Many of these so-called "contracts" are for established figures in the city's Italian organized crime circles, and at least one is for a major street gang member, sources said.

At least seventeen people connected to organized crime in the city have been killed since 2009 and the news that "contracts" are pending supports the belief that the violence isn't over.

Gaetan Gosselin, 69, the latest deceased with ties to organized crime, was shot and killed on the street in Montreal on Tuesday night. He had been a longtime business partner of Raynald Desjardins, the man once close to Mafioso Vito Rizzuto. Desjardins is on trial for the murder of a suspected rival, Salvatore Montagna, who was shot and killed north of Montreal in 2011.

Police sources told QMI Agency that Rizzuto is close to once again becoming a major player in the city's Mafia circles.

He was released from US jail in 2012 after serving eight years.