A hitman offered a C$100,000 contract (approximately Rs 6,020,189.11) to kill a crime reporter working at the Montreal newspaper The Press in Canada.
Frederick Silvaalready found guilty of three murders and one attempted murder, admitted to offering the contract to kill journalist Daniel Renaudas reported by newspaper La Presse. Renaud was covering Silva’s trial in 2021.
Silva confessed to the plot after becoming a police informant in 2022, revealing his criminal history to authorities. La Presse learned about the threat against Renaud through Silva’s confession to the police.
While in jail during his trial, Silva contacted two organized crime figures about killing Renaud. They reportedly hesitated, calling it a bad idea. The contract remained active for about two months but was never executed. Silva claimed he canceled it due to having “more important issues to deal with.”
Quebec Premier François Legault denounced the plot. \”It makes no sense that in Quebec – we are not in a movie – there is a contract placed on the head of a journalist because he does his job,\” he said. He added, \”This is not the Quebec we want,\” and stressed the importance of continued police action against organized crime.
Renaud said he was shocked by the news. \”I don’t censor myself, but I always exercise restraint so I don’t reveal details about the private lives of criminals and avoid putting lives in danger. So I never thought that I could have ended up the subject of a contract like this,\” he said.
Silva is currently serving a life sentence. A former colleague of Renaud and current provincial politician, Vincent Marissal, described Renaud as a “very rigorous person – not the type of guy who makes a lot of noise in the newsroom but apparently he can cause a lot of bother,” he said. “That means he’s doing his job, but that’s certainly no reason to see a price put on his head,” he added.
