| Monica "Machine Guy Molly" Proietti |
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| Monica Proietti, who would gain celebrity status in Quebec as a bank robber dubbed Machine Gun Molly, was born in 1939 and grew up on the streets of a rough neighbourhood in Montreal’s east end.
Proietti came from a poor family and became a prostitute at the age of 13 to help support her mother and eight siblings. Four years later, in 1956, she married Anthony Smith, an alleged Scottish gangster who had immigrated to Canada. The couple had two children, before Smith was deported in 1962. She soon became involved with Viateur Tessier, a bank robber. They purchased a house together and had a child, but their relationship was cut short when Tessier was arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison. |
With no money and a family to support, Proietti turned to crime to make a living. She hooked up with a band of bank robbers, first working as the getaway driver. She soon became the group’s leader and was largely responsible for planning the heists. The members of her band included Gérald Lelievre and his brother Robert, who made headlines in 1984 when he and three others were killed when a bomb was detonated in a downtown Montreal apartment building. The victims had been suspected in the murder of West End Gang kingpin Frank Peter “Dunie” Ryan. Proietti, a tiny woman who barely weighed 100 pounds, was said to be more dangerous than any man in her gang. On heists, she dressed as a man in an attempt to conceal her identity. She was suspected of having been involved in more than 20 bank robberies. The gang always carried out their heists the same way. The would steal a car, stick up the banks, and then ditch the vehicle a few streets away, where they had a second car waiting. On September 19, 1967, Proietti and two members of her gang held up the Caisse Populaire on St. Vital Blvd. In Montreal North and made off with $3,074. Police rushed to the scene and a high-speed car chase kicked off. Proietti opened fire on police and was gunned down. She was 27 years old. The story of Machine Gun Molly became legendary over the years. In 2004, a Quebec film entitled Monica la Mitraille was made based on the life of the infamous bank robber. |