9. A kill-or-be-killed scenario in which the Iavarone group decided it had to kill Angelo Musitano because a member of the group owed Angelo a large gambling debt and was being squeezed by Angelo for a stake in the group's gambling activities. (A still very credible theory as to why Pat and Angelo Musitano arranged to have Papalia killed is the large gambling debt Pat owed Johnny.)
Edwards article said: "Prior to his death, Musitano was owed money from a man involved in gambling who worked for New York State mobsters, a source said." Assuming NYS mobsters is another term for Buffalo Mob in this article---like it seems to me---Did Iavarone's group work for Buffalo mob which was running this gambling ring?
Let's quote more extensively from Edwards's article:
Some of Iavarone’s underworld ties were south of the border, sources said.
“The recently deceased had ties to New York,†a former police investigator said.
“Buffalo factions of Traditional Organized Crime are not ‘in’ Canada per se, but historically have controlled aspects of Canadian ‘family business’ and do get kickbacks from profits from illicit activity,†Manning said.
Prior to his death, Musitano was owed money from a man involved in gambling who worked for New York State mobsters, a source said.
When he demanded payment or a piece of the gambling operation, he was murdered by a crew of Niagara Region men connected to the gambler, the sources said.
None of the men involved in the Angelo Musitano murder were actual mob members, leaving them vulnerable to retaliation, the source said.
They have already been cut astray by the New York mob, a police source said.
“They have no backing,†the source said. _______________
Did Iavarone have ties to numerous criminals in the US? only to the Italian underworld in the US? only to the Buffalo underworld? only to a New York City mafia family?
Was the former police investigator being precise when he said Iavarone "had ties to New York"? Or was the source being careful not to mention Buffalo by generally saying "New York" so as to refer to the whole state?
Is Albert Iavarone the gambler who worked for New York State mobsters? Was he related to the gambler? Were the two of them part of the same crime group?
We now know the names of three individuals charged in the murder of Angelo Musitano. Were these three the ones who were cut astray by the New York mob? by mobsters in Buffalo? Were these three individuals in the same crime group as Iavarone? Did Iavarone lose backing by the New York mob? by mobsters in Buffalo?
