https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/...lence-qui-frappe-la-mafia-ontarienne.phpHAMILTON
QUEBECKERS INVOLVED IN THE OUTBREAK OF VIOLENCE AGAINST THE ONTARIO MAFIA
VINCENT LAROUCHE AND DANIEL RENAUD
LA PRESSE
Four Montrealers have been charged with a violent assault on the family of a mafia leader in Hamilton. Their arrest comes in the midst of a bloody fight in the Ontario Mafia, a battle in which Quebec organized crime actors may have interests.
Charles-Olivier Boucher-Savard, 29, Martine Villeneuve, 27, Jonathan Monette, 24, and his father, Marc Monette, 53, appeared at the Hamilton Court House on charges of attempted murder on members unidentified family Luppino-Violi, important mafia clan of the region.
All the accused are residents of Montreal. In the past,
Boucher-Savard and Villeneuve have already been described as Hells Angels' relationships in police investigations in Quebec.
AGGRESSION
A year ago, in April 2018, the three men of the group allegedly broke into the home of a Luppino family member in the Hamilton area. According to the local newspaper Hamilton Spectator , the house belongs to Natale Luppino, one of the leaders of the Luppino-Violi clan.
One family member at home was stabbed, while another managed to flee and alert the neighbors. Quebeckers fled and the injured person was treated.
Questioned by La Presse , detective Peter Thorn of the Hamilton police confirmed yesterday that the attack was related to the criminal activities of the mafia family Luppino.
"I think that's one of the things that's going on in the Hamilton area and the greater Toronto area," he said in reference to the Mafia outbreak in Ontario.
Two other municipal police forces in the Queen City area identified the band of Quebecers as an active group in the area that could be linked to acts of violence involving organized crime and which had Hamilton on their trail.
Detective Peter Thorn says that the exact reason for the attack is not yet known. Two searches were conducted in Montreal with the help of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), in a residence and a car used by Marc Monette.
EVENTS OF RARE VIOLENCE
Murders and attempted murder have been happening at a fast pace in mafia circles in Ontario for some time. The two mafia clans who had kept their upper hand on the Hamilton area since the 60s and 70s, the Musitano and Luppino-Violi, were affected.
"It's more violence than we've seen in decades. It's hard to follow. And the created void is bigger than the one we've seen for decades, "says Stephen Metelsky, a recently retired police officer who investigated the Violi family and now teaches criminology in Hamilton.
Last week, Pat Musitano, suspected of being the leader of the Musitano clan, was wounded by several shots. He survived. His brother Angelo was murdered two years ago.
In January, Cece Luppino, nephew of Natale Luppino, was murdered at the residence of his father, Rocco, another notorious mafia. And in September, a real estate agent believed to be associated with the Mafia was killed at his home near Niagara.
Historically, the Musitano have been close allies of Montreal godfather Vito Rizzuto, whose authority extended throughout Canada until his death in 2013.
The Luppino-Violi, for their part, include brothers Domenico and Giuseppe Violi, bred in Montreal. Their father, Paolo Violi, was one of the leaders of the Montreal Mafia until he was eliminated during the Rizzuto clan's takeover in 1978. The Violi sons were then sent to Ontario, where they had kinship (their mother was a Luppino). Both are now incarcerated for drug trafficking.
SPORT BETS
Police have told La Presse that illegal sports betting, in particular, is the bone of contention that agitates all these groups.
According to some sources, the dispute over the last few months would involve new players, including Hells Angels from Ontario and Quebec.
"We see Ontario Hells Angels meet people in Montreal. Quebec Hells Angels are influential in Ontario. We do not know exactly what is going on, but there is something going on now, "said one of our informants, who requested anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the media.
"There are a lot of Quebecers right now who are used to contract in Ontario. To go there to commit crimes, they must have the green light and an order. "
- One of our informants
"Before, it was easier to know what was happening within organized crime, but today there are so many alliances that it is much more complicated," continues our source.
"People come from Quebec to do jobs there. There are people from Quebec who are interested in what is happening in Ontario, "added another source.
Sports betting has always been very lucrative for criminal organizations. The evidence accumulated during the Colisée survey in the early 2000s revealed that in just one year, the Montreal Rizzuto clan had made profits of 27 million with the bets.
In 2013, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) dismantled an illegal mob and Hells Angels betting network in Toronto that had an antenna in Montreal.
IMPACTS OUTSIDE ONTARIO
Stephen Metelsky believes it is too early to point out a leader of the current wave of violence. The future will tell who will come out weakened and who will come out stronger.
"With the weakening of the two traditional organized crime families in Hamilton, there is an opening for an outside group that would like to make a breakthrough in this strategic region near Toronto and the United States," says the former investigator.
Pierre De Champlain, a retired RCMP analyst, also believes that these clashes will have repercussions in the other provinces.
"Ontario is currently a battlefield between two or three factions and a winner will eventually emerge. There is a metamorphosis in Canada and we will see new actors appear, "he predicts.
And between Ontario and Quebec, "there are partitions, but it's not hermetic," he adds.