Montreal's major crime unit is searching for suspects in the daylight gun slaying of two men, including one with mob connections, outside an east-end warehouse.

One of the victims was Agostino Cuntrera, 66, a high-ranking associate of the Rizzuto crime family. The second man murdered has been described as Cuntrera's 48-year-old bodyguard.

Cuntrera owned the John & Dino's food distribution warehouse on Magloire St. where the two men were gunned down shortly after 4 p.m.

Police say a black Chevrolet Impala may have been involved in the shooting. Police picked up two men who were seen in a black Impala, but were let go after it was determined they were not involved in the crime.

Experts say Cuntrera was known for being an "old school" gangster, who was low-key and stayed out of the spotlight. Cuntrera had been involved with a crime syndicate in Venezuela until 2006, when a mob roundup in Montreal sent him to the Rizzuto clan.

Cuntrera is the third high-profile person in the Mafia to be murdered since Vito Rizzuto's 2004 arrest. It is believed Cuntrera took over the crime family after Rizzuto started his 10-year prison sentence.

Andre Cedilot, an organized crime expert, told CTV Montreal the murders may be the work of a rival Calabrian faction in Toronto that is seeking to wrest control of the Montreal mafia.

However, author James Dubro said the hit could be the work of younger mobsters going after the older generation.

"I think the new school is much more violent," Dubro told CTV Montreal. "When you stay in power for a long time, you tend to let your muscle down, you tend to be a little flabby. And I think you can say that about some of the Rizzuto people."

A series of arrests and murders have devastated the Rizzuto family.

Rizzuto's son, Nicolo Rizzuto Jr., was gunned down in December. No arrests have been made in the killing.

Vito Rizzuto's brother-in-law, Paolo Renda, is still missing after vanishing in May. Renda was considered to be No. 3 in the Rizzuto family.