“The board recognizes your right to protection from unreasonable searches or seizures. However, given the nature and seriousness of your crime, exceptional steps must be taken to ensure the compliant use of these (communication) tools in the community.”
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Raynald Desjardins, one of the most intriguing figures in Montreal’s underworld, will soon be a free man again after qualifying for a second legal release while continuing to serve a sentence for his role in the death of a Montreal mob leader.
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Canada’s Parole Board revoked Desjardins’ release last year after he violated conditions placed on him on April 15, 2021, when he reached the two-thirds mark of his sentence. A month after his release, police noted that he was accompanied over the course of a day by a convicted drug dealer who was also on probation. One of the conditions placed on him last year required him to stay away from known criminals.
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In 2011, after someone tried to kill Desjardins in Laval, he became a leader in the plot to kill Montreal mob leader Salvatore Montagna on November 24, 2011. While Desjardins was initially charged with murder in the first place, degree, in 2016 he pleaded guilty to being part of the conspiracy to kill Montagna along with several other men.
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He received an overall sentence of 14 years, but when time served was factored in, Desjardins was left with a 78-month prison term to serve.
The conflict between Desjardins and Montagna in 2010 and 2011 revealed a major internal conflict within the Montreal mob after both men initially agreed to be part of a group seeking to take control of the Rizzuto organization. Desjardins used to be so close to now-deceased mob leader Vito Rizzuto that organized crime investigators referred to those under his command as the Rizzuto-Desjardins organization.
Desjardins also has considerable influence with the Hells Angels.
According to the summary of a decision made by Canada’s Parole Board last week, Desjardins has behaved well since being returned behind bars last year.
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The board also noted how “his case management team (the people who prepare an offender for release) mention that the prison population seems to respect him as he ‘has an entourage ready to perform his various services’”.
His underworld connections are behind two very strict conditions that the Canadian Parole Board placed on Desjardins when he is released again soon. The conditions also take into account how Desjardins and the other co-conspirators sent encrypted messages via Blackberry devices while plotting to kill Montagna. The condition applies to any cell phone Desjardins chooses to use during his second statutory release.
“The board recognizes your right to protection from unreasonable searches or seizures. However, given the nature and severity of their crime, exceptional steps must be taken to ensure the compliant use of these (communication) tools in the community,” the board wrote. “You may not have or possess more than one mobile communication device, or subscriber identification card (SIM card), without the prior written permission of your parole supervisor.”
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Desjardins is also required to: “upon request, provide your probation officer with billing information, call logs, voice messages, text messages, media access, sites, social security, and any other information requested by the (official parole) in charge of monitoring the mobile telecommunications device. This device will not have encryption capability.”
Desjardins is also required to notify: “in advance and in writing your probation officer about your movements, the use of your time, and the people who will be present with you during your activities. You must obtain verbal permission from your parole supervisor before making any changes in plans.”