Fire ravages Montreal building with Mafia ties

A fire early this morning in the Montreal borough of Anjou heavily damaged the premises oftwo major city contractors, and police believe it may have been deliberately set.

The call came in to the fire department around 3 a.m., according to Montreal police spokesperson Anthony Cantelmi. Firefightershad thefire under control by 5o'clock.

"According to witnesses onsite, they heard a window break and then the building caught on fire suddenly," Cantelmi said.

Fire crews also found some canisters containing a flammable substance nearby. TheMontreal police force's arson squad is handling the investigation.

The building at Mirabeau and Vauban streets is the premises of Pavage CSF Inc., apaving company that has received tens of millions of dollars in contracts from the City of Montreal for work repairing andconstructing sidewalks, curbs and traffic islands.

It is also listed inthe provincial corporations registry as an office of Mirabeau Construction, a company that haslanded contracts for at least $24 million in work,includingmajor workon citysewers.

Numbered companies

Both companies are owned by a network of provincial and federal numbered corporations. The principalshareholder of one of Mirabeau Construction's parentcompanies isDomenico Arcuri, while other shareholders of both companies are listed as Domenico Cammalleri and Domenico Miceli.

Arcuri has ties to the Rizzuto mob family. His name appears about 20 times in summaries of wiretaps from the joint police anti-Mafia operation Project Colise, and he was spotted with Mafia bigwigs in December 2005 at the former Consenza Social Club in St. Lonard, an east Montreal caf where Rizzuto and other mob bosses would meet.

The latest edition of the book Mafia Inc. by journalists Andr Nol and Andr Cdilot says Arcuriwas at the heart of the reorganization of the Montreal mob.

Last weekend,a trio of homicidesin the Montreal area in whichone victim was the leader of a prominent street gang and another victim a member of the same group sparked speculation ofemerging civil strifein the city's underworld. It's possiblethings are heatingup before the anticipated return to Canada of Montreal Mafia kingpin Vito Rizzuto, who is scheduled to be released from a Coloradoprison in the fall.