The Rizzuto crime family

History of the Rizzuto Crime Family by Jack Marino of Amici Journal



The Montreal Mob was started as a crew within the Bonanno crime family by crime boss Joseph Bonanno in 1952. The crew was headed by Vic Cotroni in the 1950s and by the 1960s the group evolved into an important branch of the Bonanno crime family. They once controlled most of southern Quebec and Ontario. In 1954 Nicolo Rizzuto moved to Montreal from Cattolica Eraclea, Sicily. He started working for Cotroni as a heroin dealer and mob associate. Nicolo profited handsomely from heroin dealing, illegal gambling, fraud and contract killings. Nicolo became disgusted with the leaders of the Cotroni crew, who were mostly of Calabrese descent. In 1969, he formed a meeting with Vic Cotroni and his right hand man Paolo Violi. Nicolo told them he was an associate for 14 years and wanted them to make him a made member of the American Mafia. They told him he couldn't be made at that time. In 1972 Rizzuto heard Violi had a murder contract on him and so he fled to Caracas, Venezuela, where he stayed with a Sicilian drug lord and childhood friend. In 1975 Rizzuto moved back to Montreal and started his own crew, after he heard Cotroni and Violi were doing a year in jail for lying in court about their mob membership. This gave Rizzuto the chance to overthrow the Cotroni crew.

The Rizzuto crime organization was created to respond and counter the Cotroni's continued pressure tactics against Sicilian crime figures in the area. The Sicilians were constantly bullied and harassed by Cotroni and his crew. In January 1978, Violi was shot to death by two Rizzuto gunmen outside a Montreal bar. In September 1978, Frank Borello, a Cotroni soldier was brutally murdered. In October 1980, Violi's brother Rocco was killed near his house by the Rizzuto's. They decided not to kill Vic Cotroni, over him being in really poor health at the time. Cotroni passed away in 1984. Nicolo Rizzuto was said to have made his peace with Cotroni in December 1980.

In May 1981, Rizzuto's son Vito was dispatched to New York to help out in the murders of the three capos opposed to Bonanno crime family boss, Philip Rastelli. The men killed were Alphonse Indelicato, Dominick Trinchera and Philip Giaccone. The capos were shot to death with shotguns and pistols. According to FBI agent Joseph Pistone, the murderers were Bonanno mobsters Dominick Napolitano, Joseph Massino, Salvatore Vitale, Joseph DeSimone, Nicholas Santora, Vito Rizzuto, Louis Giongetti, Santo Giordano and Gerlando Sciascia. Benjamin Ruggiero and John Cersani were lookouts, and were sent in after to clean up and dispose of the bodies. Vito was indicted on the murders of the three men in January 2003. Nicolo Rizzuto retired from the mafia a year later and made Vito the boss. On May 4, 2007, Vito pleaded guilty to being present at the triple murder. As part of a plea bargain agreement, he received a 10-year prison sentence to be followed by a three-year supervised release. Vito testified that he was involved in the affair, but had only yelled "It's a holdup" while the other mobsters did the shooting. Vito was also involved in the Mafia involvement in building a bridge that would connect the Italian mainland with Sicily. The Rizzuto crime organization did not become a crime family of La Cosa Nostra until the murder of Gerlando Sciascia in March 1999.

Vito Rizzuto will be released from prison next October. He still has important allies in Montreal, New York and Sicily, waiting for him to return. A few months ago, he said that it is very lonely in his dark cell in Florence, Colorado. Will Vito avenge the murders of his father and son? We will have to see what happens when he gets out of prison.







The End

What's the status of the family now? There's been alot of killing in the past few years. Some kinda internecine disputes inside the membership of the family apparently.

What's the real deal? Haven't been able to find alot of reliable information.

That's a very good question. I'm not sure about that.

So Rizzuto wasn't made by 1969 and Paolo Violi was? If the books were closed from 1957, Violi couldn't also have been made.

I thought Rizzuto was already made in Sicily.

Which sources did you use?

Rizzuto was a member of the Sicilan mob, but would have had to be made in the US.

My understanding is both Nick and Vito Rizzuto were/are made members of the Bonanno family.

Not very sure about that one.

Nick and Vito were both made in Canada into the Sicilian mafia, not American.

I am absolutely fascinated with this family. As a long lover of Montreal, the Rizzuto's have constantly been a source of intrigue for me. I just got the Sixth Family and will be crushing that back shortly. Thanks for all posting on this family.

The Sixth family does an excellent job with telling the Rizzuto's history, going back as far as the 1930s. They also explain a lot about the Rizzutos/Montreal mafia's organizational structure.

But when it comes to telling the events of the last decade, Mafia Inc. does a better job IMO.

If so, why would Rizzuto bother to ask to be made into the Bonanno family? (if this actually happened in the first place).

I haven't read it, but heard It's a fantastic book.

There are a ton of mob researchers from the Netherlands. The Dutch must love MOB stuff!!!

? You sure? They were made Bonanno members.

Hhhmmmmm, I've always thought Nicolo was the Sicilian made guy and his son Vito was a Bonanno made guy.

That's what's made the Rizzutos so hard to read over the years. I think it comes with the more unique set up of Italian OC in Canada, where the lines between the Sicilian Mafia, the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta, and the American LCN are not as clear as they are in the U.S. This has led to a lot of debates ranging between - what I've always thought - were two extremes. One, the Rizzutos just being a faction of the Bonanno family. And the other, the Rizzutos being the "Sixth Family." I've always thought the truth fell somewhere in the middle.

I'm very sure they were made in Canada. Would I bet my life on it? No.

I wonder if the Rizzuto's are still as powerful over Vito being locked up and his dad being murdered.

We will find out soon enough.

Its a fact that they started as a Bonanno crew, but in time they got more independance from New York, because of the attacks from the feds/gov. Hence, they became the "Sixth Family". Their family is build upon the ruins of the Bonanno crew. Thats why they are made Bonanno members, maybe a bit renegade.

True that. You're running a Muk again, lol.

Thanks Sonny, I'll check that out too.

I'm going to check amazon for the book in a little bit.

Yeah you should, its a good book. But i didnt like all the fantasy stuff in it. Were a bit old for stuff like that, they are strong but nowhere a "Sixth Family". But the drug deal they have is far more organized than in New York.

Just bought it on the net. Can't wait to check it out.

I realize they started out as a Bonanno crew. The debate revolves around whether they stayed as such or whether they evolved into their own independent crime family. From what I can tell, they were quasi-independent - for lack of a better term. And that due to geography as much as anything else. You had guys who were nominally Bonannos but practically independent for the most part. Guys who weren't American LCN at all but tied to the groups in Italy. And so on. At the same time, I never really bought into the "Sixth Family" hype said about them over the years. Even before their decline began.

Somebody told me the other day he thinks it was a Rizzuto family member who killed Sal Montagna and that they are at war with the Bonanno's. Don't know about that one.

I agree, we could say that the real thing that broke the chain was the killing of George from Canada. That was the last thing, and the Rizzutos were looking for a reason to say "Fuck you New York". And thats what they did with the killing of Georgie.

Hmmmmmm, seems like you're still running a Muk (lol).

What's interesting though is, Vito Rizzuto reportedly sent the message to NY that he didn't recognize Montagna as his boss. If the ties were completely severed with the murder of Sciascia years before, one wonders why Rizzuto would need to say that at all.

In that case, we could assume that they still recognized the Bonannos as their leader and still kicked up money. So that makes them a crew of the Bonannos, not a independant family like most people think. But if so, the shit thats happening there is still a Bonanno issue, if they are a crew and still tied to them, they wouldnt let those things happen. So its 2 possibilities, Bonannos still trying to maintain control, or they simply say: fuck it, its Canadian business.

Just to make a statement so that the Bonannos shouldn't be getting any ideas to try to take back control.

This and Montanga's trips to Ontario and to Rizzuto one week before he was killed strongly indicate that these guys weren't the best of friends.

You both have interesting points...

Thats a good one, so when did the Bonannos loose control over there? With the killing of George they proved they still maintained control. And where do we put the killing of Montagna, we see the Rizzutos getting hammered and along also Montagna, who is a Bonanno member. These things just dont make any sense to me.

What I'm interested in is that when there has been conflict in an American family, usually someone or several people flip and then the authorities get the full story of what's going on.
With the Rizzuto's and Canada as a whole, there seems to be very few rats why is this? They seem to be more old school up there.

it depends on canadian laws for the most, i don't know them ask some canadian about it
they have something similar to RICO? they have a witness program?

Nicky, many Sicilians, not just mobsters in Sicily, but civilian ones believe in omerta still, where they don't tell the cops anything. The fresher Sicilian they are, the less they'll talk to the feds, and most of the Rizzuto's are true Sicilians. The head members of the Bonanno's used to be back when old Joe was running things, but now they are as American as it gets.

While reading "Mafia Inc" I found it interesting that the authors speculate based on police information that the august 2009 killing of Frederico del Peschio and the December 2009 killing of Nick Rizzuto Jr have nothing to do with the current war in montreal (IE: Cun trera , montagna, lopresti etc killings). They speculate that the killing of del Peschio and Rizzuto Jr. were nothing more than a dispute over money with another business man with close mafia ties. Supposedly this man contracted some street gang members to do the hit. Perhaps this was the true weak point in the chain, not Vito leaving for prison. Perhaps the killing of rizzuto Jr. based on other isolated issues and the coincidence of Montagna being deported to Montreal were a perfect set of circumstances for this war to be set in motion.

Another interesting point of view...

Instead of RICO, Canada has a charge called Gangsterism, however one of the reasons Canadians suck it up and take sentences is because our prisons to a degree are more tame, members of Organized Crime still have vast influence in the system and our sentences are minimal in comparison to those to the south.

Thanks for sharing that and welcome to real life. Can you share other information? Like about Vito Rizzuto.

What would you like to know, thanks for the welcome!

I'm just not sure Vito will still be the man when he gets out of the joint, due to Vito kind of flipping on the people he was involved in the 1981 murders with. Do you think he still will be the Don? He basically dry snitched on himself and others in court before being sentenced.

When Vito was in jail, everybody moved on. If he ever returns in Montreal, there will be a completely different atmosphere. I expect some scores will be settled, but it will never be the same again.

Wow... A comment by Sonny Black that isn't a joke? That's unbelievable (lol). Just messin' with ya.

Thanks for your info and reply, though.

Don't mention it.

Tell that to John Stanfa, all the young Sicilians he brought over in the 90's became rats as fast as they could.

Which Sicillians did Stanfa brought over?

Yeah Gerry Lang. Please tell us which ones.

MUKREMIN!!! You're alive! You're alive! Praise Jesus!! This is truly a Christmas miracle!!

There was talk that maybe, just possibly....well...I won't get into it...

Many did miss ya, Muk. Frosty missed PB, too.

What are you talking about? What talks
i was busy, and still am with overwork this month. And i am ill to.

Rosario Bellochi and Biagio Adornetto, there could have been another one. They were two of the biggest clowns connected to the mafia I ever read about. There ineptness is one of the reason the Merlino faction won the war.

Yep, I do know about those two Sicilian criminals. They are listed on my Philly Chart.

You know what is funny is Nicolo Rizzuto looked like your typical Italian grandpa, happy and full of life, with a big smile. He sure fooled everybody.

That businessman is Tony Magi.

heres a new article about the possible return of Vito in 2012. Interesting to note that law enforcement in Quebec consider Desjardins to be the number 1 guy in Quebec organized crime, and suggest that Montagnas ally Arcuri would be more occupied with just protecting himself these days.





http://fr.canoe.ca/infos/regional/archives/2011/12/20111229-082400.html

Thanks for that article. It sure was in another language before, because it was hard picking up on some of the words in English.

yeah it was in french, and yeah, the translations always suck.

Longstanding Montreal Mafia member Moreno Gallo decided not to fight his deportation to Italy -- in fact, he boarded a plane to Italy today. He was born in Rovito, Calabria.

Link to article:

http://www.montrealgazette.com/Mobster+linked+Montreal+mafia+deported+back+Italy/5946337/story.html

Mobster linked to Montreal mafia deported back to Italy
The Gazette
January 4, 2012 2:41 PM

MONTREAL- Moreno Gallo, a 66-year-old Montreal mobster who did time for a gangland murder, was on his way out of Canada Wednesday, his lawyer confirmed, after giving up his fight against deportation.

Gallo was on his way to Italy of his own accord but under escort of the Canada Border Services Agency, said his lawyer Stephen Fineberg.

“He’s being deported to Italy and from there he’s able to move freely,” Fineberg said, declining to note which city in his birth country Gallo was destined for, not where Gallo untimately plans to settle. “He’s a free man for the first time since 1974.”

[snip]

So I guess we could erase Gallo from the list as one who could succeed as boss in Montreal. Could his decision have something to do with the current situation in Montreal?

On forums like this one, posters often speculate what Italian organized-crime figures were thinking at one time. Or are thinking now. I am no different so I will only speculate.

Gallo's deportation seemed inevitable, even with his attempts to fight it; the article mentions he finally gave up the fight. I'm sure he would rather have stayed in Canada, just as Sal Montagna would have preferred to stay in the US. (And we should recall that, after voluntarily choosing to be deported to Canada and settling in Montreal, Montagna tried through his lawyer to return to the US.)

Now, if we're asking whether Gallo is better off living in Italy, are we asking whether he'll be safer? Happier he'll be out of the fray? Relieved he won't be questioned by Canadian law enforcement about all the murders and attempted murders? Perhaps we should wait to see whether his lawyer will mount a legal challenge to return to Canada, but I doubt the challenge will happen.

With Sal Montagna's murder, Raynald Desjardins's arrest, and Moreno Gallo's deportation, I wonder whether law enforcement now has fewer sources for clues in their investigation of the murders of Paolo Renda, Agostino Cun trera, and Nick Rizzuto Sr. Were Montagna still alive, I doubt whether, if arrested, he would have supplied law enforcement with information about the murders. (But you never know.) Gallo was arrested and put back into detention a week after Montagna's murder; he was also questioned about this murder. So I don't know what to read into Gallo's decision to abandon his deportation battle. If he could have supplied law enforcement with valuable information, would his deportation have been deferred? Or, as I wrote above, is he relieved to be leaving?

Some very nice info, AM.

My hunch was wrong.

Link to article: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2012/01/25/19294266.html

Deported killer wants to return
By QMI Agency
January 25, 2012

MONTREAL — A suspected adviser to the Rizzuto crime family, who agreed to be deported to Italy, has done an about-face and now wants a Federal Court judge to approve his return to Canada.

Moreno Gallo, a convicted murderer and popular baker in Montreal's Little Italy neighbourhood, filed the motion days after his expulsion on Jan. 4.

The Canada Border Services Agency says Gallo has an "active implication in organized crime."

The 66-year-old had said through his lawyer that he'd rather live in Europe than face assassination amid an ongoing purge of top Rizzuto figures.

But in court documents filed in Winnipeg, Gallo says he is known as an upstanding citizen in Montreal, where he immigrated when he was nine years old....

The Rizzuto family is still going a little strong up there in Canada it sounds like.

Though it may not be the Rizzuto organization so much anymore.

It's nobody's organization anymore, it's a mess up there.

can someone tell me how the rizzutofamily is organised? does it have the boss underboss and consigliere?

They don't have a traditional hierarchy like the New York families have. You could compare their hierarchy more with the Chicago Outfit. Originally, the boss of the Montreal mafia was also a caporegime in the Bonanno family. This was during Vic Cotroni's reign. But in later years this became a symbolic status as neither Vito or Nick Rizzuto were officially caporegimes, yet they were in fact the bosses of the Montreal mafia. Sciascia was officially the caporegime, but in actuality served as the laison between the Bonannos and the Rizzutos and acted as the Montreal representative in the Bonanno family.

This is thought to be the administration around 2000.

Boss: Vito Rizzuto
Consigliere: Paolo Renda, Nick Rizzuto
Streetboss: Francesco Arcadi

And then you have other influential members, like:

Rocco Sollecito
Agostino Cun trera
Lorenzo Giorgiano
Francesco Del Balso
Moreno Gallo
Joe Di Maulo
Tony Mucci
Emanuele Ragusa
Raynald Desjardins

...

nobody knows the real strucure since nobody ever flipped in that organization

Granted.

That's a decent "basic" chart. However, Vito Rizzuto was said to be acting as the official boss and his father as an advisor.

Raynald Desjardins

This guy sounds French.... Sure he is a made member of La Cosa Nostra??? He might be half Italian, though.

he's french he's brother-in-law of di maulo

Nope. He's related through marriage to Di Maulo and was close to Vito for some time. He's been a very visible participant in the Montreal scene for some time, its surprising you haven't heard of him.

But is Desjardins a made member or just an associate?

according to mafia rules he couldn't be a made member but the fact he's very close to di maulo makes him important

Not made, kinda doesn't need to be. He's close enough to the right people I guess.

i'm sure that behind him there are the dimaulo's, he couldn't go at war with montagna by himself

He's arrested in the murder case, yeah, but its ludicrous to think that he alone made designs on the top spot. Its the folks he's with, chiefly the Di Maulo, but also the alliances he's formed in decades or more operating in the midst of the Montreal mafia scene. Remember these are all pretty much career criminals we're talking about.

I realise Im agreeing with m2's last three posts. But fuck, the guy has some knowledge, no doubt. Its that bucketload of crazy that goes along with certain aspects.

er.. ?

That's why I said their structure is more similar to the Chicago Outfit, because they have influential non-made associates in high ranks.

Di Maulo would not be sufficient enough to approve of the murder of a made Bonanno member. It could also be that the Bonannos themselves approved of the murder as Montagna became too ambitious.

It could also be that Desjardins and Co. didnt seek approval from anybody. The Sept 16th failed assassination attempt against Desjardins was likely all that was needed for them to start plotting the murder of Sal.

yeah maybe desjardins killed montagna only coz he was scared of his own live,anyway the di maulo's were bonanno members too

And now it is said the Bonannos have put a contract on his head. Moreno Gallo was also warned his life was in danger. Shortly after, he left Canada for Italy.

Thanks for your info Sonny Black.

so what is the rizzuto organisational structure? it doesnt really tell you in mafia inc. i personally believe its an internal warfare between the calabrians and sicilians. just finished the book

The Rizzuto's are still there, just laying low.

This war as really confused me. Who's fighting who a who you think killed montagna?

Shorty, There is so many different mafia groups in Montreal now, you got the Bonanno Family, Rizzuto Family and different Cammora groups operating there. It's hard right now to say who is at war with who. It's a crazy situation.

Montagna's group was fighting Desjardins' group and law enforcement is convinced that Desjardins' people killed Montagna. I think everybody agrees on this.

Desjardin's is a French-Canadian associate for the Rizzuto's, I'm shocked that he is getting away with killing a top made guy in LCN. Or is he getting away with this?

Ok thanks. One thing I learned from mafia inc was that there Deere several Italian clans in Canada. Before I thought rizzutos controlled all of Canada :L

Good point !!

Even though Vito Rizzuto was a made member of the Bonanno family, the Rizzutos have been independent since Geraldo Sciascia was killed and even then they did what they wanted, the Rizzutos haven't been a Bonanno crew in years, this whole idea of bloodshed in New York happening over whats going on in Canada is a load of crap. No one in New York cares because with Sicilians, Calabrians and a whole mess of other criminal organizations there is no money to be made there, plus Rizzuto was never sending tribute to New York anyway and was controlling everything nobody from New York could make a penny up there

Is strange that after the sciacia murder vito said he was a soldier in the bonanno family? Maybe vito when he comes out of jail independently works for the bonannos? But I think he'll retire. He's clever enough to think that

Vito Rizzuto and his father Nicolo are made members of the bonannos technically but not really, Nicolo started out as an associate of the Controni crime family in Montreal who answered to the bonannos, so when his father and him got made it was like getting made in the Bonannos, but after awhile they went independent of both families and did their own things and formed their own family, the Rizzuto family, he won't work for the bonannos, he will go back to Montreal reclaim what's left of his family and kill the people who killed his son and father more than likely

I am still suspect as to whether or not those Deaths, especially Nick Jr's were mafia related.

The Rizzutos are fully initiated members of the Rizzuto-Manno family and I think that after some years they were recognised as made members by the Bonanno family, as is the case with most of the zips I think.

Nicolo Rizzuto is in a gray area, but Vito is a made member of the bonannos, why would they be intiated members of Rizzuto Manno family, they founded their own family called the Rizzuto crime family, they were already made in the Bonnanos when they started doing their own things, which later became independent of the Bonannos

Nick Sr. and Vito were fully initiated members of the Rizzuto-Manno-Cammalleri Clan.

Vito is a full member of the Bonanno crime family, why else would they write the article about him taking over the bonannos if he wasn't even a member the family

Vito Rizzuto, reputed Godfather of a New York Bonanno Crime family faction that morphed into the Sicilian Mafia in Montreal has allegedly vowed to take control of his beat up cosa nostra clan when he gets out of a federal pen in October — and exact murderous revenge on the rivals who rubbed out his father and son while he stewed behind bars, a jailhouse source says.to NY post

Rizzuto, serving 10 years for participating in the notorious“Donnie Brasco” triple homicide in 1981, said “I don’t just want to be godfather of Canada — I want to be godfather of the world,” the source said.

He’s got little to live for, so while locked up at a maximum-security pen in Florence, Colo., he’s been eating vegetarian, staying fit, sharpening his mind with games of pinochle — and plotting his coup, the source said

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/plot_to_become_top_bonanno_zFc4sWR3rbGNnURPnw0sbL

Quote that joke of an article put out by the NY post. Way to go.

Nick Sr. was a made member of the Sicilian Mafia and recognised and accepted into the Bonanno family. I suspect this was also the case with his son Vito, although he may have been 'made' into the Bonanno family before or after he participated in the killing of the three capos.

it could be this business man wit mafia ties is tony magi. he owns a construction company and its common knowledge he and nick jr were in business together building condominiums in city.
i'm from the area, the spot we;re nick was shot is directly across the street from magi's offices. coincidence? its also well know that magi hired ducarme joseph, a local haitian street gang leader as muscle to collect loansharking debts etc. joseph was target of assasination attempt a couple of months later that most believe was retaliation for rizzuto killing. coincidence?

I am new here so don't mean to barge in, but here is the deal. Montreal is to the Bonannos what Rockford is to the Chicago outfit. A crew with a lot of latitude and autonomy. Just like Chicago and Rockford, sometimes the tail wags the dog, that's why some think it is a "sixth family". Trust me on this, Montreal still very much belongs to the Bonannos.

i very much doubt that.

Doubt noted

just wondering how you came to that conclusion. some people believe still a connection, others don't.

It goes all the way back back to the 1960s. As my screen name implies I am an old Buffalo guy and there was a time Montreal was in dispute between Buffalo and the Boneannos. It was settles as part of the deal between Joe Bonanno and Steve Meggadino, (who were cousins)when the two families came close to all out war in 1963-64. Bonnano got Montreal, Buffalo got Toronto, Hamilton and the falls. Montreal was always a satellite used by Bonanno guys for everything from safe houses to washing money. Today the Bonnannos have been ravaged by arrests and indictments in NY, and 9-11 fucked up the easy passage from NY into Canada, but Montreal is at this point, a bigger asset to them than NY. Less heat, and they are the only game in town

i'm from montreal. from everything i've read and researched the relationship between montreal and bonanno's in ny basically ended in the early 2000's.
i dont doubt they would want montreal as an asset, i just dont think it really exists anymore. plus like you said, arrests, tougher border crossing i dont think they have that kinda power anymore. and a former acting bonanno boss (sal montagna) was just whacked up here, from what i can tell new york cant really do anything about it

Would have to disagree there. Even if Montreal is still Bonanno territory, New York is their base.

i agree also, its not like they can just move up here set up shop and everything will be fine

I would not be suprised if this is still the case.

They don't have to as they already did a long time ago.

sonny why do you think bonannos have influence in montreal? just like to see your explanations

Name a source other than Vitale who professes the relationship ended.

A guy who was kept out of the loop on important matters because everyone knew he would rat one day is not a good source.

Montreal is a cash cow and the Bonannos are not going to relinquish control of something as profitable as that just so Massino could kill Sciascia. I can't understand how anyone would think Massino or any Don would give up millions just to kill a guy because he accused TG of being a coke head or killed the son of a made man or whatever other lame reason they say Sciascia was killed for.

for all the "research and reading" you claim to have done,you should be well aware that Montreal has been Bonanno territory for 50 years. Not like they just decided to try and set up shot in 2004 when Vito went away, or in 2006 after project collisee.

they must still have some connections or something the bonannos and the canadians. so mussolini what reason you suspect for sciascia being killed if it wasnt for the graziano thing?

Sciascia wask killed because he was siding with Vito Rizzuto over the Bonannos on issues. After the law enforcement crack downs in America the Rizzutos just became more and more independent and there wasn't really anything Massino could do about it they had their own problems going on. Massino had asked Rizzuto to send down a hit team to kill Robert Perino and he refused, thats when tensions started and Sciascia was the main meditator between Rizzuto and the Bonannos, but he sided with Vito on certain issues and accused Graziano of being high on drugs, so in 1999 Patrick DeFilippo shot Sciascia in the head in John Spirito's SUV

cheers pal!

Are you serious or just messing around..?

i think he means present day. we all know the history from galante in the 50's setting up shop etc thats not in dispute.

In the Epilogue of Mafia Inc. it is stated that law enforcement thought that after Operation Colisee the Bonannos were major players. Which is not suprising considering Montagna's presence until recent.

if they are, and i'm not sayin ur wrong but they cant be all that strong. if they were montagna would still be alive

I think there is a reason why Montagna was supposed to 'disappear' instead of being gunned down on the streets. If he would have just disappeared, it would have been harder to point the finger towards certain people.

what baffles me is why he would agree to go meet at all with all that happened leading up to it (lopresti killed). he should have seen this trap coming from a mile away.

He'll set up a meeting with someone that you absolutely trust, guaranteeing your safety. And at that meeting, you'll be assassinated.

lol. great movie

Guess Montagna should have watched his classics!

obviously lol

yh sonny i meant present day. sorry should of explained better

That's the most intriguing thing I've read re: Montagna getting killed. Either way, it would look like the Di Maulo/Desjardins side. With a disappear job or attempt at it, could it be certain Bonannos sacrificing a lamb for a renewed share with the Calabrians?

FWIW there is an article or 2 floating around out there claiming the reason Desjardins and company were arrested when they were was because there was a Bonanno hit squad looking for them.

Which Calabrians are you talking about?

I guess it would be the DiMaulo sponsored side. The guys aligned with Cotroni in the old days(Sicilians too) that are still alive. They surely still have some connection to the Bonnano. The guys who were recently killed up there seemed to have been a closing of bad accounts to placate another party and not retaliation for Montagna. Then why would Desjardins be at risk? Because him going would almost have to be allowed. Otherwise, the Bonanno presence in this just got sent home, officially.

usually if there is a credible threat they just warn them. it was reported that [BadWord] was warned before he fell, same with nick rizzuto sr. also back in the 80's gotti was warned by fbi when they knew the genovese were planning to hit him. i dont really buy into that theory that they were arrested because they knew a hit squad was out for them

Recent articles state that the murder of Giuseppe Colapelle is related to the murder of Montagna. He was killed because he had provided Desjardins' group with information. I think it would be immensely stupid if he was killed by his own guys in front of their own hangout.

i was just listening to a radio interview that andre cedilot (autor of mafia inc) gave to a local radio station up here in montreal. gave a pretty good broad review of whats going on since nick rizzuto jr was whacked. in that arcuri, montagna, desjardins, di maulo and mirarchi came together and tried to forge somekind of an alliance.

he doesnt give any reason as to why, but says that for some reason montagna started to act arrogantly, big ego etc. desjardins than approached montagna about it in a sitdown, saying something to the effect that that wasnt the arrangement and he needed to back act more reaonable. after that meeting montagna tried to kill desjardins. than desjardins faction than kills montagna. the only two left from the original alliance are di maulo and arcuri. now according to cedilot di maulo doesnt want to be boss, and than arcuri is "terrified" and is in semi hiding. again his words not mine.

looks like its back to we're it started, no leadership.

but its even possible that all this people (montagna, arcuri, mirachi, di maulo, desjardins etc.)were under the supervision of the bonanno's to get ride of rizzuto's who probably were working on their own in the latest years

i think it was just local gangsters with the backing of influential men in hamilton and toronto. after nick jr was killed, thats when things went into high gear, rizzuto enemies saw how weak they were, it was the right time to strike

i doubt it, like all the people involved are in some way or another linked with the bonanno's, dimaulo himself was a bonanno member... i bet that the war between montagna and the other faction was for who's the new bonanno's captain in montreal

i think that has very little to do with it

Both Di Maulo and Desjardins have established ties to the Bonanno family since at least the early 1970s. They accompanied Paolo Violi to represent Montreal's vote for the election of Rastelli in 1973. Di Maulo was a close Cotroni associate since 1960 and has been part of the Montreal decina since. When Vitale met with Vito Rizzuto in Montreal, Di Maulo was also present and later took Vitale with him to introduce him to others. A week before Desjardins faced an attempt on his life he was seen traveling to New York.

we all agree there is long established ties between montreal, ny. my point being i dont think ny has as much influence present day as many seem to believe.

i dont see how can have influence hamilton or toronto, montagna was involved in this war and he was the bonanno's acting boss, the bonanno's are clearly involved

everyone seems to forget that montagna was in montreal only because he was kicked out of the usa by the govt. if it wasnt for legal trouble he woule be in nyc

yes but the war against rizzuto's started suddenly after he was sent there by the americans

not really. i believe he was deported in 2009. was summer 2010 when renda went missing. investigators believe nick rizzuto jr killing had nothing to do with power struggle, was a seperate matter

At this point, it's safe to assume that both NYC and southern Ontario are involved. The Bonnanos still have a presence and desire to connect with Canada, but Ontario also has an interest here.

Montagna made numerous trips to Ontario in 2011 before old Nick was killed.

nick rizzuto jr killing is clearly part of the turf war

wrong, one rogue author stated that once. It has not been corroborated by LE nor do most authors/journalists support this idea.

Who do you think was behind Rizzuto Jr. getting killed? Magi? If not, it definitely put him between a rock and a hard place. I can only imagine a few people knew about that meeting at his office.

One rogue author? You mean André Noël and André Cedilot? And law enforcement believes that the killing of Nick Jr. and Frederico Del Peschio have nothing to do with the other murders.

In Mafia Inc. is it stated that law enforcement thinks that a business man with close mafia ties who felt threatened contracted street gang members to murder Del Peschio and Nick Jr. And there is every reason to believe this business man is Tony Magi.

i highly doubt its not related with the others, tony magi couldn do it on his own theres clearly somebody behind

I doubt and the murder of Vito's son was "unrelated" to Mob business. More so considering Magi is a suspect and has mob ties. Maybe Magi didn't have anything to do with the other murders and more people got on board with the plot after the murder of Nick Jr but Magi would have had powerful people behind him with ulterior motives IMO.

I think he was secretely supported by at least Tony Mucci. One of Magi's bodyguards shared a residence with one of Mucci's bodyguards. I think it was a test to see how the Rizzutos would respond. In any case, the murders of Del Peschio and Nick Jr. are unrelated as the murders of Cun trera and Nick Sr. were organized by other individuals.

I was gonna ask who Magi was with or supported by. Couldn't be just a Haitian gang boss. You could argue the 1st murders were related to the grand scheme of things, if it was testing. It obviously got the ball rolling. Wasn't Mucci spotted in the neighborhood where the Montagna hit went down? He was in the paper up there a lot at the time, but it seemed like other stuff. Maybe LE really had a better reason to keep him off the street. Any bad blood between Rizzuto-Mucci?

my opinion is nick rizzuto jr killing was the catalyst for all the following murders. they're enemies took notice and took over from there

i agree. definately points to magi

i dont believe he was meeting magi at his office when he was hit. he was right across the street leaving his mistress's apartment, magi's company built the apartment complex btw. i'm from the area i was at the exact spot the day after it happened.

The press has stated that he was caught while leaving Magi's office.

no he was leaving an apt across the street.. magi office is across the street, his construction company build the complex. stands to reason magi got nicks girfriend a place there as a favor, he probably knew his comings and goings too

Well I think there is a very sound basis to that speculation Sonny. Do you think Magi had knowledge of what was to follow? Was the assassination attempt on his wife, whom many believe Magi was the intended target before or after the hit on Nick Jr?



I agree with this too.

i'm interested to see where mucci comes out in all of this. havnt hear alot from him except he's been in the news about some gun charges etc, wsa in court last week i think. he's either involved somehow or if he's not he at the very least knows who is

After. And I think Tony Mucci absolutely knows who's behind the turmoil. As a matter of fact I think they all do by now. We are the ones who speculate. They aren't called a 'secret society' for nothing. Tony Mucci is involved in the highest circles of the mafia in Montreal for decades and it very much looks like he's involved in the recent ongoings.

magi didn't do it on himself, behind him there's some mafia member, montagna, mucci or whoever, that's the point, and the murder of nicky jr is related to the others

Do you think it was the Rizzuto faction who tried to take him out, or someone of the insurgent faction like Montanga ?

I really don't know. But whoever was behind it, it was clearly a warning.

it's hard to figure out whats related to what when it comes to magi. there has been attemps on his life before this war started.

I, for one, can't wait for the true story to come out someday, as it almost always does. May not be tomorrow, but eventually somebody flips and cuts a book deal. It will be interesting to see whether this was a complete annihilation attempt on the Rizzuto clan or whether it's more of a Civil war within the Sicilians.

yea same here. although i cant recall any high ranking montreal mobster ever cooperating, chances of that happening are slim.

If Canadian prison sentences ever become as draconian as American prison sentences, I'd expect someone to eventually flip. But that's a pretty big if.

totally agree. i'm from montreal, i did 3months for DUI conviction. the jail are very lenietn up here

really? In the states you wouldn't see jail time for a DUI unless it was like your 3rd offense. As much as the system is more lenient in canada it seems they are more serious about crimes like DUI, DWI or any driving offense.

very rarely would someone in Canada go to jail for a first time DUI unless they hit and killed or injured someone.

looks like Scarcella is getting out this week...

Story Here

If vito doesn't get extradited to Italy and Francesco Del Balso, Lorenzo Giordano, and Francesco Arcadi all get parolled this year (which they are eligible for) you could certainly see the rizzuto clan take the reigns again.

I think New Yorkers have nothing to kill the do in montreal, it's a Canadian thing, me and a friend, jurgen wrote red a book about the 'Ndrangheta in Germany and I know the Calabrians have very great interest in canada in toronto gta and montreal, Salvatore montagna and the street gangs and the unfortunate Sicilian now had the chance to destroy rizzutos, and when released from prison vito he is delivered safely to Italy, greeting MG

I doubt he will be immediately transfered to Italy. He has the right to fight his extradition and has access to the best lawyers around.

that may well be but I think that he will be killed if he returns to montreal. The 'Ndrangheta of Calabria from toronto wants to take over the drug trade from montreal. You know already that the 'Ndrangheta in Canada from Italy in controlling everything is controlled from Italy. new york has nothing to do with the murder, except Salvatore Montagna.

sorry for my bad english

One of the theories is that Montagna aligned himself with Calabrian clans from Toronto which is quite interesting. Another theory is that New York was cleaning house in conjunction with the remnants of the old Cotroni faction, which seems more likely.

yes the crew cotroni some may have as to do with thinking, but if the new yorker families are involved it is not so out of hand I would think the new yorker would have enough money and power to stop the war and the rizzutos off.

many new are yorker mobster most did not know also think the FBI does not, therefore, the mobster who are not in public, not shooting and the murders but the collar in white in manhattan business do have enough power to make the Rizuttos finished

It's most likely a bit of both from what it seems. A collaboration between Toronto, NYC and old Cotroni members to get rid of the Rizzuto leadership.

The whole project seemed to be spearheaded by Montagna.

yes but do not think it was led by Montagna, but from other people of new york city

It's hard to pin point one person behind this whole fiasco, but the Bonnanos and other NYC elements definitely have a hand in all of this.

If New York has a hand in it, it would be only very slight because if you think about all the informants on the street and there is probably at least one made member of not just the Bonannos but all of the 5 families who are rats at the moment and the fact that the FBI has wiretaps,surviellance and millions of dollars put into fighting the mob, they would have heard about it by now. Plus this would be spreading like wildfire through the New York underworld if they had even a minimal role this would be the biggest thing the Bonannos have done in decades

Not necessarily. If the main faction of the Bonanno's behind the Montreal "house cleaning project" doesn't have a rat then how would they know? The other rats can only speculate.

And while the NY families certainly share common business ventures they don't broadcast to the other families about everything they are involved in or planning.

Whoever in the Bonannos who are behind this or even if they are, they would have to get permission from the upper heirarchy of the family and the capos would be approached about it, one crew in the family can't drag the whole family into a war and after the Colombos I'm pretty sure they don't want to go to war and also the top echelon of the Bonannos are under the most pressure from law enforcement so they would have found out by now

People seem to easily overlook that the Bonannos have men of their own in Montreal. So it doesn't necessarily have to be guys from New York. I do think Montagna was one of the main organizers, if not the main organizer.

I agree that Montagna played a main part in this. I was mainly saying that some people put too much stock in that the whole Bonanno family is behind it and trying to take over. But also a curious question is how close are the Bonannos in Montreal to those in New York? Vito has been in Canada, he never lived in the US so how connected is he to the U.S wiseguys. Some people in this discussion have said things like its a guy in Manhattan pulling the strings behind this and stuff like that.

For those who believe in the New York cleaning house theory:

I think its mostly canadian oc groups responsible because for the Bonannos the risk outweighs the gain and an interesting question is why now, why not in the late 90s when Vito first started going some what independent and the bonannos where a hell of alot stronger then. The Bonannos today have a little over 100 made guys with about 40-60 active on the street after you take out those who are in prison which to go to war would bring heat and Rizzuto has about that many guys to do his bidding. If they did decide to clean house the whole family would have been notified, all the capos and many soldiers and the other 5 families would find out including informants and the FBI would know about it

What I meant is that local guys who are connected to the Bonanno family had organized the take-over with approval from New York. Montagna was obviously New York's representative.

I also think it was the same assassin that killed Agostino Cun trera, Nick Sr. and carried out the attempt on Desjardins.

Forgive me if this idea or thought rather may have already been said. I tried to check through all the pages but so far I've come up with nothing.

I've been viewing these forums for a little over the greater part of a few months now but have yet to make an account until now when I felt my thoughts could be of some relevance.

Anyway, let me get on with it. With the April 11th release of Scarcella (and his associate a few days later) does anyone suspect he may be next on the hit attempt list? He is a main player in Toronto and has aligned himself closely with the Rizzutos to the point where people may see him as a threat and decide to take him out as soon as possible?

If that's the case and Scarcella does indeed get killed I think it's safe to say that when Rizzuto gets released it's not a long shot that he may be next. He may not be so untouchable like most people think he is.

Again, I apologize if it's been said and/or I've done something that is against the grain here. Thank you.

That's a good question. I think it's also telling if Scarcella will not be killed. The coming months may very well become extremely interesting.

The death's of Nick Sr. and Montagna have proven that nobody is untouchable anymore, including Vito Rizzuto.

I don't see how and why Scarcella would be eliminated. If anything he's a close link between the Siderno Group and the Sicilians in Toronto.

So far there's been no bloodshed in the GTA.

And Vito Rizzuto is godfather to his daughter.

Bonannos are not the1s killing people in canada. They have no reason to listen to new York.not1 rat from the rizzuto group so why would they align again with a family who's longtime leader just flipped.Massino even said its basically over. between them

After they wacked out George "from Canada" the Bonanno's and Rizzuto's went their own way...