| Raymond Desfossés |
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| Raymond Desfossés was born on September 22, 1950 and he became associated with the West End Gang in his early twenties. Over the years, he earned the label of "The King of cocaine of Trois-Rivieres," running the gang's drug operations in that city, and became especially close to Allan "The Weasel" Ross and Peter "Dunie" Ryan. When Allan Ross wanted drug trafficker David Singer murdered, he sent for Desfossés and lieutenant Allan Strong down to Florida to take care of the situation. The two met with John Quitoni, another of Ross' associates, who provided them with firearms. Singer was tricked into entering a Toyota with Desfossés and Strong on May 10, 1985. As Desfossés drove, Strong placed a pillow over Singer's face and fired several shots. They dumped his body on the side of a road in Dania and headed for the nearest highway. Along the way, they ran a red |
| light. Florida Highway Patrol officer Michael Foti gave chase. Desfossés pulled over to the side of the road and, when Foti approached their vehicle, opened fire. The officer was struck in the leg and the two Canadians fled the scene. Quitoni drove them to the airport the next day and the two returned to Quebec. The hit did not go as smoothly as they had hoped though. A witness identified Strong as the man whom he had seen running down a street with a pistol, along with another man, and police found the telephone number of Elaine Cohen, Allan Ross' wife, on the victim's body. These clues would lead police back to the killers. On January 29, 1990, Desfossés was acquitted of a $134,000 Brinks truck robbery that happened in Ontario on June 29, 1984. On that day, a masked man knocked a guard on the head and snatched the bag full of money he had in his hands. Police searched Desfossés' home two months later and seized $5,000 that matched some of the money taken in the robbery. Judge Richard Lovekin ruled that the warrant used by police to raid Desfossés' home had been obtained illegally. In the summer of 1991, Desfossés was among the guests at the wedding of Francesco Cotroni Jr. and Milena Di Maulo at the Marie-Riene-du-Monde in Montreal. A picture of Desfossés, wearing a tuxedo, was taken of him standing beside Louis-Jacques Deschenes. The United States government requested Desfossés' extradition in March, 1992. He was pulled over as he drove 170km an hour in his Mercedes on Highway 40 near Louiseville. He was arrested and charged with the murder of David Singer and the attempted murder of a police officer. He was kept at the Parthenais jail in Montreal until his extradition to Florida was approved in 1997. Gaétan Lafond, a Montreal drug trafficker who turned informant, told authorities that Désfosses had visited him in Florida in 1990 and warned him that the Montreal "Consortium," a committee made up by the West End Gang, Sicilian Mafia, and Hells Angels that fixes drug prices, had sent him to tell Lafond that they was unhappy with him. He was selling his drug too cheap, Desfossés explained. After testifying against Allan Ross, Lafond moved to Columbia. He was murdered there on October 7, 1997. On May 28, 1998, Desfossés, who was described as a VIP prisoner at the Broward County Jail, pled no contest to his charges. Judge Barry E. Goldstein immdiately sentenced him to 12 years in prison. Desfossés' lawyer John Howes explained that his client "took this deal because he wanted to be home in Canada on time for his 30th wedding anniversary next summer." Howes said Defossés, who had became sculpted by the years of lifting weights in prison, would most likely be granted bail in 14 months, since he had already served seven years while fighting the charges. "I'm doing the U.S. taxpayer a favor," explained Desfossés in his native French. "The government has nothing on me. I wanted to go to trial, but I figured this would get me out of jail quicker. I never killed anybody...I'm not a saint. But I'm not the feared hitman they say I am." In November, 1998, the RCMP accused Desfossés, Roger Forgues, Pierre "Panache" Tremblay, and four others of importing 210 kilograms of cocaine back in early 1987. Luckily for Desfossés, the leader of the operation, the Canadian government decided not to pursue his extradition from the United States. |