Quebec waste company Ricova in cop crosshairs

Ricova is in hot water for having defrauded the City of Montreal of more than $1m.

An RCMP intelligence report in 2020 indicated that Ricova and its leader, Domenico Colubriale, "may be" involved in "shipping container drug trafficking and money laundering through exports of recycled paper." Ricova is a major player in the waste industry in Quebec. The company manages sorting centers in Montreal and the South Shore. It is also responsible for garbage collection in many cities in the south of the province, as well as 25% of Montreal. Many of Ricova's recyclables vendors work from Colombia.

In June the company was blacklisted by the City of Montreal for five years, which prevents it from obtaining new contracts. Ricova applied to the court to have this decision overturned. The SQ reports contacts between one of Ricova's leaders and the Rizzuto clan. This individual heads the Ricova Services subsidiary. This company obtained at least $150m in public contracts over the past five years.