Montreal pizzeria permits suspended after investigation

A pizzeria in Montreal’s trendy Griffintown district, where police checks, fights and visits by members of organized crime were not uncommon, had its license revoked for 25 days following a decision by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (RACJ).

The decision of the Administrative Court RACJ cited the presence of a firearm in the kitchen, frequent visits by members of organised crime, assaults, shootings and “several breaches of public peace and public safety” at the Moretti pizzeria on Wellington Street over the past five years.

The verdict was based on information from the Montreal Police Eclipse Unit (SPVM), which monitors facilities and collects intelligence on organized crime.

“The repeated presence of members of organized crime in the establishment was allegedly tolerated,” says the ruling, which refers to statements by several officers of the SPVM Eclipse Squad. “The fact that an establishment is visited by persons associated with organized crime is likely not only to disturb public peace, but also to endanger public safety.”

Administrative judges Guillaume Brien and Natalia Ouellette found that there was no evidence that owner Nicola Monaco was or is part of organized crime or that he had links to criminal activities. In addition, he could not know the background of all his customers.

The restaurant’s clientele, the ruling states, consists mostly of “young, wealthy professionals who seek the unique experience offered by this (Monaco) restaurant,” and the proportion of people investigated by the police in Moretti is small.

“In short, it is a trendy place that attracts a foodie crowd that likes to go out,” the document says.

However, the judges criticized that Monaco had not been sufficiently present on site and had not cooperated sufficiently with the authorities.

Multiple crimes

The 30-page judgment describes how police intervened after fights broke out, a firearm was reported, a waitress was allegedly sexually harassed and a number of other complaints.

In 2019, police seized a firearm and arrested three people after a fight broke out over the weapon confiscated by police.

In 2023, a security guard called police after an “aggressive man attempting to enter the establishment” pulled out a gun. The suspect was arrested with a 5-inch knife and $10,000 in cash, as well as the gun.

Police also reported that an armed man on foot shot at the store window at least five times in November 2023.

In October of that year, a former waitress filed a sexual harassment complaint against her former manager, who allegedly “touched her during the shift.”

“For example, he approached her from behind and touched her bottom just under her skirt,” the ruling states. “She said she told him several times to stop, but he continued.”

No formal charges were brought against the manager.

The document also describes how a restaurant guest shone the light from his cell phone into a police officer’s eyes in an attempt to “blind” him and that a fight broke out between two men and a security guard.

The document also states that the restaurant violated COVID-19 regulations at the height of the pandemic, including by not wearing masks, failing to enforce social distancing rules and failing to check vaccination records.

Hundreds of police operations

According to the document, police visited the restaurant around 390 times between 2019 and 2024. In a six-month period in 2019, Eclipse Squad officers conducted 55 checks and identified or arrested 568 “persons of interest with links to organized crime,” the ruling states.

In total, police said they questioned 736 suspects with links to outlaw motorcycle gangs, traditional Italian organized crime, Middle Eastern criminal gangs and various networks of blue and red street gangs.

“Given the wide range of individuals from the criminal world who frequently visit the premises, the risk of conflict between rival gangs represents a particularly serious threat to public safety and tranquility,” the document states.

Monaco argued that “despite the alleged presence of several dozen people suspected of having been in the facility for several years, their visits have never caused any major problems.”

He also took measures to improve security on site.

The owner explained to the court that he had, for example, had protective films installed on the windows in case shots were fired at the restaurant.

Police argued that there was still a risk due to the presence of members of organised crime.

In addition, the document repeatedly points out that employees and management did not cooperate with the court or the police during their visit to the restaurant.