Armand Courville was a Canadian gangster and a prominent associate of the Cotroni crime family in Montreal.
16 Facts About Armand Courville
1.
2.
Armand Courville was a leading star in the wrestling promotion run by Sylvio Samson, holding the Quebec and Canadian mid-heavyweight championships.
3.
Cotroni wrestled alongside Armand Courville, playing a villainous character called Vic Vincent.
4.
Besides for wrestling, Armand Courville was active in organized crime, owning a number of illegal gambling houses.
5.
Armand Courville was recruited into the Cotroni family, and unusually for a French-Canadian became one of Cotroni's leading lieutenants.
6.
Armand Courville was a mentor to Cotroni-who until then had just been a petty criminal-as taught him how to be successful at bootlegging.
7.
The Canadian journalists Andre Cedilot and Andre Noel wrote: "Proudly mustachioed with a head planted between two massive shoulders, Armand Courville was a man who literally took the law into his own hands, keeping bothersome individuals at bay with his fists and buying off politicians, city councilors, and policemen who threatened to close down his many gambling dens and speakeasies".
8.
Armand Courville took a strong liking to Cotroni as a man who was just as violent as himself.
9.
Armand Courville was close to the Parti liberal du Quebec and boasted to a journalist from La Patrie newspaper that: "'J'etais le chef de la 'police' du parti Liberal".
10.
Armand Courville was one of the principal owners of illegal gaming houses in Montreal and became very wealthy.
11.
Armand Courville was Cotroni's most trusted partner, and the two were very active in running bookmaking, gambling and prostitution rackets.
12.
Cotroni and Armand Courville soon attracted the attention of "the Commission" of New York as both Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lanksy made it clear that they wanted a share of Montreal's rackets.
13.
Armand Courville remained active as a wrestling promoter and recruited Maurice Vachon into professional wrestling after he won a gold medal in wrestling at the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, New Zealand.
14.
In 1977, Armand Courville testified at the Commission d'Enquete sur le Crime Organise: "If the Mafia exists in Montreal, it's probably like the Knights of Columbus".
15.
Armand Courville testified to the commission that he was "the official business agent" of "my friend" Cotroni.
16.
Armand Courville died of natural cause in 1991, a wealthy and free man.