Richard Blass (24 October 1945 – 24 January 1975) was a Canadian

gangster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...

and a multiple murderer. Born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, he was nicknamed ''Le Chat'', French for ''The Cat'', because of his luck in evading death after surviving at least three assassination attempts and a police shootout, and escaping from custody twice.

Criminal career

Born in the Montreal neighbourhood of Rosemont, Blass would turn to

amateur boxing Amateur boxing is the variant of boxing practiced in clubs and associations around the world, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as at the varsity sports, collegiate level. Amateur boxing bouts comprise three ...

as a way to channel his anger when he was a child. It was after a boxing fight that Blass committed one of his first known crimes, attacking fellow boxer Michel Gouin with a knife after losing a fight to him. Blass pleaded guilty to

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

and spent one night in jail. Over time Blass became more obsessed with the

Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

activity going on in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. As obsessed as he was with the Mafia, however, he was also known for his hatred of Mafia families: resenting the fact that the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

Mafia had a stranglehold on Montreal's underworld business during the late 1960s, Blass was involved in violent feuds with many ''Mafiosi'', particularly those related to Frank Cotroni and brothers Joe and Vincenzo Di Maulo. On 7 May 1968, Blass and Robert Allard ambushed Cotroni outside his home; two of his bodyguards were killed, but Cotroni escaped. He also worked as a hitman for the notorious

West End Gang The West End Gang () is a Canadian organized crime group in Montreal, Quebec. An Irish mob group originating from the Irish-Canadian ethnic enclave of Pointe-Saint-Charles in the 1950s, the majority of the gang's earnings were initially derived ...

. On 4 May 1968, the Cotroni family struck back by killing two of Blass's men, Gilles Bienvenue and Albert Ouimet, who were shot down by masked gunmen. On 7 May 1968, another Blass gang member, Roger Larue, was killed. By then, Blass had a sizable number of members in his own gang. Blass and his gang became more violent, committing a number of murders against Italians, some of whom had nothing to do with crime. The first such killing took place on 27 May, when Giuseppe Collizza was killed with five shots to the head. One of the persons that Blass and his group killed, Francesco Grado, had connections to the Mafia. Grado was a

loan shark A loan shark is a person who offers loans at Usury, extremely high or illegal interest rates, has strict terms of debt collection, collection, and generally operates criminal, outside the law, often using the threat of violence or other illegal, ...

for the Mafia. He was murdered with multiple gunshots. On 24 August 1968, the first Mafia attempt against Blass's life took place, when two hired gunmen entered a bar where Blass was enjoying some drinks. Although shot at multiple times, Blass escaped unscathed. Two weeks later, Blass was tracked by the Mafia to a

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the Parking lot, parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central Lobby (room), lo ...

named "Le Manoir de Plaisance" in a Montreal suburb. The motel was set on fire and three people died, but Blass escaped the blaze. Police investigation indicated

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

as the fire's cause. In October 1968, Blass was injured by bullet shots to the head and back after being ambushed, alongside partner Claude Ménard, inside a garage. the gunman was Joe Di Maulo. The two survived; Ménard drove the car they were in through the garage's door, though Blass required hospitalization for his wounds. He refused to identify his attackers, a fact which may have led him to earn respect among Canadian Mafia members. In January 1969, Blass and his gang tried to commit a

bank robbery Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank Branch (banking), branch or Bank teller, tel ...

, but the attempt failed, and Blass shot a policeman as he was fleeing from the financial institution. He was arrested and sentenced to four consecutive terms of ten years in jail. On 6 May 1969, Vincenzo Di Maulo killed one of Blass's associates. On October 16 of that year, Blass became a

fugitive A fugitive or runaway is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

for the first time, when he and other prisoners overpowered a jail guard and fled the van in which they were being transported to court. Blass was caught after an anonymous caller informed police that he was hiding in his wife's apartment. Five years later in 1974, he perpetrated his second escape. An unidentified female friend of his smuggled in some firearms during a visit, and Blass broke the jail visitor's window. Armed with various types of guns and rifles, he and other men were able to escape. Blass wanted to kill Raymond Laurin and Roger Lévesque, both of whom had participated in the 1969 bank robbery and testified against him. He found them both at a bar on 30 October 1974, and shot them dead. Convinced that he needed to kill all witnesses to the killings, Blass and gang partner Fernand Beaudet returned to the bar on 21 January 1975. They locked ten men and three women inside a bar locker before killing all of them.

Death

What followed that act was one of the largest manhunts in Canadian history. On 24 January 1975, police located the chalet in

Val-David Val-David is a village of more than 5,200 inhabitants in the Laurentian Mountains about north of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Attracting about 100,000 tourists a year, Val-David is predominantly francophone although it has a small anglophone minori ...

where Blass was hiding. At 1:30 AM EST, three officers, led by Albert Lisacek, broke the windows of the chalet door and entered. As Blass approached them, the officers opened fire, and Blass was hit by 27 bullets, dying within seconds. Police reports and testimony stated that Blass had shot first; however, in May 2012, Lisacek told journalist Warren Perley that Blass had been unarmed, and had only been 'wielding' a sock. He was entombed at the

Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery (, ) is a rural cemetery located in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, which was founded in 1854. The entrance and the grounds run along a part of Côte-des-Neiges Ro ...

in Montreal.

Depictions

The 1992 film '' Requiem for a Handsome Bastard (Requiem pour un beau sans-coeur)'' is loosely based on Blass' career. The film centres around the last three days of a fictionalized, pseudonymous version of Blass. A book about Blass was published in 1983Frank Shoofey, Nom: Blass, prénom: Richard, alias: "le chat", profession: criminel (English translation: Name: Blass, first name: Richard, aka "the cat", occupation: criminal), Québécor, 1983, . by famous criminal lawyer Frank Shoofey, who previously represented him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blass, Richard 1945 births 1975 deaths 20th-century Canadian criminals Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery Canadian gangsters Canadian male criminals Canadian mass murderers Canadian people convicted of assault Contract killers Criminals from Montreal French-Canadian organized crime Organized crime in Montreal People from Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie People shot dead by law enforcement officers in Canada Quebec murderers West End Gang