MONTREAL, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A man believed to be a former Montreal police officer accused of selling informer information to the Mafia was found dead Wednesday, police actions indicated.
A housekeeper at the Chateauneuf Hotel in the Montreal suburb of Laval found a man's body in a room Wednesday morning and a large number of police arrived, The (Montreal) Gazette reported.
Police wouldn't identify the man, but there was widespread media speculation he was Detective-Sgt. Ian Davidson, an intelligence analyst who retired a year ago after 33 years on the force.
Davidson was arrested in October at the Montreal airport before he boarded a flight to Costa Rica on suspicion he had been selling informants' names to the Mafia, The Globe and Mail said.
Unconfirmed reports suggested the man had committed suicide.
While not formally acknowledging the man was Davidson, Montreal police spokesman Ian Lafreniere told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. the investigation had undergone a setback.
"Now the person that had the ultimate piece of the puzzle will not be there to testify," Lafreniere said.
After the body was found, organized crime detectives were also seen converging on Davidson's home in Laval, the CBC said.
