Desiderio (Desi) Pompa a reputed Rizzuto crime family mobster was serving a three-year sentence for illegal firearm possession when he was granted statutory release back in September of last year.
He has reached the two-thirds mark of his sentence which automatically made him eligible for release. Desi was out but his freedom came with a series of conditions including one that required him to avoid contact with any known criminals. The Parole Board of Canada has suspended his release and ordered him returned to prison after being informed by law enforcement that he had continued being part of criminal activities on behalf of the Montreal mafia.
Desiderio “Desi” Pompa
Pompa is accused of still being involved in the mafia controlled illegal sports betting operations currently believed to be at the heart of the ongoing Montreal mafia war. He was allegedly running an illegal bookmaking operation out of Café Bellerose a known mafia hangout in Laval when he was arrested on the firearm charges. This cafe was firebombed back in September by Rizzuto family rivals followed by the firebombings of two hair salons earlier this month in Laval owned by the wife of Carmelo Cannistraro who is also involved in the Rizzuto’s bookmaking operations. These attacks are believed to be part of the ongoing fight for control of the very lucrative illegal bookmaking business allegedly controlled currently by Stefano Sollecito.
According to the summary from the Parole Board, a police source alerted the Canada Correctional Service that Pompa had communicated via encrypted text or email with three partners indicating he was still criminally active. The information supplied by police stated that Pompa was still active within the Stefano Sollecito organization. Defense lawyers demanded this added information at the November 29th hearing where the parole board had announced their decision. Sollecito and Leonardo Rizzuto were arrested back in 2015 during a major drug trafficking investigation and identified as the current leaders of the Montreal mafia by the Sûreté du Québec.
Pompa’s sentence will not expire until September but it is possible that he could qualify for another statutory release before then. If he is released early he was notified by the Parole Board that he would have to serve whatever remained of his sentence at a halfway house. According to court documents, Pompa served as personal protector and chauffeur for Vito Rizzuto last year on the street in Canada after his release from a U.S. prison in 2012. He also acted in a similar capacity with elder mob leader Nick Rizzuto before he was gunned down by a sniper in 2010 at his mansion.
