deathwatch, capazoo, luc verville, michel verville, canada, drugs, montreal

Inside Capazoo's drug-fueled implosion

The Montreal-based social network that's teetering on the edge of extinction was a family affair, both in the nepotism sense and allegedly in the mafia sense. That's according to a former employee who sent in an epic tale of sex, drugs and shady business dealings under CEO Luc Verville, pictured here in happier times. His brother Michel, a cofounder, was kicked out of the company — but not before generating some serious ill will among employees:

- The flip side of the founder's coke addiction was a black market Viagra dealer in the office who supplied him, which enabled him to brag publicly and often about having sex with his 20-year old girlfriend several times in one day.

Much, much more after the jump.

- When I arrived at Capazoo, his wife worked there, as did his mother. And the other founder's wife as well. I should have run screaming. He left his wife a few weeks later... That didn't stop her from showing up at the office with their young child and spitting on the window while we were having meetings.
- [His wife] started posting messages on the founder's page on the website, including that he was bi. Unfortunately, we hadn't yet implemented "remove comment" functionality, which led to several weekends spent just cleaning up the founder's profile, over and over again. Fun.

- The brothers often talked shit about each other, saying that they saved the other from destitution, and that one would be nothing without the other. Should have run screaming.

- Was contacted one day by the founder's assistant, because she was trying to mount a coup d'etat with the other founder to get rid of him. As if that's something you can do to the guy who holds over 50% of the company.

- Several people with ties to the gambling and porn industries, as well as the mafia were hired. On this last point, at least one investor/partner told me he was not worried about losing his investment for this reason. Just another reason you cannot use my name.

- BTW, pro athletes are idiots, it's not hard to swindle them out of money by saying things like "next MySpace, next Facebook".

(Photo by LaPresseAffaires.com)

2:00 PM on Fri Mar 21 2008
By Jackson West
2,880 views
22 comments

Comments

OnYourEnemiesList at 02:29 PM on 03/21/08
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are the pro athletes in question hockey players or Canadian football league players...just curious.
Alaska Miller at 02:41 PM on 03/21/08
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i'm going to make the next facebook for canadian hockey players and football players
mandarin at 02:49 PM on 03/21/08
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Theres a Canadian mafia?
Alaska Miller at 03:10 PM on 03/21/08
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@mandarin:

they go around threatening to bash in your igloo if you don't hand them monopoly money
Michael_Irie at 03:36 PM on 03/21/08
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@mandarin:
The Canadian Mafia are mainly Vietnamese gangs growing low grade indoor Beasters in Vancouver.
Shadowlayer at 03:45 PM on 03/21/08
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I wonder how often this stuff happens in startups...

@Alaska Miller:

Good one!
Shadowlayer at 03:53 PM on 03/21/08
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so?
The_Age_of_Plastic at 04:05 PM on 03/21/08
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@Alaska Miller: I would find it funnier if the US Dollar was not currently on par with the Canadian one.
SnarkTard at 05:25 PM on 03/21/08
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@mandarin Go into a Quebec biker bar and ask who the mafia is. I'd be interested to see what happens to you. I can assure you @Alaska Miller it won't be your igloo that gets bashed. Oh, and that monopoly money is still worth more than yours the last time I checked.
kaden at 05:43 PM on 03/21/08
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@ Michael_Irie: Low grade? You don't actually consume, do you?
matto at 06:45 PM on 03/21/08
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Note to self: Ignore stories involving Canadians, or crossposted to Consumerist. Or both.

Come to think of it, wasn't Arthur C. Clarke a Canadian by birth? It would explain the hockey and the pedo rumors.
Figaro at 08:18 PM on 03/21/08
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Who were their investors???
donmiguel at 09:03 PM on 03/21/08
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@SnarkTard: Oooooh! A Quebec biker bar huh? Those bikers must be bullet proof. Listen honey, humble is best when it comes to tough. Anything else just reads as misinformed.
SnarkTard at 11:32 PM on 03/21/08
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@donmiguel Listen honey, is there something I don't know. Care to elaborate?
random_play at 01:12 AM on 03/22/08
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I'd trade him an 8-ball for one of those Montreal bagels. Anyone know where to get a Montreal-style bagel in the valley?
raincoaster at 02:46 AM on 03/22/08
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Bienvenue a Montreal!

@random_play: Try Siegel's in Vancouver.
matto at 06:27 AM on 03/22/08
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All I know about Canadian gangsters, I learned from Twin Peaks.
BobDope at 08:39 PM on 03/22/08
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At least somebody's benefiting from this social networking nerd circle jerk. Not like anybody is gonna reel it in by putting together THE tedious assortment of forms closed off from the rest of the web that's interesting for a week at most.
BartKela at 11:50 AM on 03/23/08
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"Black market Viagra dealer"?

Why is the black market? Can't you just get a 'script from your GP, internist or urologist? And surely there are online pharmacies that will write the 'script right after they get your credit card authorization code.
colonelpanic at 09:09 AM on 05/28/08
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@BartKela: You're right. Viagras are blue.
Rachel Marsden at 02:54 AM on 06/01/08
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@colonelpanic: Yes, you would know, Jimmy. And te effect it had on you was ridiculous - a caricature of Viagra sex.
colonelpanic at 11:59 AM on 06/01/08
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@Rachel Marsden: You're a very sick girl, Rachel. Based on observation of your behaviour simply on Valleywag, I suspect you're practically 100% on this checklist.