| Richard "Ziggy" Wiseman |
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| Richard Siegried Wiseman, nicknamed "Ziggy," A small Jewish kid, he refused to let himself be intimidated on the streets of Montreal. Wiseman was seen by many as an entrepreneur and a man with a million ideas. In 1969, Wiseman came up with the idea of holding a Quebec rock similar to the successful Woodstock festival held in upstate New York. Despite his dream, Wiseman lacked something very important: money. He approached mobsters Frank Cotroni and William Obront, who agreed to fund the project. The concert, held in Bois-Francs, was a horrible failure. The rock bands scheduled did not show up and it rained the entire time. Wiseman returned to Montreal, determined to make his mark. Wiseman met with mob bosses Paolo Violi and Claude Dubois in the early 70s and asked for their permission to open up a massage parlour that doubled as a house of prostitution. He soon had a total of 60 women working for him in 17 parlours. About 300 customers visited the lounges every day and, police estimate, Wiseman soon stood a top a $8 million-a-year prostitution operation. |
Six of Wiseman's most trusted associates ran the massage parlours and another twenty henchmen worked as enforcers. A member of the Outlaws biker gang, Jean-Marc Patenaude, often acted as the kingpin's bodyguard. When Wiseman suspected one associate of skimming $70,000 from a large gambling network, he had the man kidnapped and tortured. The man must of somehow convinced Wiseman that he had not stolen the money because he was not murdered and the two men made peace. Wiseman made a huge mistake in 1976, when he tried to bribe an officer of the Montreal Urban Community Police. The officer played along and feigned interest. Wiseman promised him thousands of dollars a month for "protection" of his massage parlours. He also gave the officer two lists of his; one of his parlours and one of his competitors, which the police were supposed to bust. 120 police officers raided Wiseman's massage parlours the next night and busted the entire operation. The CECO called Wiseman to testify before them a few months later. He cooperated with the committee and discussed his illicit activities. He was sentenced to four and a half years in prison in August, 1977 for attempting to bribe a police officer and for living off the profits of prostitution. Wiseman was granted several days of release in December, 1978 so he could spend time with his family. He took advantage of the situation end his life. He swallowed a large amount of barbituates one night and was found dead. He left his wife a two page letter explaining why he had killed himself. |