Richard Blass Cheated Death Many Times

Although Canada has a reputation for courtesy and maintaining the peace, this does not mean that all of its offenders conform to these preconceptions. One man who pushed the limits and lived and died by a cruel creed is Richard Blass.

Blass earned the nickname "The Cat" not because he was swift or agile but rather because he had extra lives. In the course of two months, he escaped three distinct assassination attempts. The rival gangster returned the favor after attempting and failing to kill a rival, also failing to kill Blass in the process. They failed to kill him again when they set fire to the hotel where he was staying two weeks later. He was actually shot in the head a few months later while escaping the third assassination attempt, but he still managed to drive himself to the hospital.

Blass was sought for the deaths of countless Italian residents of Montreal because he harbored a deep hatred for Italians, not simply rival criminals but also anyone of Italian heritage. He wasn't finally apprehended and taken to jail, from which he quickly escaped, until he shot a police officer. After being apprehended and thrown back, he later succeeded in escaping once more.

Blass pursued and killed the witnesses who had assisted in his conviction rather than staying quiet. Then he killed the people who had witnessed the murder. Police started looking for him, and when they did, they shot him 27 times. Years later, one of the officers who had initially claimed that Blass had come at them with a revolver had really startled the gangster and all he had in his hands was a pair of socks.

Born: Richard Blass, October 24, 1945, Rosemont, Montreal
Died: January 24, 1975 (aged 29)