An alleged member of Montreal's Mafia, who police say has undergone extensive changes to his appearance, appeared in a Montreal court today.
Lorenzo Giordano, 43, was arraigned on several charges, including attempted murder and aggravated assault stemming from a shooting in Montreal in 2004.
Giordano is accused of shooting a man in the testicles.
He was also charged with conspiracy to import, drug trafficking, conspiracy for the purpose of trafficking, gangsterism, bookmaking, extortion and possession of proceeds of crime.
In a brief court appearance, Giordano, 43, wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers sweatshirt, talked quietly with a lawyer before being led away. His next court appearance is set for May 23.
Giordano was arrested Tuesday when members of Toronto's guns and gangs squad while he was working out on a treadmill in a King Street fitness club. According to RCMP Cpl. Luc Bessette he offered no resistance to arrest.
Police believe Giordano tried to conceal his true identity and deceive authorities by using plastic surgery.
"The general appearance of Mr. Giordano was very different than the one we knew before," RCMP Cpl. Luc Bessette told reporters Wednesday. "He had changed hair colour, probably had more hair than usual and the physical appearance of the face had changed."
Bessette believed the possibility Giordano had undergone plastic surgery was 'more than likely.'
Police had to use fingerprints to positively identify Giordano. Giordano looked about 10 years younger than he did in a police-issue mugshot because of his close-cropped black hair, goatee and a more solid physique.
"He certainly doesn't look like he was looking during the investigation,'' Crown prosecutor Yvon Poulin said following the arraignment.
Giordano was the one major player who had eluded authorities while other suspected organized crime figures were rounded up and charged in the massive 2006 Operation Colisee crackdown on Montreal's Mafia.
Giordano is the only person charged with a violent crime among the nearly 1,000 charges against suspects arrested in the operation.
The attempted murder and assault charges stem from a shooting outside Montreal's trendy Globe restaurant in April 2004.
The RCMP made the arrest after receiving a tip that Giordano was staying at a luxury hotel in downtown Toronto. Revenue Canada had seized his $1.1 million luxury home in Laval, north of Montreal in December.
The RCMP and the Toronto cops had been monitoring Giordano's movements recently, Bessette said.
During a press conference on Wednesday in Montreal, the RCMP would not comment on the nature of Giordano's involvement with the Mafia in Montreal.
Giordano is said to be the right-hand man of 53-year-old Francesco Arcadi, who has been described as an interim leader of the Montreal Mafia.
The other Mafia leaders arrested during the operation include alleged kingpin Nicolo Rizzuto, 82, a former godfather in Montreal; alleged top lieutenant Paolo Renda, 67; and Francesco Arcadi, 53, widely believed to be in charge of operations in Montreal with the incarceration in New York of Vito Rizzuto, Nicolo's son.
Vito Rizzuto, 61, the reputed head of the Montreal Mafia, received a 10-year prison term on Friday in a U.S. court for his role in the murders of three mobsters in 1981.
The RCMP continues to look for seven suspects from the original 91 warrants that were issued.
With files from CTV Montreal's Herb Luft and The Canadian Press
