by antimafia » Thu Aug 13, 2020 3:50 pm
^^^^
Keep in mind that Morena's induction ceremony is not the first time that the RCMP has been successful in videotaping such a ceremony.
Giovanni Persichetti was an undercover RCMP officer when, in 1985, he managed to get initiated into an 'ndrangheta cell in London, Ontario. Journalist Peter Edwards has written that Persichetti was inducted in the back of a greasy spoon. Academic and organized-crime writer Stephen Schneider wrote in Iced..., in relation to the case that was being built on 'ndrangheta members Sam and John Zangari, that "[t]hree separate ceremonies, held in a high-rise apartment in the city, were captured on police videotape."
I'm quite aware that many posters on these various organized-crime forums point to the RCMP's policing activities as being ineffectual, and the RCMP itself lackadaisical, in the fight against organized crime. I would argue that, actually, the RCMP uses aggressive, unethical stings in a number of policing activities, especially in cold-case homicides--the agency has been roundly criticized by its counterparts in other countries for its investigative techniques.
This desire to have Morena's induction ceremony videotaped was obviously used by Canadian law enforcement and Canadian prosecutors to build a much stronger case against the Violi brothers, and I'm not sure how the videotape has helped American authorities in their prosecution against Zummo et al. While a videotaped ceremony satisfies the insatiable curiousity that we posters have about the inner workings of a secret society and offers opportunities for more nuanced discussions on a number of topics, the reality is that the mobsters who were friendly with Morena, spoke with him, talked with him while he was recording them, and inducted him are at risk of being punished and maybe even killed one day--and as we all know, it isn't always necessarily the violation of the mob's "principles" in situations like this that is the basis for such punishment or death but, rather, the violation is used as a pretext by one mobster to get rid of another mobster he really doesn't like.
Domenico Violi was still a Buffalo soldier when Morena was inducted in November 2015. The Buffalo Family leadership in the Niagara region would have been his uncles who had risen to the position of captain; yet we don't have any proof that the Luppinos were there for the ceremony. If a made Domenico Violi and a perhaps nonmade Giuseppe Violi were more influential than Buffalo Family captains--so much so that the Violis were invited to the ceremony--this is telling.
We don't know whether Giuseppe Violi was on record with Buffalo or the Bonannos at that point, but a number of us have deduced that, based on the DOJ's November 9, 2017 release re: the coordinated Canadian-American takedown, that he either stayed a Buffalo associate or eventually was made into the Buffalo Family.
Sal Montagna, by meeting with a nonmade Domenico Violi in Ontario many years ago, obviously laid tracks that the Bonannos in New York were able to use to make inroads into Hamilton. I wrongly asserted that the mention of the induction ceremony in Anna Sergi's June 2018 article meant that the Violi brothers had obviously been made into the Bonanno Family. Still, it would make sense that before Montagna was killed in November 2011, he could have promised Bonanno membership to the Violis and to certain people in Montreal, such as Domenico Arcuri.
Sergi's article states the following on p. 4, and I'm wondering what is meant by Morena "later introducing others to the Bonanno group":
For example, Project OTremens court filings detail how an undercover agent became a member of the Bonanno family, with law enforcement recording the induction ceremony and the agent later introducing others to the Bonanno group.
I'm not sure whether this needs to jibe with Domenico Violi's offering to introduce Morena to Arcadi, Mucci, and Frankie Cotroni Jr.--that was in September 2016. Maybe it's the case that Morena, a made man since November 2015, could actually introduce Violi to Bonanno members in New York and in Montreal? I don't know the answer, but something doesn't sit right.
^^^^
Keep in mind that Morena's induction ceremony is not the first time that the RCMP has been successful in videotaping such a ceremony.
Giovanni Persichetti was an undercover RCMP officer when, in 1985, he managed to get initiated into an 'ndrangheta cell in London, Ontario. Journalist Peter Edwards has written that Persichetti was inducted in the back of a greasy spoon. Academic and organized-crime writer Stephen Schneider wrote in [i]Iced...[/i], in relation to the case that was being built on 'ndrangheta members Sam and John Zangari, that "[t]hree separate ceremonies, held in a high-rise apartment in the city, were captured on police videotape."
I'm quite aware that many posters on these various organized-crime forums point to the RCMP's policing activities as being ineffectual, and the RCMP itself lackadaisical, in the fight against organized crime. I would argue that, actually, the RCMP uses aggressive, unethical stings in a number of policing activities, especially in cold-case homicides--the agency has been roundly criticized by its counterparts in other countries for its investigative techniques.
This desire to have Morena's induction ceremony videotaped was obviously used by Canadian law enforcement and Canadian prosecutors to build a much stronger case against the Violi brothers, and I'm not sure how the videotape has helped American authorities in their prosecution against Zummo [i]et al[/i]. While a videotaped ceremony satisfies the insatiable curiousity that we posters have about the inner workings of a secret society and offers opportunities for more nuanced discussions on a number of topics, the reality is that the mobsters who were friendly with Morena, spoke with him, talked with him while he was recording them, and inducted him are at risk of being punished and maybe even killed one day--and as we all know, it isn't always necessarily the violation of the mob's "principles" in situations like this that is the basis for such punishment or death but, rather, the violation is used as a pretext by one mobster to get rid of another mobster he really doesn't like.
Domenico Violi was still a Buffalo soldier when Morena was inducted in November 2015. The Buffalo Family leadership in the Niagara region would have been his uncles who had risen to the position of captain; yet we don't have any proof that the Luppinos were there for the ceremony. If a made Domenico Violi and a perhaps nonmade Giuseppe Violi were more influential than Buffalo Family captains--so much so that the Violis were invited to the ceremony--this is telling.
We don't know whether Giuseppe Violi was on record with Buffalo or the Bonannos at that point, but a number of us have deduced that, based on the DOJ's November 9, 2017 release re: the coordinated Canadian-American takedown, that he either stayed a Buffalo associate or eventually was made into the Buffalo Family.
Sal Montagna, by meeting with a nonmade Domenico Violi in Ontario many years ago, obviously laid tracks that the Bonannos in New York were able to use to make inroads into Hamilton. I wrongly asserted that the mention of the induction ceremony in Anna Sergi's June 2018 article meant that the Violi brothers had obviously been made into the Bonanno Family. Still, it would make sense that before Montagna was killed in November 2011, he could have promised Bonanno membership to the Violis and to certain people in Montreal, such as Domenico Arcuri.
Sergi's article states the following on p. 4, and I'm wondering what is meant by Morena "later introducing others to the Bonanno group":
[i]For example, Project OTremens court filings detail how an undercover agent became a member of the Bonanno family, with law enforcement recording the induction ceremony and the agent later introducing others to the Bonanno group.[/i]
I'm not sure whether this needs to jibe with Domenico Violi's offering to introduce Morena to Arcadi, Mucci, and Frankie Cotroni Jr.--that was in September 2016. Maybe it's the case that Morena, a made man since November 2015, could actually introduce Violi to Bonanno members in New York and in Montreal? I don't know the answer, but something doesn't sit right.