Montreal Mafia figure, 45, killed in drive-by shooting

CTV Montreal: Mafia shooting Mafia member Antonio De Blasio, 45, was shot and killed in Saint-Leonard Wednesday night.

A 45-year-old Mafia member was shot and killed in Saint-Leonard.

The drive-by shooting happened at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in Laduversiere park while children were playing football.

Police received a 911 call after Antonio De Blasio was shot several times in the upper body at de Lisieux St. and de Paimpol, at one corner of Ladauversiere Park.

"When the first police officer arrived they located a man, 45 years old, who was lying on the ground, heavily bleeding, and the man had been shot a few times in his upper body," said Montreal police spokesperson Manuel Couture.

De Blasio was transported to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

He was a member of the Mafia who had allegedly been involved in several murder plots in the past, something which had prompted police to warn him about threats to his life.

Those warnings proved ineffective Wednesday evening as a gunman drove near the park.

"From the first information we have it seems a car just drove by the victim and a person inside the car shot the victim a few times," said Couture.

Officers spoke to witnesses Wednesday night, including people at the soccer game.

They are also reviewing surveillance video from the area.