The murder trial of alleged Montreal Mafia leaders Leonardo Rizzuto and Stefano Sollecito is scheduled to begin late next year.

On Thursday, Quebec Superior Court Justice Yvan Poulin mentioned the planned start of four trials involving murder charges filed in Project Alliance during a hearing at the Gouin courthouse.

In June, police rounded up several men with alleged ties to organized crime as part of an investigation based on information supplied to police by Frédérick Silva, 45, a former hit man.

The judge said the first trial is expected to be short, relative to the three others that are expected to be held. Patrick Gilbert, 51, of Anjou, is charged with the first-degree murder of Domenico Facchini and the attempted murder of Vito D’Orazio. Both men were shot in Montreal on Dec. 21,

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