afternoon at an abandoned junkyard in Montreal-Nord.
Montreal Fire Department Spokesperson William Murray confirmed that the blaze broke out around 1:20 p. m.
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on Pelletier Avenue, burning tires and generating heavy black smoke before being brought under control with no reported injuries.
