Crown presents closing arguments in mob murder trial

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One of the prosecutors at the trial of a small-town couple charged in connection with the murder of two Montreal brothers began her closing arguments by acknowledging that the Crown’s key witness is flawed.

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Marie-Josée Viau, 46, and her husband Guy Dion, 50, are charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one of conspiracy to commit murder. The charges involve his alleged roles in the deaths of Vincenzo and Giuseppe Falduto. The two brothers were killed on June 30, 2016 inside a garage on the couple’s farm in St-Jude, a rural town near St-Hyacinthe.

The Crown’s theory is that the Falduto were killed by a hitman hired by Montreal mob leaders and that the couple helped plan the ambush, made noise to cover the sound of gunfire, and disposed of the bodies by burning them and throwing the remains. he stays in a river near his farm.

On Thursday, prosecutor Isabelle Poulin read the conspiracy charge aloud in the courtroom of the Gouin courthouse and reminded the jury that the alleged plot included Salvatore Scoppa, a now deceased leader of the Montreal mob, the murderer. salary and accomplice whose name cannot be published. For the time being.

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The hit man, a key witness in the trial, became an informant and began working for the Sûreté du Québec in 2019. The publication ban also protects his identity.

When he testified in August, the informant was frequently emotional and made various accusations about being sexually assaulted by many people he knew. He also often complained about how he felt treated by his policemen.

“Do you remember that in my opening speech (in May) I said that (the informant) was far from being an irreproachable witness?” Said Poulin. “If I used the term hitman to describe his role in the Italian mafia, it’s because I called a cat a cat. The prosecution tried to give him the most accurate portrait of (the informant).

“It was not the perfect witness, nor was it easy, far from it. He has the personality that he has. “

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Poulin also reminded the jury that the informant is not the one on trial.

“Yes, the Sûreté du Québec signed a contract with a murderer. Yes, the state made that decision, “said Poulin. “But I ask the question: if your brothers, if your children were killed in circumstances as sinister as the Falduto brothers were, wouldn’t you be sure that the state made the necessary efforts so that, at least, you would have answers to your questions? ? “

Both defendants testified in their defense and said they had no idea the Falduto would be killed inside their garage.

The couple also denied burning the bodies. They testified that the bodies were taken to the home of a man they barely knew and left there in an Audi that was left in the garage when the Falduto were killed.

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Poulin asked the jury to consider how calm Viau seemed to be when she was secretly recorded, during the summer of 2019, when the informant and an undercover officer met with her several times and made her talk about what happened with the Falduto.

The prosecutor repeated part of a recording in which Viau told the informant: “I am not a cyclist girl. I’m a table girl. “

Poulin recalled how, when Viau was questioned, she confirmed that she meant that she was not linked to the Hells Angels, but considered herself an associate of the mob.

Viau claimed that he was “playing the game” when he made the comment, but also said that he was simply trying to satisfy the informant as they spoke. She told the jury that she was afraid of the man. But Poulin asked the jury to take note of how calm she sounded on July 4, 2019, when the conversation was recorded.

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