MONTREAL - The body of a man considered to be the boss of the Montreal mafia, and who US authorities say once headed New York's notorious Bonanno crime family, was found by a river north of the Canadian city Thursday.
Salvatore Montagna, 40, was discovered dead on the shores of the Assomption River in Charlemagne after witnesses said they heard gunshots in the area earlier in the day, The Montreal Gazette reported.
"Police were called at 10:08am after someone reported hearing gunfire. A witness said they saw a man jump in the water, the Assomption River, after hearing at least one shot," Sgt. Benoit Richard said.
"When the police arrived on the scene they found a man next to the river. They immediately started doing CPR and asked for [an ambulance] to be called to the scene. The man was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead."
Montagna, who was born in Canada in 1971 and raised in Sicily, allegedly rose quickly in New York's Bonanno crime family, becoming its interim leader in 2006, AFP reported.
He was nicknamed "Sal The Iron Worker" because he owned and operated a successful steel business in the US, according to the Gazette .
Montagna, who was married and had three daughters, was deported from the United States to Canada in 2009.
The local mafia groups in Montreal have been in turmoil since the collapse of the once-powerful Sicilian Rizzuto clan, AFP reported.
The group's chief Nicolo Rizzuto was killed last year, and his son Vito is currently in prison in the United States. Rizutto's grandson was killed in 2009.
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