Originally Posted By: Sonny_Black
Originally Posted By: antimafia
Originally Posted By: Sonny_Black
Seems to be a revenge killing that could be related back to Vito Rizzuto's return in 2012.


I think you're right. I also think that a lot of the murders during certain periods of the war are revenge killings. Which could mean more retaliatory attacks, a recent example of which might be the two attacks on Solid Gold, which was Moreno Gallo's old stomping grounds; other future retaliatory attacks, of course, would be more murders that have yet to be avenged.


Are you suggesting that the attacks on Solid Gold were retaliatory attacks by the old Rizzuto group for recent murders or do I misinterpret?

It seems like we have as much clue on who's behind this as we did in 2010. Apparantly people are bringing up old theories like Paolo Violi's sons trying to take over, which I'm extremely sceptic about. I think a more viable theory is that Arcadi is making a powerplay with backing from Ontario. A more frightning theory is that Giordano, Arcadi and Sollecito were on the same side and are being killed off by another group. It feels too convenient thinking about people loyal to Desjardins and De Vito. It also seems like the old Di Maulo-Cotroni group is still on good terms with the 'Sicillians' because Carmine Vanelli was seen at Sollecito's funeral, but that may not mean much.


Two pages back I posted a link to Daniel Renaud's October 4 article about the Solid Gold attacks. Here's the story link in case you haven't read the article:

http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/justic...s-criminels.php

According to the article, a source revealed that after Gallo's murder, Solid Gold passed into Stefano Sollecito's hands. The article also mentions that this information has not been corroborated by police. If the source's information is accurate, maybe one or more people close to Gallo were behind the attacks for a number of reasons, e.g., anger over Gallo's murder, resentment arising from losing the establishment.

If the information isn't accurate, the attacks may have been committed by people who were upset with Gallo's having sided with Montagna.

Toward the end of the article is the suggestion that because of the Solid Gold attacks, law enforcement will be looking into whether and how the murders of Rocco Sollecito and Moreno Gallo are related.

You don't have to read the rest of my post because you will have previously read my thoughts on the 'ndrangheta operating in the Greater Toronto Area.

Below I've quoted from Nick Rose's July 27, 2015 article for VICE News, "With Sicilian Mafia in Rapid Decline, Just Who Is Running the Mob in Montreal?"

With the rise of Haitian street gangs, the imminent release of numerous Hells Angels from prison, and rival Italian factions, there is no shortage of conspiracy theories surrounding Vito Rizzuto's replacement. Chief among those theories is that the Ontario-based Calabrian mafia, also known as the 'Ndrangheta, is moving in and getting revenge after having been violently pushed out of the city by Vito's father in the 1970s.

But this line of thinking is deeply flawed, said RCMP Staff Sergeant Chris Knight, because it assumes that Vito Rizzuto can even be replaced.

"No one's got the credibility, no one's got the clout and certainly no one has the charisma that Vito Rizzuto had—and I've met him—to make allies out of enemies. No one has that right now," Knight told VICE.

Knight has been with the RCMP for 34 years and works with local, provincial and international law enforcement to monitor organized crime in Quebec. His squad has seen no sign of rival Italian gangs moving to replace the Rizzuto's, as certain media and observers have speculated.

"We haven't seen attempts or power moves from Hamilton or Toronto on establishments or persons here. And we haven't received any information on the street to that effect either. It's a myth. I've always heard these things about New York and Toronto controlling Montreal but nothing could be further from the truth."

Antonio Nicaso agrees. He has authored 27 books about organized crimes and acted as a consultant for the government on these matters. In his most recent book Business or Blood he writes extensively about the final years of Rizzuto's life and the implications of a post-Vito world.


I think most of us realize that law-enforcement officials, whether active or retired, have conflicting opinions about various facets of the Montreal mob war, e.g., the roots, the causes, the factions, the behind-the-scenes players, and so on. The same can be said about organized-crime authors and crime reporters, who when writing their books and articles about the Montreal Mafia are citing the aforementioned officials.

I can't and won't dismiss the very real possibility that, a number of years ago, there were individuals in the Siderno Group in the Greater Toronto Area--not just the leaders--who supported and actively contributed to a toppling of the Montreal Mafia hierarchy. But my opinion is that there wasn't unanimous agreement in the GTA Siderno Group about attempting a takeover, providing support to Vittorio Mirarchi (and others?), and severing ties with the Rizzuto organization (with Vito in particular); I am sure there were many other areas of disagreement. A divided GTA Siderno Group is not only plausible but also very likely, given the internal frictions since mid-2008 that have been documented by antindrangheta investigators in Calabria and law-enforcement officials in the GTA (and you might include here the high-profile murder of Carmine Verduci in April 2014 if you don't think it was an act of Vito's revenge). If you look at the fate of some of the seven leaders of the GTA Siderno Group since their names were revealed in the arrest warrants of the 2010 Operazione Il Crimine antindrangheta operation, you would be right to wonder whether there have been shifts in the balance of power in the camera di controllo of the GTA Siderno Group and who has replaced the more influential individuals not on the board, i.e., Carmelo Bruzzese and Verduci. The Project OPhoenix investigation that culminated in June of last year either reveals a reorganization in the GTA Siderno Group (Verduci and Pino Ursino were said to head their own groups) or muddies the waters. In any event, I think that there were leaders in the GTA Siderno Group who took a shot at trying to influence events in Montreal, ultimately failed, and then worried about getting clipped after Vito got out of prison and even after he died. If you believe the GTA Siderno Group took an active role in killing Paolo Renda, Agostino Cun-trera, and Nick Rizzuto Sr. for the purpose of taking over Montreal, you have to stop writing how low-profile the 'ndrangheta in the GTA is. Or that the GTA Siderno Group in Ontario is not prone to violence the way the Montreal Mafia is in Quebec.

Many people overestimate the power of the GTA Siderno Group here in Canada--and this comes from me, someone who has researched this group more than any other Canadian crime group--not understanding that this group has had to interact with American LCN and Sicilian CN groups in Canada and the US for approximately 60 years at this point. A good part of this interaction has involved respecting protocols and territories of operation; a good chunk of the interaction has been criminal collaboration. The GTA Siderno Group is not some exotic drug-trafficking criminal group. Some of its leaders have been engaged in loansharking for more than 40 years.