Richard Blass

Canadian criminal (1945–1975)

Richard Blass (24 October 1945 – 24 January 1975) was a Canadian gangster and a multiple murderer. Born in Montreal, 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.

Born in the Montreal neighbourhood of Rosemont, Blass would turn to amateur boxing 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 and spent one night in jail. Over time Blass became more obsessed with the Mafia activity going on in New York City. 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 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. 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. He was entombed at the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery in Montreal.

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 1983 by famous criminal lawyer Frank Shoofey, who previously represented him.