Originally Posted By: SinatraClub
Oh shit. So it's looking like it's back to the basics after all with the Cotroni-Rizzuto group going head to head for control of the Montreal Mafia. At least thats what it looks like.


That was always the case, even when this whole thing started, it's just that people got confused because Montagna was in the picture and for a split second people thought that perhaps the Bonnanos were making a come back, when the truth was that Montagna was simply deported and he had no other choice but to get involved in Montreal to stay relevant. The mistake he made was he underestimated the power Desjardins had, he also thought that his Bonnano status actually meant something to these guys when the reality was that it did not matter much. He would have fared better if he just stuck with the alliance he made with the Cotroni guys and just be part of them, I mean he still would've been targeted by Vito once he got out but he would have had a better chance of surviving and staying relevant in the game had he stuck with those guys.

Anyways, while the picture does involve other external factors such as the Toronto Calabrian clans and the Contrera-Caruana clan, the root of the problem goes back to the beef between Nicolo Rizzuto and Paolo Violi, plain and simple. When the Rizzuto family took out the Violi brothers the Montreal group was still under the Bonnano banner. The Bonnanos gave the OK because Nicolo Rizzuto was heavily connected and close to the Sicilians, who were not only the main importers of narcotics, but also at the top of their game, this was a time where the Sicilian LCN was the most powerful Mafia out of Italy, not the 'Ndrangheta, it was also a time where the American LCN was declining heavily, so the Bonnanos basically did not want to risk messing with the Rizzutos nor did they want to lose the cash they were bringing in. Vic Cotroni had no choice but to give his blesssing, he was an old man and just wanted peace, if it meant taking out his protege so be it, the Rizzutos were way too powerful and were on their way to becoming the most powerful group out of Canada. Once the Violis were out, the Rizzuto faction stopped the war because the Cotronis backed out peacefully and agreed to give them the leadership of the group.

When the Rizzutos took over, Nicolo focused on his Sicilian connections and importing narcotics out of South America, while Vito was left to control the group in Montreal. At the time Southern Ontario (Toronto and Hamilton) was pretty much under the control of the Buffalo Mob, independent families did operate there of course such as the Calabrian clans of Toronto along the Luppinos and Musitanos out of Hamilton, but everyone played by the rules of Stefano Magaddino. Well when the Rizzutos took over, Magaddino was gone and the American LCN was pretty much in decline. The first move out of Montreal was to simply recruit Peter Scarcella and have him be their main representative in Toronto, those of you who don't know Scarcella, he was a Sicilian mobster that at one point was the driver for Paul Volpe, a Toronto mobster that was a made guy in the Buffalo Mob. Volpe was only a solider but he did have his own crew in Toronto so he was considered somewhat of a boss, when he got killed, it was Scarcella that took over that group which still exists today I believe. With Scarcella representing Vito in Toronto, and the Contrera-Caruana clan also operating there, the Rizzuto influence over the city was set. Their next sight was Hamilton, though this was a tougher task since John Papalia was actually a capo and he had a whole crew that was powerful there, also the Luppinos operated there who were Rizzuto enemies since Paolo Violi was married to the daughter of don Giacomo Luppino. So it seems like the Rizzutos waited til the 90's to make their move, this was a time where the Musitano family was rising, the Papalias and the Luppinos were declining, so Vito likely gave the order to take out the heads of the Papalia crew and pretty much made the Musitanos as his representives in Hamilton.

Business was good until Vito went to jail, but I should also say that going to jail or not this war would have still happened, why? Because of Violi's sons, plain and simple. These guys are pretty much the heads of the Luppino family in Hamilton, they're young and hungry for revenge and power, they're the main culprit of this whole war. They have good relations with the Toronto clans who are pretty much the most powerful today, they're backing the Cotroni group because their dad was in that faction, and they're likely driving the Musitanos out of power in Hamilton. If Leonardo Rizzuto wants a target, it should be these guys, I mean he may still have to deal with the Cotroni loyalists in Montreal, but so long as the Violis live, they'll always take out any Rizzuto man standing.

A good question is where does Arcadi stand in all of this? There was rumors that when he gets out he was going to make a run for it and take power away from this new leadership table. Seeing how Cotroni loyalists are taking anyone that was connected to Vito out, Acradi should rethink his plans carefuly, he's probably better off joining up with Rizzuto/Sollecito if he wants to survive, because I'm not sure the other side is interested in having him.

Last edited by BronaZora; 12/15/16 08:36 PM.