THREE THEORIES FOR THE JOHNY “POPS†PAPALIA HIT AS FOUND IN ICED: THE STORY OF ORGANIZED CRIME IN CANADA
Stephan Schneider identifies three theories about the Johnny Pops hit:
Theory 1: As part of Barillaro’s sworn statements to police (before he himself was murdered) he said that Papalia was marked for death by the brothers because Pasquale owed Johnny money. Conversely, police have speculated that Pasquale ordered the hit so he could take over Papalia’s gambling and other criminal activities in Hamilton and the Niagara Region. The Musitanos had already expanded their bookmaking and gambling operations to Guelph, London, and Toronto, and police intelligence even suggests that Papalia had turned over some of his gambling and protection rackets to the Musitanos (which either may have infuriated Buffalo mob bosses enough to have Papalia killed or perhaps because they pressured Papalia to relinquish control because he was getting too old). Either way, a mob hit on Papalia would first have to be cleared by Buffalo. Police intelligence collected during Project Windfall uncovered at least one meeting between the Musitanos and made members from the Magaddino Family, which supports this particular theory.
Lee Coppola, a former reporter from western New York who covered the Magaddino Family for more than two decades, told the media in 1998 that a Buffalo-sanctioned hit “is a very unlikely scenario. I don’t think there is enough organization, structure, power or authority in the Buffalo mob to have any input or sanction into a murder in Canada.†Coppola, who was the dean of the journalism school at St. Bonaventure University in New York State when he made these comments, was adamant that “for all intents and purposes, the Buffalo mob — as it once was when Magaddino actually ruled that part of Toronto and the Papalias and Violis were under him — is all diminished and has been diminishing over the last couple of decades to a point now where there is no leadership, there is no structure, and there certainly is not power.†Coppola believed that if the Musitanos were responsible for the killings of Papalia and Barillaro, they were probably acting on their own.
Another plausible theory is that Vito Rizzuto ordered Papalia dead to pave the way for a full-scale invasion of Southern Ontario. The Montreal mafia, under Rizzuto, was already carrying out gambling operations in Eastern Ontario and had aligned themselves with the Musitanos, who were expanding across the more populous southern and western parts of the province. On October 23, 1997, Pasquale Musitano and his cousin Giuseppe Avigone met with Vito Rizzuto in Toronto, lending credence to this theory.
Recently, Paul Manning, who infiltrated the mob clans in Hamilton, tweeted about the recent mob hit of Al Iavarone in Toronto. Attached to the tweet was a picture of a conversation between Pat Musitano and Johnny “Catz†Catanzaro about a year after the “Pops†hit showing the families were working together.
The Manning tweet indicates the reporter from the Buffalo News was misinformed about the strength of the Buffalo Mob when, in 1998, he told the media that a Buffalo-sanctioned hit “is a very unlikely scenario,†and indicated, “there is [not] enough organization, structure, power or authority in the Buffalo mob to have any input or sanction into a murder in Canada.â€
Questions:1. Does this mean the Buffalo Mob was stronger than Coppola believed?
2. Did Coppola have access to Canadian police intelligence regarding “Project Windfall†or did he ignore it because of his presuppositions?
3. Why has the Buffalo News been so insistent on the Buffalo crime family’s demise and lack of power?
4. Would Joe Todaro have sanctioned a hit against his own captain?
5. Why do Canadian journalists know more about the Mob in Buffalo then journalists in Western New York?
Answer to Question 1:About the Buffalo Mob’s strength in ’98, Lee Coppola had it wrong. Manning’s evidence suggests they were strong enough to sanction the Johnny “Pops†hit and likely did.
Answer to Question 2: Maybe the Buffalo News and Coppola didn’t have access to the latest intelligence. However, even if he did, his presuppositions may have dismissed it.
Answer to Question 3: I have no idea why Buffalo reporters are quick to diminish the influence of the Buffalo Mob. Also, I find it odd they constantly say there is no organization, power, or authority left in the Buffalo crime family. It wasn’t true when Coppola wrote “The Withered Arm†in ’98 or spoke to the media about the “Pops†hit. And with Edwards recent report about Buffalo calling the shots in the Hamilton Mob War, Herbeck’s article “The Mob is All But Dead in Western New York†does’t appear to be true today either.
Also, I have been doing some research on BUSICO short for THE BUFFALO SICILIAN CONNECTION which spawned the “Pizza Connection†trials. It seems Coppola dismissed the Buffalo Mob’s role in these drug trafficking cases. He specifically states, Andrea Aiello whose arrest for importing Heroin started the Pizza Connection was acting without the knowledge of the Buffalo mob and its bosses… Here is the actual quote:
A Buffalo drug case offers an illustration. In 1983, the FBI raided a ceramic tile store on Delaware Avenue that was a front for high-grade heroin entering the United States inside wooden pallets. The man running the operation, Andrea Aiello, had ties to the Mafia families of New York City and Sicily and chose a lengthy prison sentence over cooperation with the FBI. But what made the case even more interesting was that Aiello was operating without the permission -- without even the knowledge -- of Buffalo's Mafia bosses.
But previously the Buffalo News had an article highlighting 12 who were arrested in Buffalo in connection to these cases after bugging Leonard Falzone’s car. Among the names were known associates and soldiers of the Buffalo mob. Here are the names from a Buffalo News article titled “WORLD DRUG RING TIED TO BUFFALO 12 FROM WNY AMONG TARGETS OF U.S. PROBE†written by Dan Herbeck in ’98:
The Buffalo-area roundup began late Wednesday night and was continuing this afternoon.
Identified as suspects were:
Joseph P. Lombardo, 32, president of the Lackawanna Chamber of Commerce and a funeral director who runs funeral parlors in Hamburg, Buffalo and Amherst and listed the homes as his addresses. Lombardo has long been active with the Lackawanna Chamber, which named him its Man of the Year in 1987, and other civic groups.
John R. Catanzaro, 46, of 25 Wellington Road, Buffalo, a Local 210 steward. He is already facing labor racketeering charges filed last year. Catanzaro and another suspect were arrested on charges relating to counterfeit Rolex watches, and not drug charges.
Catanzaro, a convicted burglar, was ordered by a federal judge to appear in a 1980 police lineup in connection with the killing of William B. Sciolino, a Local 210 steward. A witness who saw three men abandon an apparent getaway car shortly after the Sciolino slaying made no identification. That killing remains unsolved.
Catanzaro was one of two Laborers Local 210 officials indicted by a federal grand jury in April as part of a probe of no-show jobs on Western New York construction sites.
Catanzaro, an auditor for Local 210, was charged with demanding and receiving $35,000 in wages to guarantee labor peace as a no-show union steward on the construction of a brine pipeline between Wyoming County and Niagara Falls.
Frank Grisanti, 46, of 23 Losson Garden Drive, Cheektowaga, a union steward, Local 210.
Ronald H. Chimera, 37, of 221 Lexington Ave., an employee of J&M Distributors.
Frank J. Mahiques, 32, of 1306 Gowan Road, Angola, a remodeling contractor.
Fred M. Saia, 54, of 253 Highland Ave. No occupation listed. He, too, faces watch counterfeiting charges, not drug charges.
Gary L. Carter, 32, manager of Sunshine Motors, a South Buffalo car dealership.
Also, Paul Catania, no age or occupation listed; Francis S. Catania, 63, a laborer; and Victor F. Catania, 33, an aerial advertiser who flew planes over Rich Stadium trailing banners. All listed 219 Lexington Ave. as their home address. Francis Catania is the father of Victor and Paul.
Paul J. Palladino, 61, of 2106 Delaware Ave., a truck driver.
Angelo P. Rizzo, 71, of 12 Brauton St. No occupation listed.
Some suspects are still at large, the U.S. attorney added.
The Buffalo News learned that two senior officers of the Justice Department's Immigration and Naturalization Service, stationed at JFK International Airport in New York, may be involved in the scandal.
Why did Coppola and the Buffalo News downplay this in ‘98?
Answer to Question 4: As to the Todaro Question, the most likely answer is, Yes he would order the hit on his own captain as he had probably done it before. Schneider writes:
For a number of years he refused to pay tribute, and his foray into Atlantic City only confirmed his maverick status. Joe Todaro, who was now in control of the Buffalo family, wanted nothing to do with Volpe. Other American mafiosi, especially Nicky Scarfo, began treating Volpe as a pariah. Todaro’s ascension to the leadership of the Buffalo mob also bolstered his biggest Canadian supporter, John Papalia, who never hid his desire to get rid of his rival. Volpe was also losing many of his key associates and enforcers. Nate Klegerman had fled Canada to escape a number of criminal charges, Chuck Yanover was in and out of jail, and Fred Wang was dead of a drug overdose. On April 22, 1977, the bodies of Volpe enforcer Ian Rosenberg and his girlfriend, Julie Lipson, were found by their five-year-old child. Both had been shot in the head while sleeping….
About Volpe;s death Stephan pens:
…On Sunday, November 13, 1983, Paul Volpe, dressed in a white turtleneck sweater and green corduroy trousers, informed his wife that he would be having lunch with Pietro Scarcella and then had to go to the airport where he would be meeting with people “from over there.†This was most likely a reference to American mobsters, either from the Magaddino or Scarfo family. He said that he should be home by early evening. When he failed to show up that night, Volpe’s wife became frantic. On Monday morning, she nervously called their lawyer, David Humphrey, who contacted the Toronto police. After he informed them of Volpe’s planned meeting at the airport, police searched the airport parking lots for the leased BMW he was driving. They eventually found the car on the second level of the Terminal Two garage. After spotting blood on the tailgate, they opened the trunk and discovered Volpe’s lifeless fifty-five-year-old body, curled up in a foetal position and lying in a pool of his own blood. There was so much blood that police thought his throat had been slashed. Upon closer inspection it was discovered that Volpe’s killers had shot him in the back of the head….
Theories about Volpe’s murder according to Schneider and Peter Edwards:
…The most plausible theory is that Volpe’s meeting that Sunday was with members of the Todaro-led Magaddino Family. The murder was performed in clear mafia fashion, according to Peter Edwards and Antonio Nicaso: “Mob protocol dictated that the killer must be from Volpe’s own crime family, the Buffalo mob. He was their responsibility and his death would ensure greater harmony, both inside their ranks and with the Philadelphia mob.†The shot from behind also suggests that Volpe trusted his killer enough to turn his back on him. Another theory behind the murder was that it was ordered by Frank Cotroni who was making a move into Toronto and wanted Volpe out of the way. Regardless of who ordered the assassination or actually pulled the trigger, it would have to have been sanctioned by the Magaddino Family and perhaps even New York’s Mafia Commission
I don’t have an answer. What are your thoughts? Is it journalist negligence or laziness? Is it something more sinister like an unholy alliance? Or are they just protecting their reputations, after all it is thought that media reporting played a significant role in bringing down the mafia in Western, NY? Or finally, are all the Canadian journalists wrong and the Buffalo journalists right?
