THE BLACK HAND FORUM

[b]Mob vendetta spree expected to continue in new year 132
ROB LAMBERTI, SPECIAL TO THE TORONTO SUN
DECEMBER 28, 2014[/b]


TORONTO - There’s a lull in the Mob war between Montreal’s Rizzuto crime family and those who sought to overthrow it.

Ontario, which saw a number of hits in 2013, had one apparent vendetta hit this year, that of Carmine Verduci, 56, who was gunned down April 24 outside Regina Cafe on Regina Rd. in Vaughan.

The murder remains unsolved.

A police source says the vendetta spree that began in 2012 shortly after Vito Rizzuto returned to Canada after serving a 10-year prison sentence in Colorado for racketeering-related charges is expected to continue. The natural death of Rizzuto, 67, last December didn’t stem the vendetta.

There are apparently still a few “Calabrian Mob opportunists and Sicilian traitors” that need to be dealt with by the Rizzuto crime family, the source says.

In Quebec, it remains unclear whether this month’s ambush murder of convicted cocaine trafficker Antonio “Tonino” Callocchia is connected to the rebellious group that tried to oust Vito Rizzuto. The motive could have been street business, or payback for his involvement in the extortion of a woman connected to Rizzuto rival Raynald Desjardins.

Callocchia escaped an attempt on his life in February 2013 as he walked out of a restaurant, and police apparently had warned him he had a price on his head.

The Calabrian Mob, known as the ‘Ndrangheta, is considered by Italian authorities to be the richest and most powerful of the Italian crime syndicates replacing the still-formidable Sicilian Mafia.

But in Canada, it’s the Sicilian-based Rizzuto crime family that controls the underworld.

Rizzuto died a year ago in the midst of a vendetta that had been unleashed against turncoats and traitors to reclaim his stake.

Verduci was killed in a precise strike against him outside a cafe frequented by ‘Ndrangheta members in the city where they felt safe.

The message was loud and clear: For those who opposed Rizzuto, there is no safe haven.

In 2013, assassins struck in Sicily, Mexico and in Woodbridge.

The vendetta began shortly after Rizzuto returned home from the U.S. after serving 10 years for his role in a 1981 triple-murder of three Bonanno captains who were accused of planning a coup in the New York crime family.

While he was in prison, a group of Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta clans in Ontario and a group led by former Rizzuto strongman Desjardins tried to muscle their way to the top. One of the leaders in the group was Salvatore Montagna, who was born in Montreal, raised in Sicily and rose to prominence in the Bronx.

Montagna, known as the Bambino Boss and Sal the Ironworker, became acting boss in 2006 of the Bonanno crime family. Facing deportation after he was convicted of criminal contempt of court, he voluntarily left the U.S. in 2009. While being escorted to the border, he told his FBI handlers that he was going to retire.

He didn’t.

Bodies in Montreal began to drop in brazen daylight hits. There was a push to oust Rizzuto, and they struck not only at his organization but his heart, as Vito’s son Nicolo Jr., father Nicolo Sr., brother-in-law Paolo Renda and other close associates were murdered. It appeared as if the Rizzuto clan was being rubbed out.

But in 2011, Sal the Ironworker was whacked, allegedly in an internal squabble. Desjardins and seven others are awaiting trial for the murder.

When Rizzuto returned to Canada in 2012, the tide turned for good. There were some who had flipped their support to the new group that suddenly returned their loyalty to Rizzuto.

Those who picked against the Rizzuto side began to die.

The murderous vendetta swath in 2013 killed hit man Salvatore “Sam” Calautti, Joe Di Maulo and his brother-in-law Roger Valiquette Jr., and Moreno Gallo, who was in Mexico at the time.

Former Rizzuto strongman in Ontario Juan Ramon Fernandez, known as Joe Bravo, and associate Fernando Pimental were murdered in Sicily. They were shot and their bodies burned because they turned their back on Rizzuto, police said.

Verducci was the highest ranked ‘Ndrangheta member in Ontario who was killed.

His tentacles stretched around the world, with relatives in the U.S., Australia and South America. But he stayed home because of an Italian arrest warrant charging him with Mafia association, a non-extraditable charge in Canada.

Police described Verducci as an important figure with his own crew. While he was not a leader, he carried considerable influence within ‘Ndrangheta circles as a close associate of Carmelo Bruzzese, who is wanted in Italy for Mafia association and is currently fighting extradition from Canada for his alleged involvement in the ‘Ndrangheta.

Italian authorities say Verducci was the Canadian representative of alleged Mafia boss Antonio Coluccio. He also hosted functions attended by ‘Ndrangheta leaders.

Italian police captured him on a wiretap speaking with crime family chieftain Giuseppe “The Master” Commisso, who ruled a global criminal empire from a laundromat. Police described the Woodbridge resident as a messenger between the clans in the two countries.

A police source says it now appears that although Rizzuto was challenged, he never really lost his power.

“The ground was never lost,” the source says. Those who invited themselves to the table have been asked to leave, “in some cases, not quietly.”

http://www.torontosun.com/2014/12/28/mob-vendetta-spree-expected-to-continue

This guys murder could also be less about Vito's revenge and more about guys jockeying for power with the void left by Vito. Other bodies could drop as a result of the consolidating power. You usually see some murders in allot of families after its leader has to be replaced. Typically a few guys jockey for power and once a new leader is named he will consolidate his leadership. Montreal is defiantly the most interesting LCN family without a doubt. The 5 families have not seen Montreal linked homicide rates since the glory days of the American LCN.

If he was really on good terms with the Sollecitos, then why didn't they attent the funeral themselves? And Leonardo attending the funeral in normal clothing to me seems quite disrespectful.

Tonino Callocchia's funeral was today.

According to the article to which I've linked below and that I ran through Google Translate--see copy-and-paste results a bit farther below--representatives of the Sollecito family went to the funeral-home visitation on the weekend; Leonardo Rizzuto was at the funeral Mass today.

Link:

http://fr.canoe.ca/infos/societe/archives/2014/12/20141208-165739.html

So if Callocchia seemed to be on good terms with Leonardo Rizzuto and the Sollecito family, why wasn't Callocchia's visitation at the Loreto instead of at the Alfred Dallaire? (Incidentally, the journalist who stated last week that Callocchia's visitation would be at the Laval location of Magnus Poirier got the information wrong.)

___________

Translation (using Google Translate):

QMI Agency
08-12-2014 | 16h57 updated: 08-12-2014 | 4:57 p.m.

LAVAL - The funeral of mafia Tonino Callocchia were held in the utmost discretion in the Church of Our Lady of Divine Love-Laval on Monday afternoon.

The whole ceremony was held in Italian in front of a hundred people, including several related to the Montreal Mafia.

The 53-year-old charge of illegal loans in the greater Montreal area was shot in Rivière-des-Prairies restaurant last Monday after being lured into a trap.

During the entire time of the funeral, several close to the one we nicknamed Tony Coloc paid tribute to him.

As usual, the police intelligence services have posted several agents to take photos of those who came to show their respect to career criminal as the head of a construction company.

RIZZUTO AND SOLLECITO

One of his three daughters came to thank him publicly for having encouraged to continue studying law and become a lawyer. The celebrant, in their early thirties, even read a letter in which he referred to the Rizzuto family.
The mere mention of the name of the Montreal ex-sponsor discrete sparked reactions from the crowd.

Although our sources say Callocchia began to back the new leaders of the Montreal Mafia, we learned that emissaries of the Sollecito family went to the funeral home this weekend.

However, Stefano Sollecito, heir tipped to become the next godfather, was not seen at the funeral.

By cons, Leonardo Rizzuto, the only surviving son of Vito Rizzuto, entered breezed into the church dressed simply in jeans and a short coat.

Two men present at the Alfred Dallaire Funeral threatened to attack our photographer. Another spat on him shortly before the cortege moves off.

[quote="Teflon john"]Like i said before,if people that Vito wanted whacked are still getting whacked a year after the guy died then he was a very powerful man and definately more powerful than any boss here in the U.S. is at this point in time.[/quote]

But we don't know that before Vito died, he gave orders to his loyalists as to who should be whacked in case he died of illness, murder, natural causes, etc.. Not every murder of major or minor crime figures since his release in October 2012 leads back to him.

This murder of Callocchia in particular may reveal, even though there are a number of motives for his being killed, that there is infighting among so-called Rizzuto loyalists. Callocchia's visitation taking place at a funeral home other than the Rizzuto-clan-owned one notwithstanding, there seem to be some indications that he was in Vito's entourage after Vito got out of prison; Callocchia was also on a list of potential "godfather" candidates to replace Rizzuto that was published by reporter Daniel Renaud four days after Rizzuto's death in December 2013.

Like i said before,if people that Vito wanted whacked are still getting whacked a year after the guy died then he was a very powerful man and definately more powerful than any boss here in the U.S. is at this point in time.

[quote="antimafia"]^^^^
I posted the same link two posts earlier.[/quote]

Let's blame that on my mobile phone. [emoji4]



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^^^^
I posted the same link two posts earlier.

More precisely, the reporter writes that Callocchia repeatedly lied to Sollecito, the latter seen by many as the next godfather.

If the reporting of Callocchia's murder teaches us anything, it is that there are such divergent views about what has happened in the Montreal underworld since Vito Rizzuto got out of jail, what has happened after his death, and what stability or instability there is and has been in the Montreal Mafia. Maybe Sollecito will succeed Rizzuto or has already succeeded him, as Callocchia's murder may have happened for a number of reasons (e.g., the two theories in the linked article) and by any one of a number of killers (as it is believed Callocchia had many enemies).

This article states that Callochia was also at odds with Stefano Sollecito, who is named as Vito's successor. He seems like a guy who made a living out of switching sides.

http://tvanouvelles.ca/lcn/infos/faitsdivers/archives/2014/12/20141204-224022.html

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Link:

http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2014/12/04/le-mafieux-abattu-a-ignore-les-avertissements


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The French-language article to which I've linked below suggests that Callocchia's murder may have had something to do with being at odds with Stefano Sollecito.

Link:

http://tvanouvelles.ca/lcn/infos/faitsdivers/archives/2014/12/20141204-224022.html



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Adrian Humphreys considers Callocchia to have been part of an anti-Rizzuto faction.

Danielle Renaud reports that Callocchia was in Vito's entourage and was in close contact with those who formed the mafia roundtable.

Link:

http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/justice-et-affaires-criminelles/faits-divers/201412/04/01-4825412-tonino-callocchia-serait-tombe-dans-un-piege.php


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This new article by Daniel Renaud states that Callochia had sided with Montagna and was collecting 'pizzo' on behalf of Montagna. He had threatened a businesswoman close to Desjardins and told her that Montagna was expecting an additional tax. This is interesting because it confirms that Montagna was (or believed to be) the new boss of the Montreal Mafia.

Mafia revelations from beyond the grave

http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/justice-et-affaires-criminelles/affaires-criminelles/201412/03/01-4825042-revelations-mafieuses-doutre-tombe-.php

An aspiring godfather Salvatore Montagna was murdered in November 2011 in Charlemagne, would have increased a tax imposed by the Mafia to construction contractors after his arrival in Quebec in spring 2009.

This at least shows that a conversation involving the Mafia killed on Monday in Montreal, Tonino Callocchia. The recording of this discussion was to be used as evidence against him in a trial for attempted extortion and intimidation at the site of a former partner of the boss Raynald Desjardins.

In his conversation with the engineer Marlène Girard, the latter has recorded without his knowledge and that La Presse has obtained extracts Callocchia says Montagna would call "$ 2.50" over all contractors without giving more precision this tax increase that resembles a pizzo.

Montagna, former acting head of the Bonanno clan of New York, was deported from the United States to Canada in April 2009. Shortly after his arrival in Montreal, he has approached some established mafia and has become a chef. He allied with other mafia organizations in order to reverse the Rizzuto, who clung to power, though weakened by the Colosseum operation and dissent.

But the fragile alliance of rebel leaders erupted in 2011. According to a police theory, a conflict then broke out between the clans of Raynald Desjardins and Montagna. The latter was killed in November 2011. A month later, Desjardins and his alleged accomplices were arrested and charged with murder. The trial is expected to take place in 2015.

"Very sad"

In his conversation with Ms. Girard, held in spring 2013 in a restaurant in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Callocchia back on the days of the revolt against the Rizzuto. He said the clan leaders who were killing were friends for 35 years, "as brothers and sisters, and that one day, some have decided to do their own thing, it was seen as a rape, that people have died or become disabled, as families have lost fathers and son, and that many people cried. "

"It's a story that is very sad, it's not over yet," he said, comparing the situation to the taste of bitter food that can remain in the mouth for long.

It also refers to children Raynald Desjardins - "who grew up with our children" - and invites the guy to call his compares to settle his affairs.

Callochia also talks about Arcuri brothers, owners of the company Ital-Gelati suspected of having taken part in the attempted coup against the Rizzuto and said of them that they are now persona non grata. "There is no one who buys ice cream," says Callocchia, adding that his group demands money Domenico Arcuri, but the latter is not in town, does not meet the .dropoff window

At this, Marlène Girard takes his phone and calls Domenico Arcuri. It then tends Callocchia the device, which then talks to the businessman.

He told Domenico Arcuri as payments were to be made have not been made, as companies want to be paid. He added that he is ready to meet it as "accountant", he can join him everywhere but not in the United States, "because Americans do not want it."

The money Carboneutre

The claims raised by Callocchia concern Carboneutre decontamination firm in which Raynald Desjardins, Domenico Arcuri and several businessmen close to them were involved in 2008-2009. The adventure had ended in fiasco.

When Marlene Girard meeting in 2013, he seems to believe that as Carboneutre manager, she is still in contact with Raynald Desjardins and could help many investors to get their money invested in the decontamination firm.

He said that some of those who have invested in Carboneutre more than 1 million to "us", without specifying exactly who he refers. It simply represent "the Italian community" and suggests that it could "blow the teeth" of Ms. Girard.

The latter replied that it owes nothing to anybody and has never been involved in the "scam" around Carboneutre. "I'm not in the mafia me," she insists.

Towards the end of the conversation, Callocchia said in an almost prescient he is a messenger, and that sometimes they shoot a messenger.

Mobster gunned down in Montreal was part of a ‘dissident faction’ trying to overthrow Rizzuto: documents

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/12/02/mobster-gunned-down-in-montreal-was-part-of-a-dissident-faction-trying-to-overthrow-rizzuto-documents/

The latest victim of Montreal’s mob violence — shot dead by masked gunmen Monday in a Rivière-des-Prairies restaurant — was recently named in court in Italy as a member of the rebellious faction of mobsters fighting to overthrow Montreal Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto.

Antonino Callocchia, usually called Tonino or Tony, was hit Monday afternoon by multiple bullets from one or more masked gunmen who then fled.

It was the second attempt on Mr. Callocchia’s life; on Feb. 1, 2013, he was seriously injured in a similar ambush in a restaurant in Laval.

Born Nov. 6, 1961, his ties to the Mafia in Montreal have been documented for decades. Part of his underworld strength came through his link by marriage to the Armeni clan of well-known mob-linked drug traffickers. One of his first arrests, according to Quebec court records, was in 1985 alongside four members of the clan, although he was acquitted.

He was also arrested in a landmark money laundering and drug trafficking case in Montreal in 1994 alongside notable mobsters and lawyers who helped invest mob money linked to Mr. Rizzuto.

But before his death, the enigmatic man was moving from the criminal sidelines and becoming more central to the city’s underworld.

The move brought increased scrutiny over his standing and allegiance in the Mafia war that has rocked Montreal — a sweeping power struggle between Mr. Rizzuto and rebels trying to oust him when he was imprisoned in the United States in 2006. The war went badly against the Rizzutos until the boss returned to Canada in October 2012 and fought to reclaim his position of power.

Some saw Mr. Callocchia as a Rizzuto loyalist and even a possible successor to Vito Rizzuto — who died of natural causes in December 2013. His involvement in a case of extortion against a woman with ties to Raynald Desjardins, a gangster named in Italian court as the leader of the rebellious faction, furthered that view.

Others saw his closeness to Calabrian dissidents unfriendly towards the Sicilian-born Rizzuto as well as to Joseph Di Maulo, an influential Mafia boss killed in 2012, likely for not remaining loyal to Mr. Rizzuto, as a sign he too had strayed.

Mr. Callocchia, however, was subject to a recent assessment by the anti-Mafia police in Sicily, the birthplace of the Mafia, as they investigated the murders in Palermo of two mobsters from Canada.

Police in Italy are analyzing reams of secretly recorded telephone calls made last year by a mobster from Canada who was living in Sicily. The chatty mobster, Juan Ramon Fernandez, was close to Mr. Rizzuto for decades and spoke disrespectfully of Mr. Callocchia when talking to other Rizzuto loyalists.

Mr. Fernandez called him “a fucking idiot,” according to wiretap transcripts obtained by the National Post.

A few days after the 2013 attack on Mr. Callocchia, Mr. Fernandez phoned for an update from a friend in Montreal, identified in court as Antonio Carbone who was described as a veteran Montreal mobster close to the Rizzutos.

The two spoke of the attacks against enemies of Vito Rizzuto; Mr. Callocchia was named on a list of perceived opponents.

The authorities in Italy note that Mr. Callocchia was shot the first time while Mr. Rizzuto was travelling to the Dominican Republic to meet in privacy with acolytes to plot revenge against those who were disloyal to him and his family while he was in prison.

While Mr. Rizzuto was out of the country, “the offensive against the ‘dissident’ faction was unleashed,” says a report on the Mafia war prepared by the Carabinieri ROS, Italy’s anti-Mafia police unit, and presented in court last month.

Monday’s murder of Mr. Callocchia came after months of relative peace within Montreal’s underworld after shocking displays of murder and violence.

Mr. Callocchia was pronounced dead around 1:30 p.m. inside Bistro XO Plus, a restaurant in a plaze on Henri-Bourassa Blvd. E. near LJ-Forget Ave.

“He was a big player [within the Mafia]. That is certain,” said a Montreal police source.

According to Quebec’s business registry, Mr. Callocchia was the owner of a numbered company, 9166-3807 Quebec Inc., involved in real estate management, and another company called Construction T.D.P.

In 1994, Mr. Callocchia was arrested along with 56 other people as part of a major RCMP drug trafficking and money laundering investigation against the Rizzuto organization. Following a lengthy trial Mr. Callocchia was found guilty of acting as an intermediary for Vincenzo Di Maulo (brother of Joseph), who was laundering drug money through various businesses.

Mr. Callocchia received a four-year sentence but authorities then moved against him on a second case, dating to 1994, where the RCMP had evidence he tried to smuggle more than 160 kilograms of cocaine into Canada through a Toronto airport.

He pleaded guilty to drug smuggling-related charges in 1998. With everything combined, he ended up having to serve an aggregate sentence of 21 years in all.

When he appeared before the Parole Board of Canada in 2001 he was described as intelligent, well-structured and “an active member of the Italian Mafia.”

“The offences you have committed are large-scale and they required organization and planning at a level that only a highly organized group can hope to execute,” the board said. He took college-level business administration courses while serving the sentence.

When he was granted full parole in 2002 he told the board that he had no financial concerns because of an inheritance from his grandfather and the sale of a large piece of real estate that belonged to his mother.

The board believed he was now motivated “to follow the rules of society” away from a life of crime.

[quote="Teflon john"]Im beginning to think Rizzuto's influence and power have been underrated. I mean guys that sided against him are still getting clipped after Vito's death a year ago. When somebody is carrying out your hit list a year after you are in the grave then i think you had probably as much or more power than any boss in LCN history.[/quote]

Like REMO says....why take a chance..?