| Perri Perlini |
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| Perri Perlini, the youngest of three children in a wealthy family, was born in the 1960s. The son of a successful buiding contractor, Perlini also entered the construction business but made headlines for being a member of an internation drug network. By the 1990s, Perlini was the second-in-command of Daniel "The Arab" Serero, the head of a gang specializing in drugs. When Serero was busy travelling around the world, meeting with drug suppliers and planning shipments, Perlini ran the group and directed their activities at home. According to authorities, Perlini often met with other well-known organized crime figures, such as Ernesto B. Morales, Adrien Dubois, Louis-Jacques Deschenes, Vincenzo DiMaulo, and Ines Barbosa. |
Perlini lived a glamorous life style, driving luxurious vehicles, taking exotic vacations, and gambling large sums at the Montreal Casino. He talked in code when discussing drug shipments on the telephone and regularly bought new cellular phones to avoid police eavesdropping. He rarely mentioned people's names, instead using descriptions such as the "big guy" or the "small guy" In December 1995, according to authorities, Perlini was expulsed from Serero's organization for allegedly doing business behind Serero's back with drug kingpin Ernesto B. Morales. Perlini quickly aligned with the latter narcotics trafficker, playing a major role in Morales' cocaine trafficking network. Perlini was among 24 organized crime figures picked up in a police operation on April 17, 1996. He was charged with conspiring to import 3,000 kilograms of hashish and 30 kilograms of cocaine from 1994 to 1996. Perlini's former boss, Serero, and boss at the time, Morales, were among those arrested, as well as mob figure Frank "The Big Guy" Cotroni and his son Francesco. At the time of Perlini's arrest, pound found $4,245 in his pockets. On July 18, 1996, after three months in jail, Perlini was freed after putting up almost $2.9 million in bail. The accused signed a $1.5 million bond, while his parents put up three houses they own , worth a total of $1.2 million. His father also put up $50,000 in cash and other relatives put up $125,000. The conditions of forced bail forced Perlini to live at his parents' Dorval home and use only one telephone, a cellular that police had permission to monitor. Perlini pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiring to import large shipments of hashish and cocaine from Pakistan and Colombia on October 17, 1996. At his sentencing, criminologist Louise Bellefeuille, testifying for the defence, told the court that Perlini posed little risk of recidivism after his sentence was complete. Rather, she described him as a "mamma's boy" with a tremendous need to please others. Several people that played in the same hockey and soft-ball leagues as Perlini, including Dorval Councillor Raymond Lauzon, took the stand on behalf of the defence. Lauzon described Perlini as a decent man who helped raise funds for charities. Patrick Akey, the owner of a steak house in Plattsburgh, New York, told the court that Perlini once helped arrange an outing for children to go for a skate at the Molson Centre, the home ice for the Montreal Canadiens. Superior Court Judge Jean Faladreau sentenced Perlini to eight years on August 28, 1997. He explained that he did not believe Bellefeuille's testimony that Perlini showed no risk of returning to a life of crime upon his release. Perlini, wearing black jeans and a blue jacket, displayed no emotion as the sentence was handed. Outside the courtroom, Joseph Perlini, a relative of Perri's, said that their family was "hurt because [Perri] couldn't say no to that son of a bitch [Serero]." Because of Canadian law at the time, Perlini was eligable for parole after serving one-sixth of his sentence. He has probably since been released. |