THE BLACK HAND FORUM

antimafia wrote: ↑Thu Sep 20, 2018 9:30 am

Clark wrote: ↑Thu Sep 20, 2018 8:34 am That was one of the better news conferences that I have seen. They must be pretty confident with the information that they have. I think a lot will come out of this.

I'm cross-posting here.

My notes:

- Jabril Hassan Abdalla was arrested at home yesterday at around 3:00 pm. He lives in Hamilton and is from Hamilton.

- Michael Cudmore and Daniel Mario Tomassetti are at large. There are Canada-wide warrants for their arrest, and law enforcement here will try to get the warrants endorsed internationally -- Interpol was mentioned.

- The three individuals were involved in different ways in the murder of Angelo Musitano and attempted murder of Saverio "Sam" Serrano (one of Diego Serrano's three sons; you'll recall that the latter attempt, which was botched, resulted in the murder of Saverio's girlfriend, Mila Barberi). One of the three is believed to be the shooter in both murders. All three were likely doing the bidding of higher-ups in an Italian organized-crime group, i.e., the three were not the masterminds. The three engaged in sophisticated surveillance not only of the intended targets but of the intended targets' families. Cudmore, who is believed to be missing (as opposed to at large), is a friend of criminal Daniele "Danny" Ranieri.

- Ranieri was considered to be a person of interest in both murder plots. Were he still alive, he would still be a person of interest. You see, Ranieri, one of the people on which Project Forza was focused in December 2014, was found murdered in a ditch in Cancún, Mexico this past March. He had been bound and gagged. You'll recall that he was an associate of Spanish-born Juan Ramon Fernandez, aka Joe Bravo, who as a well-known associate of Vito Rizzuto, died in a shocking manner in Casteldaccia, just outside of Palermo, when he and friend Fernando Pimentel of Mississauga, Ontario were found burned and shot. You' may also reecall that while in Sicily, Fernandez was heard saying in audio surveillance something along the lines of, They better not touch Danny. After Fernandez was murdered, there was speculation that Ranieri would take over the former's "crew" in the Greater Toronto Area, which was considered to have ties to Rizzuto and the Montreal Mafia.

- Peter Edwards did report this past July that Ranieri was not found dead in Mexico last December -- see https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/0 ... -says.html and Edwards's blog post at https://peteredwardsauthor.com/2018/07/ ... cial-says/. I can tell you that Edwards worked on that story for a number of months but I can't tell you what a source told him earlier this year about Ranieri, information that Edwards did not include in his July 9 article.

- At some point, Cudmore's family has (had?) been told about Ranieri's murder, and the family, as well as law enforcement, now fears that Cudmore has also been killed in Mexico.

- The recently murdered Al Iavarone knew two of the accused in the Musitano murder. Iavarone also knew a person of interest in the plot to murder Musitano. Iavarone knew Musitano.
Law enforcement does not yet know whether there is a common motive for the murder of Musitano and the attempted murder of Serrano.

- Apart from the investigations being multi-jurisdictional here in Canada, there was also co-operation with the FBI, DEA, and Department of Homeland Security (which I think had to do with Ranieri's and Cudmore's presence in Mexico). The Mexican authorities have also been assisting.

antimafia wrote: ↑Sat May 03, 2025 6:22 am

AntComello wrote: ↑Sat May 03, 2025 3:33 am Wonder who’s behind this one since there’s been a “truce” called between mafia and HA

Rob Barletta is another significant HA from the Project Hobart investigation who, so far, has had one attempt on his life when he was living in Toronto, and later on, after moving to Quebec, whose residences were respectively set on fire and shot at. He’s still in Quebec, where he’s believed to have become a member of the Hells in that province who is assisting the influential HA Martin Robert with increasing the Hells’ share of revenue from illegal gambling in Quebec (and probably elsewhere).

We don’t know yet whether Craig McIlquham is the latest casualty of a particular conflict in a particular territory. Burlington, where he was killed (as was Pat Musitano), is in Halton Region, but McIlquham’s ties to the Niagara region are important. We do know that he and Barletta continued to partner with ’ndranghetisti in the Greater Toronto Area after, IMHO, Vito Rizzuto lost overall authority over the Platinum Sportsbook, which is exclusively illegal Internet gambling. Rizzuto, the Figliomenis, and the HAs were all partners when Platinum was born.

AntComello wrote: ↑Sat May 03, 2025 3:33 am Wonder who’s behind this one since there’s been a “truce” called between mafia and HA

antimafia wrote: ↑Tue Oct 31, 2023 11:28 pm

antimafia wrote: ↑Sat May 27, 2023 6:32 pm

antimafia wrote: ↑Fri Apr 07, 2023 9:29 am

CabriniGreen wrote: ↑Fri Aug 12, 2022 5:08 am

antimafia wrote: ↑Thu Aug 11, 2022 10:15 pm

SonnyBlackstein wrote: ↑Fri Jul 22, 2022 11:34 am

antimafia wrote: ↑Wed Jul 20, 2022 11:53 pm First, Project Sindacato, and now Project Hobart. This mafia-and-81s collaboration has been going on for at least 18 years.

Massive gambling case against GTA Hells Angels falls apart over trial delay
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2022/0 ... delay.html

Funny coincidence. MASSIVE Hells angels gathering/rally in Toronto as we speak.
Gotta love a good coincidnece.

Illegal gambling crackdown fizzles out as charges withdrawn
https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/ill ... -withdrawn

This has become yet another interesting angle in the ongoing developments in the Canadian underworld.

So it looks like the Hells and maybe the Figliomenis (?) control the successor to the Platinum/ Ontario sportsbooks. If the Hells control the Quebec/ Montreal book as well... Well.

Whom else could the Toronto crime family be? Ursinos? Commissos? Bonvonta?

Below are links to my Evernote items for the main and secondary articles written yesterday by the London Free Press (London, Ontario) reporters Randy Richmond and Dale Carruthers, along with the Free Press newsroom. NB: 1. I did not capture any photos, but sometimes you'll see photo captions in the Evernote items. 2. The secondary article "Operation Hobart: The Barletta properties" is the only one in which Platinum Sports Book is mentioned, but "Sportsbook" is mentioned in the main article -- I'll ask the reporters in a public tweet whether the names are interchangeable. 3. There is no mention of Project Sindacato, which targeted the 'ndrangheta in the GTA in a related investigation, nor of any 'ndrangheta figures who were arrested, charged, and then only later saw their charges dropped.

Main article: How a huge probe into illegal sports betting became a $40M asset fight
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s229/sh/ ... r43kFjVNGw

Linked article (secondary): Operation Hobart: Charges and court results
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s229/sh/ ... 5iJRrF8gDQ

Linked article (secondary): Operation Hobart: The Barletta properties
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s229/sh/ ... PUvuMSbKfQ

Linked article (secondary): Operation Hobart: How police say it worked
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s229/sh/ ... N5K0V5NInQ

This Mississauga man was one of dozens charged in 2019, the more notable names including full-patch Hells Angels Rob Barletta and Gino Reda.

$200K in cash found under Ontario man's bed seized by authorities
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/200k-in-cash ... -1.6414548

Millions in Hells Angels cash poured into southern Ontario real estate, court documents show
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/millions-in- ... -1.6624647

Alleged London biker ensnared in dueling lawsuits over luxury Grey County development
https://owensoundsuntimes.com/news/loca ... evelopment

antimafia wrote: ↑Thu May 01, 2025 9:46 am
The name of the murder victim has neither been announced by the Halton Regional Police Service nor published by the media.

I became aware of the victim’s name yesterday. It will generate lots of discussion and speculation.

antimafia wrote: ↑Sat Apr 19, 2025 8:20 am ^^^^
Here you go:

https://pressreader.com/article/281659670889035

OcSleeper wrote: ↑Thu Apr 17, 2025 8:43 pm

antimafia wrote: ↑Mon Oct 17, 2022 6:45 pm GTA mob boss denied parole over undercover ’Ndrangheta bust

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2022/1 ... -bust.html

Bradford grandfather denied parole as he continues to claim he’s not an ’Ndrangheta Mafia boss
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/bradfo ... 74856.html

antimafia wrote: ↑Mon Oct 17, 2022 6:45 pm GTA mob boss denied parole over undercover ’Ndrangheta bust

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2022/1 ... -bust.html

antimafia wrote: ↑Fri Mar 14, 2025 9:51 am

antimafia wrote: ↑Mon Mar 10, 2025 2:07 pm

antimafia wrote: ↑Tue Feb 25, 2025 10:30 am Cross-posting. Please see viewtopic.php?t=12977
————
From Calabria to Canada: Explosive New Crave Original Docuseries, MAFIA: MOST WANTED, Premieres March 7
https://www.bellmedia.ca/the-lede/press ... s-march-7/

Crave Original | Mafia: Most Wanted | Official Trailer
https://youtu.be/tgIe5Ob5dfI

I didn't watch the first episode till yesterday (March 9). The 3-part series, with episodes of 1 hr. each, will focus mostly on the Commissos of the Greater Toronto Area, but the first episode also dealt in part with Paul Volpe.

Do TBHF posters want me and other viewers to provide notes here or in the thread found at viewtopic.php?t=12977 (TV & MOVIES)?

B. wrote: ↑Mon Mar 10, 2025 2:36 pm I only check this section, charts, and photos so here is good. Thank you!

All,

Episode 2 of the Mafia: Most Wanted docuseries is airing tonight, as is the single J.E TV episode in which Quebec-based journalist Félix Séguin travels to Cattolica Eraclea to explore why the dominant Italian crime group in Quebec has been weakened and why Sicilians in Sicily might have offered to help the Rizzuto clan in its battles, given Leonardo Rizzuto travelled to Sicily at some point after the attempt on his life.

Given I won't have time to provide a full summary and specific details of Episode 1 of the docuseries before tonight -- but I will still provide such a summary and details in due course -- here are just a few notes I jotted down that were of interest to me and, I hope, to other posters:

* The episode appears to emphasize that Rocco Remo Commisso has been the leader of the Commisso crime group in the Greater Toronto Area, not Cosimo. [This does not jibe with what organized-crime writer Lee Lamothe has written: that Remo was thought to be the leader, but it is in fact Cosimo.] One person in the episode said that Cosimo was like a "maid." [I'll provide the exact quote later, as well as who said it.]

* Cecil Kirby, the outlaw biker who turned police agent that helped law enforcement, among other things, protect Paul Volpe from being killed by the Commissos, surprisingly calls Peter Scarcella a Judas for betraying Volpe.

* Chuck Yanover, a Canadian Jewish criminal who was in Volpe's crime group, said that he was like -- or would be considered -- a capo in Volpe's group. [I will later provide the exact quote.]

* Legendary cop Ron Sandelli (Ret.) makes at least a couple of appearances in this episode. [I was told two years ago that he was in ill health, as I wanted to contact him to see whether he'd be willing to divulge why he has asserted that Paul Volpe was not a made guy. Sandelli doesn't discuss Volpe's rank in the program -- I mention Sandelli only because, if he's in good health, I'll try to find out how to reach him.]

* The following DOBs for Cosimo and Remo are respectively shown in Subject Profile Information Sheets from their police files: Feb. 2, 1945; June 29, 1946. [The DOB for Remo differs from the June 21, 1946 often cited.]

* Cecil Kirby also says that Cosimo was a "professional ballroom dancer" and that that is how Cosimo met his wife. [Cosimo's wife, Vivian Risi, is a very high-powered Greater Toronto Area realtor. I'll try to find out from someone who appears in the show whether Kirby was pulling the producers' leg.]

* Joe Ferraro, who will appear in episode 2, is briefly mentioned in episode 1, where he is said to have become an enforcer for the Commisso group in 1996. [I'm fairly certain the following Jul. 21, 2011 article to which I've linked would have been posted on the previous incarnation of TBHF or on the defunct RealDeal forum: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/ho ... land-alive.]