Dave,

I missed your post above. Sorry.

I don't have any profound insights into the murders of Raposo and Patriarca, as there were many articles, published about both killings, that contained information about the links each of them had to other criminals and, of course, to each other.

We all know who the four suspects in the Raposo murder are: Nick Nero, Rabih (Robby) Al Khalil, Martino Caputo, and Dean Wiwchar (the shooter).

Nero has ties to the Hells in Niagara Falls, Ontario (but is not a biker himself) and, at the time of his being charged in the Raposo murder, was already in prison as a result of the Project Ink investigation(s) into cocaine smuggling/trafficking.

Al Khalil has ties to Shane Maloney of Montreal's West End Gang and to the British Columbia Hells Angel Larry Amero--all three were already facing cocaine smuggling/trafficking charges and all were working in Montreal. Al Khalil is likely an associate of Amero.

Caputo and his twin brother, Antonio, at times when both have been based in Toronto, had long been known to be associates of Vito Rizzuto; Martino, the one charged in Raposo's murder, has been in the news more often. Martino had ties to the missing-and-never-been-found Giuseppe (Joe) Renda, as both were caught up in the Montreal Mafia-tied gambling-ring bust in Ontario in the early 2000s. Martino, who has been described as Nero's right-hand man and was also caught up in the Project Ink investigation(s), was also charged at the same time that Liborio Cun-trera and Marco Pizzi were in relation to phase 3 of Project Clemenza, which investigated cocaine importation (about 220 kg smuggled from the US into Canada via commercial vehicles).

Wiwchar has roots in British Columbia and just recently lost an appeal on firearms convictions he faced in that province.

Raposo was described in one or two articles as a former associate of Nero and Caputo, which suggests a possible fallout. I'm fairly certain Raposo's murder had more to do with his drug-related criminal activity than with illegal gambling--mention had been made in one or two articles that Raposo may have had unpaid debts, and his connection to Caputo does then raise the question about illegal gambling.

As to how Raposo may have connections to GTA Siderno Group members, my guess is that Raposo (Portuguese-Canadian) could have been introduced to the 'ndranghetisti in the GTA by the much older Eddie Melo (former well-known Canadian boxer, killed in 2001, who never actually obtained his Canadian citizenship after arriving in Canada from Portugal as a young boy). Melo, who was a driver for Frank Cotroni Sr. whenever the latter was in Toronto in the 1980s and 1990s, was actually identified in a Calabrian document in the early 1990s as a member of the Siderno Group--I can double check the date of the document when I get home if anyone is interested; the mention of this document is made in Peter Edwards and Antonio Nicaso's Deadly silence: Canadian mafia murders. Melo and Raposo's friendship was mentioned in an article or two. My guess is that Raposo may have been involved in distribution of drugs imported by Siderno Group members.

Patriarca, who was at the ice cream patio when Raposo was killed, was hit by a stray bullet that day. But the media didn't know anything or much at all about Patriarca's criminal ties at the time--as a victim, he wasn't even identified. Only later did the information come out about Patriarca and Raposo knowing each other, as well as Patriarca's being overheard on Project Colisée wiretaps.

So did Patriarca set up Raposo, as has been theorized? If yes, does it necessarily follow that Patriarca was killed because of the setup? If no, are their murders still unrelated or are they in fact still related because the same people who wanted Raposo dead also wanted Patriarca dead? The possibilities regarding motives are endless, but I still think that, as I wrote in the other thread, both killings could be related to tensions between Montreal and the GTA Siderno Group before and after Rizzuto died toward the end of 2013.