Flower-bearing cars lead the procession after funeral services for reputed organized crime leader Agostino Cuntrera on Monday in Montreal. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)Montreal police kept close watch Monday as hundreds of mourners gathered for the funeral of reputed mobster Agostino Cuntrera, amid speculation about an ongoing power struggle in the Montreal mafia.

The reputed head of Montreal's troubled Rizzuto crime clan was gunned down last week in the city's Saint-Leonard borough. His bodyguard was also killed in the attack in front of Cuntrera's food supply company warehouse.

Dozens of police cruisers, as well as an unmarked police surveillance van, were parked around Notre-Dame-du-Carmel Church in Saint-Leonard during the funeral for the 66-year-old Monday morning.

Limousines carried enormous flower arrangements, including one in the shape of the Ferrari sports car logo, as men in sunglasses kept watch over the entrance to the church.

Police were also highly visible during weekend visitation hours, which drew crowds of mourners paying their respects to Cuntrera, who was displayed in a closed casket.

"Basically, we're here for traffic control," said Montreal police Const. Raphaël Bergeron, who did not deny that police would also be keeping an eye on who was in attendance.

"Obviously, people of interest could attend," he said.

'A great gentleman'

Cuntrera "was a really super nice guy, and he helped a lot of Italians in the community," said one man, who took pictures of the scene with his cell phone camera. "It is unfortunate what happened to him.

"The life that he led was what it was, but he was a great gentleman."

Pallbearers carry Augustino Cuntrera's coffin into a Montreal church on Monday. (CBC)Construction workers on a nearby site stopped their work during the service, saying they had done so out of respect.

Despite appearances, the number of people in attendance was less than would normally have been expected a funeral of such importance, said retired crime reporter Michel Auger.

Those tied to the Mob are nervous following the recent string of attacks targeting high-ranking members of the Rizzuto family, Auger said.

"The police went to [Cuntrera] to ask him to take some precautions, and he said that he …already took precautions with an armoured car," he said. "Some of his friends are still wearing bulletproof vests."

Cuntrera is thought to have taken over as head of the notorious clan after alleged leader Vito Rizzuto was jailed in 2007 for his role in three murders in Brooklyn, N.Y., in the 1980s.

Known as the "the Seigneur of Saint-Leonard," Cuntrera commanded fear and respect, said Auger.

Series of attacks

His death is seen as the latest assault against the Rizzuto family, believed to be the most powerful Mafia family in the country.

Among those in attendance on Monday were Vito Rizzuto's adult children Leonardo and Bettina.

Rizzuto's eldest son, Nick Jr. was shot at point blank outside a condominium building in Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grâce district in December.

Last August, another friend of the family, Federico del Peschio, was gunned down outside his restaurant in the city's Ahuntsic district.

'Nobody knows who is behind that and what is really going on.'—Retired crime reporter Michel Auger

Then, last month, Paolo Renda, a close business associate of the Rizzutos, was abducted from his car in broad daylight on a busy street in northwest Montreal. Renda is still missing.

Police have not made arrests in any of the three incidents.

There had been some speculation that the killings might be tied to a feud between Sicilian and Calabrian factions of the Mafia.

Auger said that is still unclear.

"[Sunday] at the funeral parlour and [Monday] at the funeral, there [were] a lot of Sicilians and Calabrians together," he said.

"Nobody knows who is behind that and what is really going on," he said. "I presume it is younger guys who want to get rid of the older [leaders].