His mother, Simone Courville, was the younger sister of Armand Courville, a reputed major underworld and partner of “The Egg” Vic Cotroni for decades. Simard’s father supposedly drank heavily and often abused him. As a teenager, Simard joined a neighbourhood street gang. The young hoods specialized committed petty crimes, such as theft and vandalism. He then partnered up with Raymond Martel, a childhood friend, and the two began holding up banks together. They spent the profits from their crimes on partying and good times.