Lest we forget Harry Livsey

Harry Livsey was one of those Montreal gangsters that never got his due. The former car salesman built an impressive network of stolen cars and a big connection to Florida which he operated from his strip club at Chabanel near the Main. Livsey had a notorious cruel streak and was once connected to a seizure of 14 sticks of dynamite and 200 detonators on October 12, 1967 at the Worlds Fair. He wanted to blow up a couple of Expo pavillions to create a distraction to allow him to rob the central bank of the fair. He had been followed from his strip club, the Fort du Nord (230 Chabanel West) with the TNT in his trunk. Livsey owned the joint with an acquaintance named Gastron Roy, who was considered clean. It was believed that Livsey obtained the bombs from a truck heist and some say he sold the rest to a gang of political terrorists.

In those days the Tabouret, a cruel gang associated with notorious psycho gangster Richard Blass had bad feelings for the Mafia. In one example they killed an innocent army kid in the area named Giuseppe Colizza just to provoke the Italian mob.

On 8 February 1969 a troublesome client named Paul April had an argument with co-owner Gaston Roy in the bar. The argument ended with threats tossed the co-owners way and Roy was found dead outside.

Eight days later Livsey, 37, had a sit down with April at the Fort du Nord. Livsey always despised April and during their conversation masked gunmen entered and shot Livsey dead with a machine gun.

April would later go on to become a huge drug dealer associated closely with the West End Gang, even marrying into the family. He would eventually end up killing the gang boss Dunie Ryan in a robbery attempt. Apache Trudeau and Michel Blass delivered a bomb hidden in a TV and VCR on Demaisonneuve, killing the villainous April dead for once and for all.

During the prior months other murders near the St.Simon Apotre Park included Michel Dudas, James Fryer, and Howie Russel.

Other gang members killed in the months prior included: Raymond Bonenfant, Michel Marleau, Eric McNally, Susan Clark, Gary Snor, Gilles Bienvenue, Albert Ouimet, Roget Larue, Andrew Corbeil, Claudette Corbeil and Georges Groom.