Downtown restaurant Cavalli firebombed

CTV Montreal Published Tuesday, May 27, 2014 7:39AM EDT Last Updated Tuesday, May 27, 2014 10:02PM EDT

Police are looking for an arsonist who tried to burn down a resto-bar on Peel St. overnight.

Around 3:30 a.m. a Molotov cocktail was placed at the front door of Cavalli restaurant.

It did very little damage and may have sputtered out before firefighters even arrived.

No one was injured.

Rapidly the fire was controlled by the firefighters on site, which caused minor damage to the establishment, said Montreal police spokesperson Pierre Brabant.

However, the restaurant in question, once known for its high-end food, luxurious dcor and jet-setting crowd, has been under the watchful eye of police for some time.

The liquor board yanked the restaurant's alcohol licence for 100 days in January, saying Cavalli had become a hotspot for known gangsters.

In recent months whistleblower Ken Pereira told the Charbonneau corruption inquiry that Jocelyn Dupuis, the former head of the FTQ-Construction, was a regular at the restaurant, spending $30,000 per month on food and drinks.

Many high-profile organized crime figures also patronized the restaurant over the years, including the late Mafia godfather Vito Rizzuto. Members of biker gangs and street gangs were also known to have dinner there.

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Downtown restaurant Cavalli firebombed