Andrew Scoppa

[Clark]

Thanks again for all your hard work on this. It is really appreciated.

Lots of great tidbits from this chapter, and it confirms a lot of the information about the various alliances that had been pieced together over the years. Still some curveballs though. Like you said, if it is true, I don't think a lot of people would have thought Roger Valiquette was behind the attempt of Raynald's life.

[Frank]

Off hand I dont even remember Roger Valiquette. I have been following what has been going on in Canada, but his death and what he was, I dont even remember. Ive read lists of all the murders up there, his name probably didnt seem important. So no I never would have thought it. This is so interesting and thank you Cabrini. To me, if Im getting this right, Joe DiMaulo wasnt involved directly, but didnt inform or warn the Rizzutos. This confirms what has previously came out about him getting wacked by Vito.

[Frank]

Montagna was responsible for Nic Sn and Renda.

[CabriniGreen]

Off hand I dont even remember Roger Valiquette. I have been following what has been going on in Canada, but his death and what he was, I dont even remember. Ive read lists of all the murders up there, his name probably didnt seem important. So no I never would have thought it. This is so interesting and thank you Cabrini. To me, if Im getting this right, Joe DiMaulo wasnt involved directly, but didnt inform or warn the Rizzutos. This confirms what has previously came out about him getting wacked by Vito.

It's a little bit crazy, right? Out of nowhere, we have ANOTHER player in this saga. And you will see, he was a major guy...

[Etna]

So, I'm reading the first of the posts just updated by you Cabrini Green - one observation. I always thought Joe DiMaulo was from Molise and not Calabria.

[B.]

I appreciate you continuing to share these excerpts, Cabrini.

• Who are these Ontario people, if not Ndrangheta? Seriously, like did he really make all those trips to see the Violis? Or was it his fellow Castellemarese Scarcella?

- Who knows which Sicilian mafia figures might have been under the radar in Ontario along with Buffalo members and 'Ndrangheta. We don't know who the made Bonanno members were in Ontario during the 1960s/70s or how and if they maintained membership there later on. Montagna had a wide network of potential contacts when you consider the different connections he had and how many unknown unknowns there are.

- Giovanni Inzerillo and Filippo Casamento went to Toronto in 2004 to meet Michele Modica and Michele Marrese from Casteldaccia. Salvatore Calautti was supposedly in the center of the conflict when Modica went to war with Pietro Scarcella in Ontario later that year. Calautti was then linked with Montagna / Desjardins during the Montreal war.

- Calautti was connected to Sicilians in Quebec and Ontario though he was a Calabrian with alleged 'Ndrangheta connections. Decent indication, along with what we already know, that these circles cross over. Think to what Pennisi said in his recent interview, how the mafia and 'Ndrangheta in NYC can intuitively spot each other and there is comradery even though they can't formally recognize each other. In Canada it appears to go deeper and we see how Luppinos and Violis have ties to both.

- In an area like Ontario, Sicilians and Calabrians regularly interact and despite popular portrayals, different Italian ethnicities are more prone to cooperation than conflict through mafia history. The Cotroni crew is an example of that, with Calabrian leadership over people from all kinds of backgrounds, including Sicilian mafiosi, and if you look at these conflicts they aren't strictly Sicilian vs. Calabrian by any means.

- In the modern Montreal war, you had a Sicilian (Montagna) recruiting Sicilians (LoPresti, Arcuris) to kill other Sicilians (Rizzutos), some of them from the same town and with ties to the Sicilian mafia. The 2004 Modica / Scarcella conflict appears to have been primarily between Sicilians (including the Bonanno Montreal crew) though Calautti was involved. In Hamilton it appears the Calabrians are having each other killed. While they have had conflicts, you just don't see that many straight-up conflicts between Sicilians and Calabrians along ethnic lines.

- Has Calautti's 'Ndrangheta affiliation ever been confirmed? Hard to know someone's exact affiliation until inside info comes out, i.e. all of the accounts of the Violis and Luppinos being solely an 'Ndrangheta clan then an informant and tapes come out confirming they're multi-generation Buffalo members and part of the Buffalo-Ontario mafia leadership. If Calautti was involved with the 'Ndrangheta, he had a deep ongoing interest in serious Sicilian affairs in Ontario and Quebec.

- Has Scoppa said definitively in the book yet that he was a made member of the mafia? If I glossed over it, let me know, but I didn't see that, only a vague reference to Montreal no longer following traditional inductions (which could just as well describe the Bonanno family for decades). His comment sort of struck me as a Gene Borello "Nobody uses the term caporegime in the streets," which both Mike Franzese and John Pennisi have directly responded to, saying made members do use the term.

- If Scoppa's membership is confirmed somewhere, ignore this, but some of the Montreal coverage over the years reminds me of the old Philly newspaper headline about Frankie Flowers D'Alfonso becoming the new boss after Bruno's death. D'Alfonso was heavily involved in local gambling rackets and mafia figures had been seen showing him respect on surveillance after the Bruno hit, but he was an associate. Some of these Canadian articles announcing new leaders in Montreal come across that way. Maybe some of these individuals are heavily influential over "the Book", but based on what Scoppa has said "the Book" is a street tax that appears to have no relationship to any one organization.

- "The Book" is interesting in its own right... Scoppa makes it sound like the operations are so tightly bundled together that a completely different group (i.e. bikers) can readily take control of it from the mafia. In other cities, an attempt to take over a mafia group's entire extortion/collection operation would be piecemeal and chaotic. Scoppa's account gives the impression that the mafia in Montreal really is much more like a crew (that intersects on an operational level with other criminal groups) than the "Sixth Family Syndicate" it has been made out to be.

Montagna was with brothers Domenico and Antonino Arcuri, owners of the Ital Gelati ice cream factory, whom he had known for a long time.

Montagna knowing the Arcuris for "a long time" would back up the idea that he was familiar with Montreal Bonanno figures long before he was deported to Canada. He may have known Bonanno member Giuseppe Arcuri in NYC, a relative of the Montreal Arcuris. Giuseppe Renda attended Arcuri's wake in NYC.

• What exactly is the Toronto structure inreguards to the Rizzutos? The sixth family said it was very loose, more like business interest under the Rizzuto umbrella...

If we knew more history on Montreal's Toronto faction going back to Cotroni we might know more about the relationship later. Stefano Magaddino complains on his 1960s office tapes that the Bonannos made a number of members in Ontario. An early 1970s FBI report refers to a faction of Bonanno members in Ontario in addition to Montreal, all of them reporting to the Bonanno administration. Unfortunately no names are identified.

So the Bonannos had a faction in Ontario for 40+ years, but we an barely piece together the full membership / operations of the Montreal crew in any era, so it's even more difficult to try to figure out who and what the Bonanno family had in Ontario going back decades.

It's the issue with accounts that say the Rizzutos planted a flag on Ontario. We know the Bonanno family had a presence there from the time Cotroni became capodecina in the early 1960s, which would suggest some of what the Rizzutos did in Ontario had continuity from the previous regime. Or did the Cotroni-era interests in Ontario completely die out and the Rizzuto element established their own interests via their own independent contacts? I am of the belief that none of this operates in a vacuum and there is continuity and crossover in virtually everything that goes on in Canada.

• If any of this originated with NY, it came from Basicano, right? He, Sciascia, and Montagna were like the only guys that knew Canada enough to make a move, and I dont even think Basciano could have done what Montagna did up there because of a lack of familiarity with the surroundings... my opinion...

- The Bonanno family in 2004-2005 was in such a state of disarray that beyond wanting to maintain ties to Montreal I can't imagine they had the resources or interest to do much at the time.

- Dom Cicale said Basciano continued to push Montreal for tribute with Sal Montagna's help, which they delivered, but we don't know the extent of Basciano's contact with Montreal. Cicale also said Basciano continued to be receive drugs from Montreal after Sciascia's death and along with Montagna was one of the Bonanno members personally contacted by Joe Massino after Sciascia's murder to ensure no problems.

- Anything Montagna did technically "originated with NY", as Montagna was the Bonanno family acting boss. If Montagna went to Castellammare and told Mariano Asaro that he was standing behind Francesco Domingo, that would mean the Bonanno family was supporting Domingo in his dispute with Asaro. It might not mean the entire Bonanno family agreed, as there are all kinds of divided interests (or just plain disinterest) within any mafia family, but to our knowledge at the time of Montagna's deportation he represented the highest authority in the Bonanno family. There was no official boss and Sal Montagna was acting boss.

- We need more info on Montagna's rank upon deportation, though. Gasper Valenti testified at the Asaro trial that Sal Montagna was "one of the bosses" and "a boss from NYC" when Montagna was killed in 2011, but they didn't ask for clarification and we can't be sure if this meant Montagna had been a boss previously or if he was still considered part of the Bonanno hierarchy when he was killed. Historically, when an NYC mafia member was deported back to Italy or elsewhere, he lost his rank. However, Montagna was deported to a foreign city with a large, thriving Bonanno crew. While he was no longer in a position to run the day-to-day activities of the Bonanno family and we know others became acting boss in NYC, we can't be sure what role Montagna represented in Montreal.

- Montagna couldn't have done as much as he did if he hadn't been a high-ranking Bonanno member. If being a Bonanno boss meant nothing in Montreal, it's unlikely Montagna would have made any in-roads with the Montreal group(s). We know however that certain people were willing to support him, likely for a combination of reasons, but one would have been his status as a Bonanno leader.

- Desjardins' brother-in-law Joe DiMaulo would have readily understood that he was made into the Bonanno family, not the "Rizzuto Crime Syndicate." DiMaulo drove underboss Sal Vitale around Montreal a decade earlier and visited NYC in the 1970s for the Rastelli vote, plus other interactions we likely never heard of, so DiMaulo knew mafia protocol as a member of the Bonanno family.

- The Desjardins angle plays well with the above. Despite Fernandez's strange boast about him and Desjardins being made by Rizzuto, we have Desjardins recorded saying he doesn't have a "membership card" and mocking the journalist's idea that he could be part of the leadership as a non-Italian (again, echoes of the old D'Alfonso article in Philly). This tells us that in Montreal at that time, when Montagna was there, being an Italian made member was still the requirement for formal leadership. Montagna was the highest ranking Italian made member of the Bonanno family. Desjardins aligned himself with Montagna.

- This gets into the operational vs. organizational discussion, as Desjardins had extensive knowledge and influence over operations ("the Book", as Scoppa described it) while Montagna was a relative outsider to operations but had a position in the Bonanno family that would legitimize Desjardins' actions. Obviously Montagna was not looking to be an inactive figurehead with a title, so the relationship didn't work out to say the least. Montagna may have simply used Desjardins to gain knowledge / influence over "the Book", while Desjardins appears to have used Montagna because of his mafia status.

- What's important to take from the above is that Desjardins and others wouldn't have aligned themselves with Montagna if they felt he represented nothing in Montreal. There was a significant element in Montreal (mafia and non-mafia) who didn't care what Montagna represented, or felt he was overstepping his role, hence the war. What's important is that Montagna was able to do anything at all, and Occam's Razor tells us this was because of his rank within the organization that Montreal is part of.

- For all we know, one of the reasons Montagna was inducted so young was to serve as a formal liaison between Montreal and Sciascia/NYC, given Sciascia's former liaison Joe LoPresti was murdered and Sciascia couldn't enter Canada. Montagna was young, had a clean record, Canadian citizenship, and his father was a Sicilian man of honor who had lived in Montreal. Gerlando Sciascia sponsored Pietro Ligammari for membership in the early 1990s so that Ligammari could be a formal messenger to his father in prison. Montagna may have been inducted to serve as a messenger to Montreal and the extent of his knowledge and contacts is unknown to us. The Scoppa book's reference to Montagna's long-time relationship to the Arcuris in Montreal would go with this.

[chin_gigante]

Chapter 6: The Secret

The initiation rites by which a mafia soldier becomes a true man of honor have been explained repeatedly in court.

Journalist Edmund Mahony, after attending the hearing in which a US district court broadcast for the first time in history a tape with the famous oath recorded, describes the ritual in these terms in the edition. of July 4, 1991 from the Hartford Courant.

The godfather takes the finger which pulls the trigger [the index finger] of the future freedman and pierces him so as to make a few drops of blood bead on an image of a saint. The image is then placed in the initiate's hands and the sponsor sets it on fire. The initiate must then take an oath and swear the omertà.

The formula may vary from family to family, but usually the initiate takes the following oath: "As this card burns, may my soul burn in Hell if I betray the oath of Omerta."

We could translate it as follows in French: "Like this burning card, may my soul burn in hell if I betray the oath of omertà."

This initiation rite is now part of folklore, Scoppa tells us. In Montreal, at least.

“Nowadays, people prefer to brag about the crimes they have committed. Because it gives them presence. You want to say to others, "That was me who did it!"

Today, the omertà is just a myth, according to Andrew. It's a thing of the past, and those days are gone.

“In the good old days, it existed. It was a rule that you should not talk about what you had done as criminal activity. Nor what you knew about the criminal world."

Been thinking more and more about this and I can't quite figure out what Scoppa means (and I think the confusion is also due to Seguin and Thibault's framing of it). I see two interpretations of this:

1. Inductions no longer happen in Montreal, with people preferring to boast about the crimes they have committed than rely on their buttons for strength.

2. The secrecy associated with Omerta has become a thing of the past, with people now preferring to boast about their crimes.

Obviously there's a big difference between those two interpretations.

[Moscone65]

Calautti used to be with the coluccio clan but then transferred to the figliomeni group. (Around the time of the California sandwiches fiasco). There is a particular man in Vaughan/Toronto that holds sway amongst the sicilians, his initials are F.C. and he is getting up there in age now. If you want to go to a non members only cafe where you can see “Sicilians”, go to Dimanno bakery in Vaughan, they are a legit business and have good coffee. Also on a side note, the Musitanos had a lot more influence in Toronto (not just Hamilton) than many people think. They had many guys across the gta connected to them. As of before pat was whacked, they were second only to commisso, figliomeni and coluccio in toronto. Now, I’m not sure yet.

[Laurentian]

Chapter 6: The Secret

The initiation rites by which a mafia soldier becomes a true man of honor have been explained repeatedly in court.

Journalist Edmund Mahony, after attending the hearing in which a US district court broadcast for the first time in history a tape with the famous oath recorded, describes the ritual in these terms in the edition. of July 4, 1991 from the Hartford Courant.

The godfather takes the finger which pulls the trigger [the index finger] of the future freedman and pierces him so as to make a few drops of blood bead on an image of a saint. The image is then placed in the initiate's hands and the sponsor sets it on fire. The initiate must then take an oath and swear the omertà.

The formula may vary from family to family, but usually the initiate takes the following oath: "As this card burns, may my soul burn in Hell if I betray the oath of Omerta."

We could translate it as follows in French: "Like this burning card, may my soul burn in hell if I betray the oath of omertà."

This initiation rite is now part of folklore, Scoppa tells us. In Montreal, at least.

“Nowadays, people prefer to brag about the crimes they have committed. Because it gives them presence. You want to say to others, "That was me who did it!"

Today, the omertà is just a myth, according to Andrew. It's a thing of the past, and those days are gone.

“In the good old days, it existed. It was a rule that you should not talk about what you had done as criminal activity. Nor what you knew about the criminal world."

Been thinking more and more about this and I can't quite figure out what Scoppa means (and I think the confusion is also due to Seguin and Thibault's framing of it). I see two interpretations of this:

1. Inductions no longer happen in Montreal, with people preferring to boast about the crimes they have committed than rely on their buttons for strength.

2. The secrecy associated with Omerta has become a thing of the past, with people now preferring to boast about their crimes.

Obviously there's a big difference between those two interpretations.

In my personal comments on their book to the authors, I made the observation that I wished authors would pursue more on the matter of initiations in Montréal by asking Scoppa :how and who is it performed, what is the process to follow with New York's approbations (if it applies), if the rule of " twenty members" still exists, etc.

My feeling is that Scoppa was very far of these questions and it wasn't his daily headaches at all. He was a street guy and his preoccuptions were mainly elsewhere : drug trafficking.

Either way, Scoppa was more focused on his own ego than talking about the real things of the Montreal Mafia.

In other words: he knew a lot more than he wanted to say about it ...

In overall, the book learns us a lot about unknown questions or events about Montréal's.

[Pmac2]

Yaeh sounds like scoppa like to toot his own horn. Is there pictures of his house? Is it like a million dollar house cause this guy makes himself out to be pablo. He have in hipos up there in the montreal river running free today

[Pmac2]

Yaeh sounds like scoppa like to toot his own horn. Is there pictures of his house? Is it like a million dollar house cause this guy makes himself out to be pablo. He have any hipos up there in the montreal river running free today

[CabriniGreen]

Chapter 6: The Secret

The initiation rites by which a mafia soldier becomes a true man of honor have been explained repeatedly in court.

Journalist Edmund Mahony, after attending the hearing in which a US district court broadcast for the first time in history a tape with the famous oath recorded, describes the ritual in these terms in the edition. of July 4, 1991 from the Hartford Courant.

The godfather takes the finger which pulls the trigger [the index finger] of the future freedman and pierces him so as to make a few drops of blood bead on an image of a saint. The image is then placed in the initiate's hands and the sponsor sets it on fire. The initiate must then take an oath and swear the omertà.

The formula may vary from family to family, but usually the initiate takes the following oath: "As this card burns, may my soul burn in Hell if I betray the oath of Omerta."

We could translate it as follows in French: "Like this burning card, may my soul burn in hell if I betray the oath of omertà."

This initiation rite is now part of folklore, Scoppa tells us. In Montreal, at least.

“Nowadays, people prefer to brag about the crimes they have committed. Because it gives them presence. You want to say to others, "That was me who did it!"

Today, the omertà is just a myth, according to Andrew. It's a thing of the past, and those days are gone.

“In the good old days, it existed. It was a rule that you should not talk about what you had done as criminal activity. Nor what you knew about the criminal world."

Been thinking more and more about this and I can't quite figure out what Scoppa means (and I think the confusion is also due to Seguin and Thibault's framing of it). I see two interpretations of this:

1. Inductions no longer happen in Montreal, with people preferring to boast about the crimes they have committed than rely on their buttons for strength.

2. The secrecy associated with Omerta has become a thing of the past, with people now preferring to boast about their crimes.

Obviously there's a big difference between those two interpretations.

In my personal comments on their book to the authors, I made the observation that I wished authors would pursue more on the matter of initiations in Montréal by asking Scoppa :how and who is it performed, what is the process to follow with New York's approbations (if it applies), if the rule of " twenty members" still exists, etc.

My feeling is that Scoppa was very far of these questions and it wasn't his daily headaches at all. He was a street guy and his preoccuptions were mainly elsewhere : drug trafficking.

Either way, Scoppa was more focused on his own ego than talking about the real things of the Montreal Mafia.

In other words: he knew a lot more than he wanted to say about it ...

In overall, the book learns us a lot about unknown questions or events about Montréal's.

Maybe I didnt post enough excerpts, or the right ones. But one of the points the authors made was at first they were just enamored with the whole idea of having a mafia boss speak to them.

They met the guy in Spain for a " debriefing", if you will. After about 5 days, they were completely like, sick of the guy, lol. Scoppa always dominated the conversation, and was obviously holding back and obscuring things.

This was like a power play in Scoppas mind..

Also, I get all the, are they made, are they not talk, but for real, no one has anything to say about this Valiquette? Is he made?

Also on the " Book", Scoppa talk about like ledgers and list of loan customers, list of betting agents, and who won or lost what. It seemed like more than just a Tax.

He doesnt say, " This guy owes 10% of his earnings, he says this guy has 5% share of the Book". Little bit different, or no? It's not clear to me what the criteria is for ownership of the Book. Seems like a made guy would own it, was Gervasi, Valiquette, Giordano, Sollecito, are they to be considered made?

Why WAS Montagna meeting with the Violis, and what happened to the Platinum Book?

If we believe Cicale, Montagna didnt have total backing in NY, he was more like a guy Basciano tapped to keep the power in his crew. I think there a reason Cicale explained how Squitieri was a Gotti crew member, holding onto the family reigns for Gotti.

Also, his claims about tribute are like, second hand. Hes inside, when Baldo tells him, that Sal told HIM, that Vito didnt appreciate the request. I would believe it more if he heard it direct.

Did Massino testify to Rizzuto coming to NY? It certainly would have helped a Rico case, I'm sure the Feds would have been interested in that.

The Basciano reopening the pipeline is interesting, because there was NO coke, and pills that they couldnt move. So really just weed that they could a got anywhere, at least within the US. I doubt they would have requested pills they didnt know how to move, so I wonder if this was really thier initiative, or Montreals?

[CabriniGreen]

Chapter 6: The Secret

The initiation rites by which a mafia soldier becomes a true man of honor have been explained repeatedly in court.

Journalist Edmund Mahony, after attending the hearing in which a US district court broadcast for the first time in history a tape with the famous oath recorded, describes the ritual in these terms in the edition. of July 4, 1991 from the Hartford Courant.

The godfather takes the finger which pulls the trigger [the index finger] of the future freedman and pierces him so as to make a few drops of blood bead on an image of a saint. The image is then placed in the initiate's hands and the sponsor sets it on fire. The initiate must then take an oath and swear the omertà.

The formula may vary from family to family, but usually the initiate takes the following oath: "As this card burns, may my soul burn in Hell if I betray the oath of Omerta."

We could translate it as follows in French: "Like this burning card, may my soul burn in hell if I betray the oath of omertà."

This initiation rite is now part of folklore, Scoppa tells us. In Montreal, at least.

“Nowadays, people prefer to brag about the crimes they have committed. Because it gives them presence. You want to say to others, "That was me who did it!"

Today, the omertà is just a myth, according to Andrew. It's a thing of the past, and those days are gone.

“In the good old days, it existed. It was a rule that you should not talk about what you had done as criminal activity. Nor what you knew about the criminal world."

Been thinking more and more about this and I can't quite figure out what Scoppa means (and I think the confusion is also due to Seguin and Thibault's framing of it). I see two interpretations of this:

1. Inductions no longer happen in Montreal, with people preferring to boast about the crimes they have committed than rely on their buttons for strength.

2. The secrecy associated with Omerta has become a thing of the past, with people now preferring to boast about their crimes.

Obviously there's a big difference between those two interpretations.

I pretty much said the same. It's not real clear what he means, I also pointed out, HES the one INFORMING! To police AND journalists! So his perspective on "omerta", and " honor" and who's loyal to what is strange to say the least.

I also have to reiterate, it's not really fair to hold drug trafficking against him, because ALL these guys are drug traffickers. I would say, almost without exception.

[Etna]

Chapter 6: The Secret

The initiation rites by which a mafia soldier becomes a true man of honor have been explained repeatedly in court.

Journalist Edmund Mahony, after attending the hearing in which a US district court broadcast for the first time in history a tape with the famous oath recorded, describes the ritual in these terms in the edition. of July 4, 1991 from the Hartford Courant.

The godfather takes the finger which pulls the trigger [the index finger] of the future freedman and pierces him so as to make a few drops of blood bead on an image of a saint. The image is then placed in the initiate's hands and the sponsor sets it on fire. The initiate must then take an oath and swear the omertà.

The formula may vary from family to family, but usually the initiate takes the following oath: "As this card burns, may my soul burn in Hell if I betray the oath of Omerta."

We could translate it as follows in French: "Like this burning card, may my soul burn in hell if I betray the oath of omertà."

This initiation rite is now part of folklore, Scoppa tells us. In Montreal, at least.

“Nowadays, people prefer to brag about the crimes they have committed. Because it gives them presence. You want to say to others, "That was me who did it!"

Today, the omertà is just a myth, according to Andrew. It's a thing of the past, and those days are gone.

“In the good old days, it existed. It was a rule that you should not talk about what you had done as criminal activity. Nor what you knew about the criminal world."

Been thinking more and more about this and I can't quite figure out what Scoppa means (and I think the confusion is also due to Seguin and Thibault's framing of it). I see two interpretations of this:

1. Inductions no longer happen in Montreal, with people preferring to boast about the crimes they have committed than rely on their buttons for strength.

2. The secrecy associated with Omerta has become a thing of the past, with people now preferring to boast about their crimes.

Obviously there's a big difference between those two interpretations.

The fact that inductions no longer happen in Montreal are probably why I still questioned if guys like Juan Fernandez thought he was made or maybe he was purely bullshit.

Vito could have said these guys were part of his family or something, but no official ceremony at all.

[B.]

If we believe Cicale, Montagna didnt have total backing in NY, he was more like a guy Basciano tapped to keep the power in his crew. I think there a reason Cicale explained how Squitieri was a Gotti crew member, holding onto the family reigns for Gotti.

Montagna wasn't from Basciano's crew, though. Cicale said Montagna was transferred to the DeFilippo crew when Sciascia was killed. After that, Basciano was given his own decina and Montagna stayed with DeFilippo. Basciano wasn't the official boss and it's not clear how much influence he had by the time Mancuso was jailed and Montagna took over, so not sure where the idea would come in that Montagna was some kind of Basciano henchman.

If Montagna was in the Gerlando Sciascia crew up until 1999, as Cicale implies, Montagna was originally a member/associate of the "Montreal" crew, just as Sciascia was their capodecina. They lived in NYC but were part of the same decina as the Rizzutos, DiMaulo, etc.