Dec 28 2006
BAIL GRANTED TO 14 CAUGHT IN MAFIA NET
4 others refused. No decisions made on fate of Rizzuto.
They may have spent Christmas in prison, but they will be home to greet the new year with court-imposed restrictions.
Fourteen people, including a former customs agent, an Air Canada baggage handler and a taxi driver, were released on strict bail conditions yesterday until their trials for allegedly taking part in an elaborate plan to import cocaine into Canada through Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Dorval.
Four others who were refused bail didn’t look as cheery as their co-accused.
The 18 are the first group of detainees to be processed since the RCMP arrested 90 people Nov. 22 in connection with the plot believed to have been concocted by Montreal’s Mafia and dubbed Projet Colisee by police.
Preliminary hearings for 14 people released soon after their arrest will begin Jan. 19.
No decisions have been made yet for the main players in the plot, such as Paolo Renda, Francesco Arcadi and 82-year-old Nicolo (Nick) Rizzuto, father of Vito Rizzuto, the reputed head of the Mafia in Montreal.
The only women in the glassed-in prisoners’ box yesterday, Nancy Cedeno, the former customs agent, and student Julie Chateauneuf-Fleury, wiped tears when they heard they’d be freed after spending 36 days in prison.
Frank Faustini, who was refused bail, buried his face in his hands.
Quebec Court Judge Andre Perreault placed strict conditions on the group, including curfews, orders to stay in Quebec and to surrender passports.
They are not to communicate with any of the co-accused, must check in with the RCMP once a week and stay away from the airport. Most had relatives or spouses, some sitting in the audience, who posted $30,000 bail.
The Crown had opposed bail for all 18, but one defence lawyer among the many at the special courthouse on Gouin Blvd. E. said the judge made the call based on the facts in the case.
“The fact they were released on bail means they’re obviously not the high-ranking individuals (behind the scheme),” said Marc Giroux, whose client Giovanni Petrella was released.
| SUE MONTGOMERY, The Gazette - Published: Thursday, December 28, 2006 © The Gazette (Montreal) 2006 http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/montreal/story.html?id=28207122-3d88-4832-a497-278e786e9618&k=74223
