Contender to Rizzuto family throne killed in Laval shooting

A man was shot in the parking lot of a private gym in Laval Tuesday morning. (CTV Montreal/Stephane Giroux)

The victim in a fatal Tuesday-morning Laval shooting has been identified as a long-time Rizzuto lieutenant who one expert singled out as a possible candidate to lead the crime family.

Lorenzo Giordano, 52, was shot around 8:40 a.m. Tuesday in the parking lot of the Carrefour Multisports, a private gym located on Highway 440 between Highways 15 and 117 near the Costco.

He was taken to hospital in serious condition. Police confirmed just before 1 p.m. that he had died in hospital.

Giordano was considered a key figure in the Montreal mafia. He had been released from prison in December following a 2008 conviction on charges of drug trafficking, illegal gambling, extortion and gangsterism.

Daniel Renaud, a crime reporter at La Presse and author who has written extensively about Montreal's organized crime scene, described Giordano as a lieutenant in the Rizzuto family who could have been a potential successor to the late Vito Rizzuto.

"He was seen as someone who could unify and take control," said Renaud.

The Laval police’s major crimes unit has been dispatched to the scene. Investigators are speaking to witnesses and police say they will be consulting footage from surveillance cameras set up in the parking lot.

The investigation has been transferred to the SQ's major crime unit.

The gym and a nearby daycare have been closed.