Buffalo/Ontario Mob Acitivity

[Lupara]

@Antimafia

How large of a crew does Musitano have? Any allies in the area?

In one of the articles someone is quoted saying he only has a hand full of supporters. Take that for what it's worth.

[UTC]

I never said I thought it impossible, I just dont understand how you guys arrive there...

Is there any other example of the LCN killing Ndrangheta members? I mean it probably has happened, but not very common. Their relationship with the Rizzutos and their location in Buffalo territory brings me to the possibility of them being made in the Buffalo or Bonanno family. But yes they have always been identified as Ndrangheta ever since I've heard of them. We don't really know if Buffalo is behind both Musitano hits. Violi says " they told him that Pat would be gone by Christmas" or " they were sending Pat a message". So who's they? Is it a Ndrangheta family that Violi is close to, and they told him that?

I believe it happened in the 70's when there were 'Ndrangheta members in Stamford CT.

[Frank]

@Antimafia

How large of a crew does Musitano have? Any allies in the area?

In one of the articles someone is quoted saying he only has a hand full of supporters. Take that for what it's worth.

With him looking like he will survive, unless they get to him in the hospital, it will be interesting to see what happens next. I would think, if he is still associated with the Rizzutos, he would have more than a handful of backers. But the Rizzutos are weakened too, so who knows. All I know that the main action as far as hits are concerned is in Canada. A very interesting time period, and it seems to keep going on and on.

[JCB1977]

@Antimafia

How large of a crew does Musitano have? Any allies in the area?

In one of the articles someone is quoted saying he only has a hand full of supporters. Take that for what it's worth.

Thanks Lupara. I wonder if his supporters are close by or out of the area at this point? Doesn’t appear that it will stop until he’s dead. I’ve become fascinated with Canada since reading the Rocco Perri book. Thanks to Antillar & Chris Christie for the recommendation. Love reading these threads on Canada, appreciate the info fellas.

[scagghiuni]

With him looking like he will survive, unless they get to him in the hospital, it will be interesting to see what happens next. I would think, if he is still associated with the Rizzutos, he would have more than a handful of backers. But the Rizzutos are weakened too, so who knows. All I know that the main action as far as hits are concerned is in Canada. A very interesting time period, and it seems to keep going on and on.

i don't think the rizzuto's are weak now, they are still carrying murders in montreal, they are probably behind tony magi murder recently for example, and they are allied with caruana-cuntrera's (poncho cuntrera is a top boss in rizzuto clan), bikers and haitians
i bet big joey cuntrera and other members are hiding in south america planning murders in canada, they have connections everywhere

[antimafia]

Cross-posting.
------------------
Yet another theory emerges as to why Musitano was shot.

The mobster, the fraudster and the $110-million-a-month construction business: The story of a Hamilton company’s alleged scam

A company with ties to a local mobster and convicted fraudster is alleged to have perpetrated a multimillion-dollar scam that has resulted in tattered lives and lawsuits across the Hamilton area

Link:

https://www.thespec.com/news-story/9304 ... eged-scam/

Web Archive link in case you hit a paywall:

Web Archive link

Ontario investigating allegations of contaminated soil dumping at Waterdown Garden Supplies property.
Residents around the site have been threatened for speaking out, says neighbour Jim Whelan. “It’s gotten totally out of hand.”

https://www.thespec.com/news-story/9335 ... -property/

Web Archive link (in case you hit a paywall):

Web Archive link

[antimafia]

Hamilton mobster Pat Musitano released from hospital after being shot.
The 51-year-old was shot multiple times in a Mississauga parking lot April 25.

Web Archive link:

https://web.archive.org/save/https://ww ... eing-shot/

[antimafia]

^^^^
Mobster Pat Musitano released from hospital after shooting

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton ... -1.5127998

[JCB1977]

^^^^
Mobster Pat Musitano released from hospital after shooting

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton ... -1.5127998

The police must want him dead since they ARE ADVERTISING HIS RELEASE FROM THE HOSPITAL

[Slumpy]

Couple'a tree tings I've been reading lately I thought were interesting about the Ontario situation back in the late 90s.

Regarding the Johnny Pops / Barillaro hits in '98, Stephen Schneider in his book "Iced" wrote this:

Lee Coppola, a former reporter from western New York who covered the Magaddino Family for more than two decades, told the media in 1998 that a Buffalo-sanctioned hit “is a very unlikely scenario. I don’t think there is enough organization, structure, power or authority in the Buffalo mob to have any input or sanction into a murder in Canada.” Coppola, who was the dean of the journalism school at St. Bonaventure University in New York State when he made these comments, was adamant that “for all intents and purposes, the Buffalo mob — as it once was when Magaddino actually ruled that part of Toronto and the Papalias and Violis were under him — is all diminished and has been diminishing over the last couple of decades to a point now where there is no leadership, there is no structure, and there certainly is not power. Coppola believed that if the Musitanos were responsible for the killings of Papalia and Barillaro, they were probably acting on their own. ---Schneider, Stephen. Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canadaa

However Law enforcement in Canada followed another line of reasoning, believing that the Johnny Pops hit had been called from MTL:

Another plausible theory is that Vito Rizzuto ordered Papalia dead to pave the way for a full-scale invasion of Southern Ontario. The Montreal mafia, under Rizzuto, was already carrying out gambling operations in Eastern Ontario and had aligned themselves with the Musitanos, who were expanding across the more populous southern and western parts of the province. On October 23, 1997, Pasquale Musitano and his cousin Giuseppe Avigone met with Vito Rizzuto in Toronto, lending credence to this theory.--Schneider, "Iced"

Which sounds reasonable, right? That Buffalo was on the way out, the Musitanos start cosying up to the major drug suppliers in the Rizzutos and start thinking it might be great to clean out the competition in The Hammer (or the Rizzutos tell them to).

But here's something else, that throws a monkey wrench into that particular theory:

Grant Lafleche wrote and article in the St Catherine Standard on August 21, 1999. It was titled: "Bikers now married to the mob: New Mafia crime lord rules Golden Horseshoe, says CISC report" The article indicates the Todaro crime family may have been much stronger than recently thought. Here are some items of note from the article which uses Detective Sergeant Peter Polcetti, organized crime expert with CISC (Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada) as its main source:

- A new mafia boss was put into place in the Niagara region.
- He couldn’t be named because he had never been arrested.
- He replaced Buffalo’s John Papalia and Carmen Barillaro and had been one of their “close associates.”-. He is linked to the “Powerful Todaro Buffalo crime family.”
- He was forging relationships with outlaw biker organizations. (Particularly the Hells Angels and Paradise Rollers. I presume the relationship was
formed to work together in the lucrative drug trade the Bikers had been working with Rizuttos in Montreal for a while.)
- This transpired as a result of Papalia/Barillaro hits and subsequent Musitano arrests. (Papalia is on record being against working with the Bikers--may be why Buffalo wanted him gone!)
- As a result Lafleche writes that the CISC believes: “the Todaro family now controls Niagara, Hamilton, Toronto and Montreal."

(note: article called them "Paradise rollers" it is actually Paradice Riders)


SO here we have conflicting reports on the status of Buffalo in the late 90s.

[antimafia]

Man pegged as Toronto’s ‘top guy’ in powerful global Mafia starts new court battle against deportation to Italy


http://nationalpost.com/news/man-pegged ... n-to-italy

Teflon Don of Canada dodges deportation to Italy as federal court overturns IRB order

https://nationalpost.com/news/teflon-do ... -irb-order

[Lupara]

If we look at how mobsters generally follow the mob's protocol, no matter how powerful the Musitanos or Rizzutos were at the time, they were still obligated to consult Buffalo before proceeding with their plans to kill one of their members. I think even WG and Pogo will agree that in the late 90s Buffalo was still a viable organization. I believe it was Michael DiLeonardo who said that as a mobster you should always avoid making enemies because one day you may be at a disadvantage. The Musitanos would've played with fire if they ignored following this protocol. Even with Buffalo weakened the New York families might have interfered on behalf of Buffalo. In '97 the Rizzutos were without question still a Bonanno crew so if they were somehow involved with Papalia's murder it could've gotten them into trouble. At the very least word would've gone out of Buffalo to the Bonannos who would've made an inquiry and then order Musitano killed. Just look at the Panepinto situation which is quite similar or at Philly in 1980. Unsanctioned killings have to be answered for. Even though the Rizzutos were at the height of their power at the time Panepinto was gone and there was nothing they could do about it, because he killed a made member of another family without seeking approval. And Panepinto was their representative in Ontario. Personally I think that Papalia had fallen out of favor and had become disposable to Buffalo. Remember that in the early 60s Magaddino already wanted him dead along with the Aquecis but he was somehow able to save his ass.


Now we need to find out who this mystery person is who replaced Papalia. It's hinted at that this was a member of his crew which is only logical so we can start at looking if there's a list of names of Buffalo members in the Hamilton/Niagara Falls region available somewhere. It then would be most likely one of the names on this list. According to Stephen Schneider Papalia had a dozen members in his crew.

[Slumpy]

It certainly seems that way, the Luppino and Musitano organizations coexisted more or less peaceably in the wake of Papalia's murder, which suhgests the hit was sanctioned... The fact CSIC believed the Todaros were more powerful than believed even as far back as '99 also says a lot.

[Lupara]

It certainly seems that way, the Luppino and Musitano organizations coexisted more or less peaceably in the wake of Papalia's murder, which suhgests the hit was sanctioned... The fact CSIC believed the Todaros were more powerful than believed even as far back as '99 also says a lot.

Even Desjardins presumably consulted Buffalo and New York when his conflict with Montagna reached a boiling point. Ofcourse he did throw any protocol in the gutter when he was hit and thought Montagna was behind it, but it does show the rules and protocols are still respected.

Imo there's no way the Musitanos, who may not even be made members, just decided to get rid of Papalia without first going through the usual proceedings to assure it wouldn't backfire on them. They may have been supported by the Rizzutos which would've given them more leverage to get approval, but as been shown by the Panepinto murder, the Rizzutos wouldn't involve themselves in an unsanctioned killing.

[Lupara]

I believe it was Michael DiLeonardo who said that as a mobster you should always avoid making enemies because one day you may be at a disadvantage.

It may also be Michael Franzese who said this.