Police have ordered that Club Temptation stripclub, formerly known as Chateau du Sexe, be closed for public safety reasons. It seems that it's a known hangout for Ducarme Joseph's rival gang members and police want to prevent innocent people from getting caught in the crossfire if any retaliation is attempted by Ducarme.
Shootings In Boutique Near Hotel Intercontinental
- Thread starter EagerBeaver
- Start date
Rivals
At this point it is doubtful that Ducarme Joseph has any strong allies. Rivals seem to be plentiful - internal and external.
The next few months will be very interesting.
At this point it is doubtful that Ducarme Joseph has any strong allies. Rivals seem to be plentiful - internal and external.
The next few months will be very interesting.
It's interesting that a perception exists - and this may be the case of perception becoming reality - that Ducarme Joseph's would-be assassins are incompetent boobs who can't shoot straight. Does anyone think for one moment that Sparks Steak House lost one cent of business before or after Paul Castellano was executed there on orders of John Gotti? Of course not. Because Gotti's hits were surgical - no innocents were killed, nobody even hit by a stray bullet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparks_Steak_House
It seems like Ducarme Joseph will suffer more from this perception than his own misdeeds. Castellano was welcome at Sparks Steak House, even though it was at that time well known that Gotti wanted to kill him. Indeed, Castellano was lured to Sparks Steak House by Gotti on the pretense of "ironing out their differences", an age old trick that Castellano fell for, unfortunately for him. I don't think Ducarme Joseph will fall for such a trick.
As far as the Dees of the world being willing to risk a stray bullet to the temple for a cheap order of greasy poutine at La Belle Province, I don't think anyone's life is that cheap. A life is worth more than an order of poutine at La Belle Province or a steak at Qeue de Cheval. How big is the risk? Well, I don't know, but I would not be willing to place my life in the hands of a would be assassin who has not been able to get his job done. Of course, if Eastender's hypothesis is correct, more competent assassins may be used the next time around, and Dee's temple may very well stay intact while he enjoys his next meal at La Belle Provence.
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Here's more about this from the Gazette:
Gang fears put the wraps on Montreal strip club
By Paul Cherry,
Montreal Gazette
April 14, 2010 7:27 PM
MONTREAL — Police fear an "imminent reply" to the gangland-style shooting that killed two people and injured two others in Old Montreal last month, and their concern has led to the temporary closing of a downtown strip club believed to be partly owned by an influential street gang member with ties to the Mafia.
An emergency hearing held before the provincial liquor board this week ended in the temporary suspension of the Temptation Club's licence because of police concerns for public safety. In particular, investigators believe an alleged part-owner of Temptation, Richard Goodridge, 41, might be the target of reprisals for a March 18 shooting at a clothing boutique.
According to several officers, investigators believe the intended target in the shooting was the owner of the boutique, street gang leader Ducarme Joseph, 41, possibly as a response to the December killing of Nicolo (Nick) Rizzuto Jr., the son of reputed Montreal mob boss Vito Rizzuto.
Joseph slipped away from the shooting unharmed, but his close associate, Peter Christopoulos, 27, was one of the two fatalities.
A summons for the hearing detailed some of the thinking behind the police investigation of the boutique shooting. The Rizzuto murder is mentioned in passing, but police said that the slaying and the Aug. 21 killing of Frederico Del Peschio, 59, a close associate of Vito Rizzuto, are possibly related to the attempt on Joseph's life.
"But there are a lot of different theories out there," one investigator said Wednesday. He added, however, that the document prepared to suspend Temptation's licence "is a pretty good portrait" of what investigators have learned since the double slaying at Joseph's boutique.
It depicts a clear rivalry that dates back eight years between Joseph and Goodridge, who allegedly enjoys close ties to members of the Montreal Mafia. The two men were associates but had a falling-out in 2002.
Joseph was arrested on March 19, one day after the attempt on his life. He was charged with a weapons offence and violating the conditions of a release he was granted in a 2009 assault case. He pleaded guilty to some of those charges this week and was sentenced to the equivalent of a one-year prison term.
According to a police intelligence report presented as evidence during Joseph's March 22 bail hearing, he was warned by a police officer on Sept. 9, 2009, that there was a contract on his head. Joseph replied that he was neither surprised nor afraid. When Goodridge's name came up, Joseph told the officer he felt Goodridge was at a safe distance from him.
Goodridge and his associates are believed to frequent the Temptation Club. The police went so far as to allege Goodridge unofficially became a part-owner of the bar in 2008, "in association with members of the Italian Mafia in Montreal."
They also believe the partnership gave Goodridge protection from Joseph in Montreal's criminal underworld.
The bar's official owner, Joseph Vallera, 61, agreed to the temporary suspension but denied that Goodridge is a part-owner of the club.
EB, there's a hell of a big difference between the Mafia and street gangs. Mafia shooters will do whatever they can to avoid killing innocent bystanders. Gangbangers don't give a damn who gets killed as long as they get their target and whether it's a drive by shooting into a crowd or walking into a strip club and straffing the entire club, all they're interested in is making sure their target doesn't walk away alive. Street gangs also tend to use underage members to do the killing knowing that they will get softer penalties if they get caught. These aren't exactly professional killers or the most competent.
Doubtful
Let's see.
Richard Blass and the Gargantua murders, granted he did not straff the entire club, just herded the patrons into the fridge and set fire to the club killing many innocents.
The Peter April hit (Apache Trudeau) bomb in a TV set detonated in a high rise apartment, killing the three targeted but only dumb luck avoided a greater carnage.
The car bombing at the corner of Pie IX and Adam that killed a kid playing in the schoolyard across the streets.
Not the work of street gangs or kids just incompetence or psychos.
Let's see.
Richard Blass and the Gargantua murders, granted he did not straff the entire club, just herded the patrons into the fridge and set fire to the club killing many innocents.
The Peter April hit (Apache Trudeau) bomb in a TV set detonated in a high rise apartment, killing the three targeted but only dumb luck avoided a greater carnage.
The car bombing at the corner of Pie IX and Adam that killed a kid playing in the schoolyard across the streets.
Not the work of street gangs or kids just incompetence or psychos.
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During the Prohibition era, the mobsters DID gun down innocent civilians.
That's partially what led to their downfall; when innocents get killed in the crossfire, the mob loses support with the public. The public that had previously looked up to them.
That's partially what led to their downfall; when innocents get killed in the crossfire, the mob loses support with the public. The public that had previously looked up to them.
From Thursday's Gazette:
There's conflict, cops say, but it's not the biker wars
'If you feel uncomfortable in a place - get out'
The Gazette
April 15, 2010 3:03 AM
If the shutdown of the Temptation bar means there's one less strip club operating on Ste. Catherine St. today, it isn't so much an issue of public morals as it is risk assessment, Montreal police acknowledged yesterday.
But police are adamant there's no comparison between any fallout that could occur following an attempt last month on the life of an alleged street gang leader and the danger ordinary Montrealers lived with every day during the criminal biker wars of the 1990s.
In fact, they're suggesting that the bungled March 18 attempt to kill Ducarme Joseph will give 21st-century street gangs a taste of what 20th-century criminal biker gangs had to endure after one of their bombs killed an 11-year-old boy.
Public scrutiny.
"With all the attention that's been paid by the media (after the attempt on Joseph's life), somebody would have to be pretty stupid to commit a murder right now," said one officer close to the Joseph case.
The officer noted that targeting any bar for closing was a matter of weighing any threat to the public's safety and the possibility a criminal act might be committed there.
"But are we going to close every bar in town? I don't think so. But when there's a very close link (alleged between Joseph's enemies and the Temptation), it's our duty to go before the Régie."
Officially, the department is maintaining a closed-mouth policy on a decision this week by the Régie des alcools to shut down the Temptation.
That ruling was based on testimony from local investigators that the venue might be the scene of an attack in retaliation for the attempted murder of Joseph, a career criminal allegedly involved in Montreal's street gang milieu.
"Our investigators and people from our criminal investigation branch went before the Régie and said a certain type of person was hanging out there," said police spokesperson Ian Lafrenière.
"Our mandate was to show the presence of a criminal element. How often do we do this? We do it quite often ... because of the presence of drug dealing or so on."
But even if the department played down its role during the Régie hearings, sources within the department suggested yesterday that heightened media attention on this city's organized crime scene is keeping the peace more effectively than any number of padlocked strip clubs.
But does this mean that people are at risk if they walk into a bar that might be frequented by gang members?
"I'm not going to tell you no one's ever at risk," one officer said. "But you have to use common sense. If you feel uncomfortable in a place - get out.
"But are you asking me if things are worse now? I don't think so. There's really a lot of pressure on street gangs."
There's conflict, cops say, but it's not the biker wars
'If you feel uncomfortable in a place - get out'
The Gazette
April 15, 2010 3:03 AM
If the shutdown of the Temptation bar means there's one less strip club operating on Ste. Catherine St. today, it isn't so much an issue of public morals as it is risk assessment, Montreal police acknowledged yesterday.
But police are adamant there's no comparison between any fallout that could occur following an attempt last month on the life of an alleged street gang leader and the danger ordinary Montrealers lived with every day during the criminal biker wars of the 1990s.
In fact, they're suggesting that the bungled March 18 attempt to kill Ducarme Joseph will give 21st-century street gangs a taste of what 20th-century criminal biker gangs had to endure after one of their bombs killed an 11-year-old boy.
Public scrutiny.
"With all the attention that's been paid by the media (after the attempt on Joseph's life), somebody would have to be pretty stupid to commit a murder right now," said one officer close to the Joseph case.
The officer noted that targeting any bar for closing was a matter of weighing any threat to the public's safety and the possibility a criminal act might be committed there.
"But are we going to close every bar in town? I don't think so. But when there's a very close link (alleged between Joseph's enemies and the Temptation), it's our duty to go before the Régie."
Officially, the department is maintaining a closed-mouth policy on a decision this week by the Régie des alcools to shut down the Temptation.
That ruling was based on testimony from local investigators that the venue might be the scene of an attack in retaliation for the attempted murder of Joseph, a career criminal allegedly involved in Montreal's street gang milieu.
"Our investigators and people from our criminal investigation branch went before the Régie and said a certain type of person was hanging out there," said police spokesperson Ian Lafrenière.
"Our mandate was to show the presence of a criminal element. How often do we do this? We do it quite often ... because of the presence of drug dealing or so on."
But even if the department played down its role during the Régie hearings, sources within the department suggested yesterday that heightened media attention on this city's organized crime scene is keeping the peace more effectively than any number of padlocked strip clubs.
But does this mean that people are at risk if they walk into a bar that might be frequented by gang members?
"I'm not going to tell you no one's ever at risk," one officer said. "But you have to use common sense. If you feel uncomfortable in a place - get out.
"But are you asking me if things are worse now? I don't think so. There's really a lot of pressure on street gangs."
The media is reporting that it is the mafia that is seeking to kill Ducarme Joseph in retaliation for the killing of Nick Rizzuto, Jr. Whether they do that by approaching a rival street gang or by using their own internal staff is something we don't really know.
In Prohibition era gangster wars, innocents did get killed. But it was almost always surgical in the Gambino family. Nobody at Sparks Steak House got killed who was not supposed to get killed.
Location
Based on CR latest contribution you have to look at the location.
Reading between the lines. more a question of the bar being used as a bunker where an arsenal could be stored and the premises being used as a base.
Far from an ideal situation. The parties in question have been known to use and mishandle bombs. Not an attractive option for downtown Montreal.
One of the boys pulled a major oops 20th and Bellechasse, mid afternoon one Saturday during the biker wars. A repeat in the heart of downtown could be extremely tragic.
Based on CR latest contribution you have to look at the location.
Reading between the lines. more a question of the bar being used as a bunker where an arsenal could be stored and the premises being used as a base.
Far from an ideal situation. The parties in question have been known to use and mishandle bombs. Not an attractive option for downtown Montreal.
One of the boys pulled a major oops 20th and Bellechasse, mid afternoon one Saturday during the biker wars. A repeat in the heart of downtown could be extremely tragic.
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There is a scene in the movie "Inglorious Basterds" - the Tarantino version - in which the assassination of a group of German soldiers is arranged and plotted in a basement level bar by a Britiish intelligence officer. Brad Pitt, playing "Apache" Aldo Raine, the leader of the "Inglorious Basterds" (a ragtag group of revenge-minded Jewish-American soldiers), is incredulous when he hears the plot, as he knows that there is no escape route for two of his men if things go awry. Apache Aldo, VERY RELUCTANTLY and on orders of his superiors, lends his two best German-speaking soldiers to go undercover as part of this ill-conceived assassination attempt.
I will let you rent the movie to witness the disastrous results of this ill-fated assassination scheme.
The same logic applies here. A bar can be used as a bunker for purposes of stashing ammunition but there may be no escape route for either Ducarme Joseph and his posse or his would be assassins, who in effect become suicide bombers. From what I understand of the first attempt on Ducarme Joseph he left himself an escape route in that boutique. Chances are he saw the movie "Inglourious Basterds."
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What i gather from all of this is that Duc Joseph is living on borrowed time & has been for a while. He'll either meet his maker within the next few years or will turn informant & go into the witness protection program. He doesn't seem to fear death, so i'd be surprised if he'd flip. But high-level people in his entourage surely must be weary of this. We all know what happened to John Gotti & others once people within their entourage flipped & began talking to law enforcement.
Therefore, i wouldn't be surprised if Joseph is eventually liquidated by people from within his own circle.
I thought I read in one of the articles posted by CR that Ducarme Joseph has been offered to go into the witness protection program and said no thank you. The difference between this situation and John Gotti's is that Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, the chief informant against Gotti, was Gotti's very trusted right hand man. Gotti did not see this flip coming at all. I don't recall Gravano's book saying he was afraid to get killed with Gotti, and it is certain he had more to fear being in the WPP than he did at Gotti's side. It had more to to do with Gravano loathing Gotti's ego, lust for media attention and reckless arrogant behavior that potentially exposed Gravano to prosecution - not death.
By the ways, Gravano was at Gotti's side when Castellano and Bilotti were kiled at Sparks Steak House in NYC. Gotti and Gravano coordinated a 7 man hit squad from a car parked a little ways down the street. Gravano in his book graphically describes other murders he participated in on orders from Gotti.
After going into the WPP, Gravano had significant plastic surgery to completely change his appearance. He was a good looking guy before the cosmetic surgery. What he looks like now, and his current whereabouts, are unknown, but he is believed to be alive and well. Despite the fortunate result I think Gravano probably looks over his shoulder more in the WPP than he would have if he had stayed loyal to Gotti. He decided it is better to live free outside of prison, and look over his shoulder, than it is to go to jail - that is the very simple choice he made. He eventually would have been prosecuted and convicted, of murder, had he not gone to the FBI.
More on Gravano:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammy_Gravano
By the ways, Gravano was at Gotti's side when Castellano and Bilotti were kiled at Sparks Steak House in NYC. Gotti and Gravano coordinated a 7 man hit squad from a car parked a little ways down the street. Gravano in his book graphically describes other murders he participated in on orders from Gotti.
After going into the WPP, Gravano had significant plastic surgery to completely change his appearance. He was a good looking guy before the cosmetic surgery. What he looks like now, and his current whereabouts, are unknown, but he is believed to be alive and well. Despite the fortunate result I think Gravano probably looks over his shoulder more in the WPP than he would have if he had stayed loyal to Gotti. He decided it is better to live free outside of prison, and look over his shoulder, than it is to go to jail - that is the very simple choice he made. He eventually would have been prosecuted and convicted, of murder, had he not gone to the FBI.
More on Gravano:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammy_Gravano
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By the ways, this quote from one of Sammy "The Bull" Gravano's interview shows he probably thinks a lot like Ducarme Joseph:
"They send a hit team down, I'll kill them. They better not miss, because even if they get me, there will still be a lot of body bags going back to New York. I'm not afraid. I don't have it in me. I'm too detached maybe. If it happens, fuck it. A bullet in the head is pretty quick. You go like that! It's better than cancer. I'm not meeting you in Montana on some fuckin' farm. I'm not sitting here like some jerk-off with a phony beard. I'll tell you something else: I'm a fuckin' pro. If someone comes to my house, I got a few little surprises for them. Even if they win, there might be surprises."
"They send a hit team down, I'll kill them. They better not miss, because even if they get me, there will still be a lot of body bags going back to New York. I'm not afraid. I don't have it in me. I'm too detached maybe. If it happens, fuck it. A bullet in the head is pretty quick. You go like that! It's better than cancer. I'm not meeting you in Montana on some fuckin' farm. I'm not sitting here like some jerk-off with a phony beard. I'll tell you something else: I'm a fuckin' pro. If someone comes to my house, I got a few little surprises for them. Even if they win, there might be surprises."
Some Details
Very doubtful that it was the first attempt on his life. Reports suggest that there were others.
The fire laws require two exits for a boutique. Not wishing to be hassled by the local inspectors he kept it clear and unobstructed.
The alternative interpretation is that he was dealing with rank amateurs who did not bother to do the job properly by having the second exit covered just in case.
Even the donut munchers know that on a raid all exits should be covered. Rather basic.
Very doubtful that it was the first attempt on his life. Reports suggest that there were others.
The fire laws require two exits for a boutique. Not wishing to be hassled by the local inspectors he kept it clear and unobstructed.
The alternative interpretation is that he was dealing with rank amateurs who did not bother to do the job properly by having the second exit covered just in case.
Even the donut munchers know that on a raid all exits should be covered. Rather basic.
I was unaware of the local laws on this. The assassins should have known what the potential escape routes are if they are established by local law. It's obviously basic to any such operation.
across the street from Cinema Banque Scotia on St. Cath
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=club+temptations+montreal,+qc&sll=45.50308,-73.569984&sspn=0.00159,0.004128&ie=UTF8&hq=club+temptations&hnear=Montreal,+QC,+Canada&ll=45.500933,-73.572006&spn=0.04572,0.264187&t=h&z=13&layer=c&cbll=45.500983,-73.571957&panoid=cvtfW3NXVI8pp4Bhtb3FkA&cbp=11,134.54,,0,-23.78
From Friday's Gazette:
Last dance at the Temptation
Shut down; Cops fear strip club might be scene of 'reprisals'
By PAUL CHERRY, The Gazette
April 15, 2010
Montreal police fear an "imminent reply" to the gangland-style shooting that killed two people and injured two others in Old Montreal last month, and their concern has led to the temporary closing of a downtown strip club believed to be partly owned by an influential street gang member with ties to the Mafia.
An emergency hearing held before the provincial liquor board this week ended in the temporary suspension of the Temptation Club's licence. Formerly known as the Château du Sexe, it is on Ste. Catherine St. W. near Mansfield St.
The Régie des Alcools suspended the licence because of police concerns for public safety. In particular, investigators believe an alleged part-owner of Temptation, Richard Goodridge, 41, might be the target of reprisals for the March 18 shooting at the FlawNego clothing boutique on St. Jacques St. W.
According to several police officers, investigators believe the intended target in the shooting was the owner of the boutique, street gang leader Ducarme Joseph, 41, possibly as a response to the December killing of Nicolo (Nick) Rizzuto Jr., the son of reputed mob boss Vito Rizzuto.
Joseph slipped away from the shooting unharmed, but his close associate Peter Christopoulos, 27, was one of the two fatalities.
A summons for the Régie des alcools hearing details some of the thinking behind the police investigation of the boutique shooting. The Rizzuto murder is mentioned in passing, but police have told The Gazette that slaying and the Aug. 21 killing of Frederico Del Peschio, 59, a close associate of Vito Rizzuto, are possibly related to the attempt on Joseph's life.
"But there are a lot of different theories out there," one investigator told The Gazette yesterday. He added, however, that the document prepared to suspend the Temptation's licence "is a pretty good portrait" of what investigators have learned since the double slaying at Joseph's boutique.
It depicts a clear rivalry that dates back eight years between Joseph and Goodridge, who allegedly enjoys close ties to members of the Montreal Mafia.
The two men were associates but had a falling-out in 2002.
Joseph was arrested on March 19, one day after the attempt on his life, as he was leaving the offices of construction magnate Tony Magi on Upper Lachine Rd., close to where Rizzuto was murdered on Dec. 28.
Joseph was charged with a weapons offence and violating the conditions of a release he was granted in a 2009 assault case.
He pleaded guilty to some of those charges this week and was sentenced to the equivalent of a one-year prison term.
According to a police intelligence report presented as evidence during Joseph's March 22 bail hearing, he was warned by a police officer on Sept. 9, 2009, that there was a contract on his head. Joseph replied that he was neither surprised nor afraid. When Goodridge's name came up, Joseph told the officer he felt Goodridge was at a safe distance from him.
Goodridge and his associates are believed to frequent the Temptation Club. The police went so far as to allege Goodridge unofficially became a part-owner of the bar in 2008, "in association with members of the Italian Mafia in Montreal."
They also believe that the partnership gave Goodridge protection from Joseph in Montreal's criminal underworld.
The bar's official owner, Joseph Vallera, 61, agreed to the temporary suspension but denied that Goodridge is a part-owner of the club.
In January 2009, Vallera, currently facing drug and weapons possession charges in Montreal court, told police Goodridge had worked for the club as a promoter but was no longer associated with the boîte.
But this month Vallera told police he is rarely at the Temptation and Goodridge paid for major renovations to the club.
Goodridge "is regularly seen at the establishment to this day, describes himself as the owner, director general or promoter," and acts like he is responsible for the club while receiving known criminals there, police alleged in the summons issued by the Régie des alcools. It also mentions that since Rizzuto's murder and the shooting at Joseph's boutique, Goodridge "is nervous and on his guard."
Goodridge has a criminal record in courts in Quebec and Ontario. In 2002, he was arrested along with the owner of a strip bar in Cornwall, Ont., in a high-profile extortion case in which a businessman was shaken down for $50,000. An extortion charge filed against Goodridge was eventually withdrawn, but in 2003 he pleaded guilty to theft in a related case and received the equivalent of a six-month prison term.
Since 2000, Goodridge has been convicted of fraud, credit card fraud and several weapons offences in Montreal and Laval courts.
"He's very well known to the Montreal police, especially on the club scene," said one investigator, adding that an attempt was made on Goodridge's life about seven years ago in Toronto. According to La Presse, another attempt was made on his life in 2008 as he left a residence on Nuns' Island.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Last+dance+Temptation/2908582/story.html#ixzz0lI4ToNjS
Last dance at the Temptation
Shut down; Cops fear strip club might be scene of 'reprisals'
By PAUL CHERRY, The Gazette
April 15, 2010
Montreal police fear an "imminent reply" to the gangland-style shooting that killed two people and injured two others in Old Montreal last month, and their concern has led to the temporary closing of a downtown strip club believed to be partly owned by an influential street gang member with ties to the Mafia.
An emergency hearing held before the provincial liquor board this week ended in the temporary suspension of the Temptation Club's licence. Formerly known as the Château du Sexe, it is on Ste. Catherine St. W. near Mansfield St.
The Régie des Alcools suspended the licence because of police concerns for public safety. In particular, investigators believe an alleged part-owner of Temptation, Richard Goodridge, 41, might be the target of reprisals for the March 18 shooting at the FlawNego clothing boutique on St. Jacques St. W.
According to several police officers, investigators believe the intended target in the shooting was the owner of the boutique, street gang leader Ducarme Joseph, 41, possibly as a response to the December killing of Nicolo (Nick) Rizzuto Jr., the son of reputed mob boss Vito Rizzuto.
Joseph slipped away from the shooting unharmed, but his close associate Peter Christopoulos, 27, was one of the two fatalities.
A summons for the Régie des alcools hearing details some of the thinking behind the police investigation of the boutique shooting. The Rizzuto murder is mentioned in passing, but police have told The Gazette that slaying and the Aug. 21 killing of Frederico Del Peschio, 59, a close associate of Vito Rizzuto, are possibly related to the attempt on Joseph's life.
"But there are a lot of different theories out there," one investigator told The Gazette yesterday. He added, however, that the document prepared to suspend the Temptation's licence "is a pretty good portrait" of what investigators have learned since the double slaying at Joseph's boutique.
It depicts a clear rivalry that dates back eight years between Joseph and Goodridge, who allegedly enjoys close ties to members of the Montreal Mafia.
The two men were associates but had a falling-out in 2002.
Joseph was arrested on March 19, one day after the attempt on his life, as he was leaving the offices of construction magnate Tony Magi on Upper Lachine Rd., close to where Rizzuto was murdered on Dec. 28.
Joseph was charged with a weapons offence and violating the conditions of a release he was granted in a 2009 assault case.
He pleaded guilty to some of those charges this week and was sentenced to the equivalent of a one-year prison term.
According to a police intelligence report presented as evidence during Joseph's March 22 bail hearing, he was warned by a police officer on Sept. 9, 2009, that there was a contract on his head. Joseph replied that he was neither surprised nor afraid. When Goodridge's name came up, Joseph told the officer he felt Goodridge was at a safe distance from him.
Goodridge and his associates are believed to frequent the Temptation Club. The police went so far as to allege Goodridge unofficially became a part-owner of the bar in 2008, "in association with members of the Italian Mafia in Montreal."
They also believe that the partnership gave Goodridge protection from Joseph in Montreal's criminal underworld.
The bar's official owner, Joseph Vallera, 61, agreed to the temporary suspension but denied that Goodridge is a part-owner of the club.
In January 2009, Vallera, currently facing drug and weapons possession charges in Montreal court, told police Goodridge had worked for the club as a promoter but was no longer associated with the boîte.
But this month Vallera told police he is rarely at the Temptation and Goodridge paid for major renovations to the club.
Goodridge "is regularly seen at the establishment to this day, describes himself as the owner, director general or promoter," and acts like he is responsible for the club while receiving known criminals there, police alleged in the summons issued by the Régie des alcools. It also mentions that since Rizzuto's murder and the shooting at Joseph's boutique, Goodridge "is nervous and on his guard."
Goodridge has a criminal record in courts in Quebec and Ontario. In 2002, he was arrested along with the owner of a strip bar in Cornwall, Ont., in a high-profile extortion case in which a businessman was shaken down for $50,000. An extortion charge filed against Goodridge was eventually withdrawn, but in 2003 he pleaded guilty to theft in a related case and received the equivalent of a six-month prison term.
Since 2000, Goodridge has been convicted of fraud, credit card fraud and several weapons offences in Montreal and Laval courts.
"He's very well known to the Montreal police, especially on the club scene," said one investigator, adding that an attempt was made on Goodridge's life about seven years ago in Toronto. According to La Presse, another attempt was made on his life in 2008 as he left a residence on Nuns' Island.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Last+dance+Temptation/2908582/story.html#ixzz0lI4ToNjS
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