Project Otremens Recordings

[CabriniGreen]

Capo provincia is the common word used, but Calderone used the word "rappresentante", so I guess it's the correct word used by the "men of honor"

The leadership timeline for Siculiana is quite confusing because they were active in several places, but here is what I compiled:

-For the 40s I don't have specific names but Nicola Gentile and Giovanni (or Giuseppe, depend the source) are considered highly powerful figure from Siculiana.
-Giuseppe Caruana (1950's-197?). He moved to Brazil in 1957
-Leonardo Caruana (1973-1981). Moved to Montreal in 1968 and deported in 1973. I guess he runned things in Siculiana until his murder
-Pasquale Cuntrera (1981-1992). Moved to Brazil in 1957, then Montreal, then in Venezuela circa 1970. Boss of a cosca in Venezuela until his arrest
-Alfonso Caruana (1992-1998). Active in Montreal, Venezuela, Italy, London and Woodbridge until his arrest.
-Gerlando "Gigi" Caruana (1981-20??). Leonardo's son, he's listed as the boss of Siculiana and I suppose he runs the Family businesses since the murder of his father.

It's a very personal opinion, but I believe that the transfer of Nicolo in the Caruana-Cuntrera Clan during the 70s was not temporary but permanent and he was the representant of the Clan in Montreal with Agostino Cuntrera, Giovanni DiMora, Gerlando Caruana (Alfonso's brother) and some others

Good luck with that ^^

I'm pretty much on the same page.... I see the Rizzutos as Sicilian mafia. But more than that, it's not up to me, I think THEY SEE THEMSELVES as Sicilian mafia. I think it's why Niccolo consulted Buscetta about his affiliation. And you are right, with how spread out and far apart each branch is/was. I really look at them like a crime corporation, or as they refer to them in Italy, a criminal holding company. I see Niccolo as being like their President? COO or CEO? I think that's a better analogy. I've always looked at the Rizzutos like..... it's hard to explain. They are like what the Mole` were to the Piromalli. The muscle? With the Caruanas as the money? I dunno......

In fact, I see the entirety of the narcotics operations as essentially the Sicilians mafias foreign holdings, under control of a " company" they incorporated in the form of the Caruana- Cuntrera family, appointed by the parent conpany, the Cupola as its .......not the shareholders, thats the families that invested. More like a corporate board composed of family members..... I guess, lol... this is all opinion here...

This is why it's incredibly interesting when Antimafia said he is of the opinion Montreal might be responding to the Gambinos today. The Porto Empedocle people being in the same madamento as the Siculiana people. Then Porto Empedocle dealing with the Inzerillos, instead of the Caruanas who I believe had lost the contacts by that point. Like no one seems to get it that New Bridge, even Old Bridge SHOULD have been the Caruana- Cuntreras sourcing coke from Miami based Venezuelens, they were there in Miami. And they were Cosa Nostras point men for the whole Cupola.

Essentially I think the "foreign holdings", the routes, the contacts, the access to America, all that, got taken over by the Inzerillos, the other family present in Venezuela, who ALSO commanded IN Sicily, would have been in position TO take over this, im calling it a "company", but these "foreign holdings", it could almost be considered a kind of "territory". But it's not really for the money, not for them. For the Inzerillos, it's
an asset to be managed and a tool for building power.


Do you think he transferred after conferring with Buscetta, and being told to "assert yourself"?

[CabriniGreen]

Capo provincia is the common word used, but Calderone used the word "rappresentante", so I guess it's the correct word used by the "men of honor"

The leadership timeline for Siculiana is quite confusing because they were active in several places, but here is what I compiled:

-For the 40s I don't have specific names but Nicola Gentile and Giovanni (or Giuseppe, depend the source) are considered highly powerful figure from Siculiana.
-Giuseppe Caruana (1950's-197?). He moved to Brazil in 1957
-Leonardo Caruana (1973-1981). Moved to Montreal in 1968 and deported in 1973. I guess he runned things in Siculiana until his murder
-Pasquale Cuntrera (1981-1992). Moved to Brazil in 1957, then Montreal, then in Venezuela circa 1970. Boss of a cosca in Venezuela until his arrest
-Alfonso Caruana (1992-1998). Active in Montreal, Venezuela, Italy, London and Woodbridge until his arrest.
-Gerlando "Gigi" Caruana (1981-20??). Leonardo's son, he's listed as the boss of Siculiana and I suppose he runs the Family businesses since the murder of his father.

It's a very personal opinion, but I believe that the transfer of Nicolo in the Caruana-Cuntrera Clan during the 70s was not temporary but permanent and he was the representant of the Clan in Montreal with Agostino Cuntrera, Giovanni DiMora, Gerlando Caruana (Alfonso's brother) and some others

Good luck with that ^^

Also active in Ostia, Rome through the Triassi Brothers who were their regents....

[Moscone65]

Capo provincia is the common word used, but Calderone used the word "rappresentante", so I guess it's the correct word used by the "men of honor"

The leadership timeline for Siculiana is quite confusing because they were active in several places, but here is what I compiled:

-For the 40s I don't have specific names but Nicola Gentile and Giovanni (or Giuseppe, depend the source) are considered highly powerful figure from Siculiana.
-Giuseppe Caruana (1950's-197?). He moved to Brazil in 1957
-Leonardo Caruana (1973-1981). Moved to Montreal in 1968 and deported in 1973. I guess he runned things in Siculiana until his murder
-Pasquale Cuntrera (1981-1992). Moved to Brazil in 1957, then Montreal, then in Venezuela circa 1970. Boss of a cosca in Venezuela until his arrest
-Alfonso Caruana (1992-1998). Active in Montreal, Venezuela, Italy, London and Woodbridge until his arrest.
-Gerlando "Gigi" Caruana (1981-20??). Leonardo's son, he's listed as the boss of Siculiana and I suppose he runs the Family businesses since the murder of his father.

It's a very personal opinion, but I believe that the transfer of Nicolo in the Caruana-Cuntrera Clan during the 70s was not temporary but permanent and he was the representant of the Clan in Montreal with Agostino Cuntrera, Giovanni DiMora, Gerlando Caruana (Alfonso's brother) and some others

Good luck with that ^^

Interesting opinions. We know there are cases seen in Canada where guys are members of ndrangheta and lcn at the same time such as the Luppinos. Do you think it is possible for nick/Vito rizzuto as well? Or would it be one or the other? (A complete transfer)

[B.]

Members can belong to both the Camorra or 'ndrangheta and Cosa Nostra but a Cosa Nostra member can't belong to two Families even between two countries.

[Moscone65]

So your saying lcn and cosa nostra are the same “organization”? Aren’t some mobsters from Italy not necessarily given the made guy status when they come to America unless they are formally transferred?

[OcSleeper]

'Walk and talk': Massive RCMP mafia investigation targeted Burlington neighbourhood Pt. 1/3
https://www.insidehalton.com/opinion/wa ... 8a02f.html

Want to place this here so it's with all the other sources for the Otremens' recordings.

[chin_gigante]

That's a great article.

In September 2016, Morena recorded a conversation in Hamilton with Giuseppe Violi where they both agreed that Massimigliano Carfagna deserved to be straightened out. Violi also noted that Carfagna would be willing to commit murder if he had to.

[antimafia]

'Walk and talk': Massive RCMP mafia investigation targeted Burlington neighbourhood Pt. 1/3
https://www.insidehalton.com/opinion/wa ... 8a02f.html

Want to place this here so it's with all the other sources for the Otremens' recordings.

From the article:

This was recorded undercover scenario No. 204. It was part of an ongoing investigation focusing on the Violi-Luppino crime family in Hamilton, Ont. — dubbed “Project Otremens.”

Given that there has been discussion in this thread and other threads about how criminal groups are given appellations by law enforcement -- names that the groups themselves usually do not use but sometimes do by osmosis -- I thought I'd copy-paste in this post the following from R. v. Domenico Violi, 2018 ONSC 3738 (CanLII) (Domenico Violi, the Applicant, was represented by Dean Paquette, the longtime lawyer for Pat and Angelo Musitano):

[6] The Crown has contended that throughout the course of the RCMP investigation, the applicant unquestionably identified himself as a “made” member of an Italian Mafia group associated with the Luppino//Violi family of Hamilton and the Todardo crime family in Buffalo, New York.

Link to full case: https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2 ... ultIndex=9

[Newyorkempire]

Yet more reason to throw all those Buffalo News articles describing it as dead in the garbage.

[Tonyd621]

'Walk and talk': Massive RCMP mafia investigation targeted Burlington neighbourhood Pt. 1/3
https://www.insidehalton.com/opinion/wa ... 8a02f.html

Want to place this here so it's with all the other sources for the Otremens' recordings.

This is good material. I'm just getting around to reading it now. But thank for posting.

[B.]

'Walk and talk': Massive RCMP mafia investigation targeted Burlington neighbourhood Pt. 1/3
https://www.insidehalton.com/opinion/wa ... 8a02f.html

Want to place this here so it's with all the other sources for the Otremens' recordings.

So Carfagna, Joe Violi, and Cece Luppino were all under consideration for membership if not proposed. Not sure I remember Carfagna's name being mentioned in that context before this.

[OcSleeper]

I don't think it has either B. It wouldn't surprise me if we later find out Adriano Scolieri, Bernardo Rotolo and possibly others were also considered/proposed.

[B.]

It's not clear from that excerpt which Family he was being considered for given it was a Bonanno member talking to a proposed member (or had Joe Violi been made already?) who had the option of joining the Bonannos or Buffalo. Be interesting if they were thinking of expanding the Bonannos' membership in the area to more than just Morena and Violi but I assume Carfagno would have joined Buffalo. We can at least rule out Los Angeles since at least one of the members made by them was done without proper protocol and it upset the Buffalo boss.

Speaking of the three names said to have been made in connection with California, the original article that mentioned it specifically said an "LA Family". Sergi wrote about it as a branch of the Gambino Family in California but I question whether that's what was said. Felice identified one of the Caputo brothers as a close associate of Tommy Gambino, who is related to Gambino Family and Palermo leaders, but the last we knew of his affiliation was that he was the Los Angeles underboss. Also if the three members were made into the Gambino Family and operated in Hamilton, why mention California at all?

It is more far-fetched to speculate that Hamilton-based members were made into a Los Angeles decina in the NYC Gambino Family that was formed after Los Angeles disbanded as a Family, all of which has no proof. On the other hand, we do know Tommy Gambino is the last known ranking member of the Los Angeles Family and it is simpler to speculate that the Hamilton names were made with this group, which of course is heavily tied to the Gambino Family just not officially. Of course I'm willing to revise my view but I would need evidence that 1) LA was disbanded 2) Tommy Gambino transferred to the Gambino Family and 3) that men in Hamilton were made into the Gambino Family but reported to a California faction or crew.

While Todaro and seemingly his men in Ontario had issues with the induction of these LA members in Hamilton, it doesn't seem they had a bad relationship with the Gambino Family even though I've thought that might be the case. You have Todaro wanting to formally introduce Violi as underboss to members of the Gambino Family and Metelsky has said Paul Semplice, Lorenzo Mannino's guy, attended Morena's induction as the Violi brothers are said to have done. Based on the photo of the induction, though, there is doubt whether non-Bonanno members were in the hotel room itself while the "ceremony" took place. They could have been invited in afterward or maybe there was a dinner / celebration afterward attended by the Violis and Semplice if it's true they played some role in the events surrounding the initiation.

--

The other shoe waiting to drop from the Otremens investigation is what was revealed about Montreal. We have the one reference to Violi saying things had been settled (at least temporarily) and he offered to introduce Morena to Arcadi, Cotroni, and Mucci. We don't know if this was meant to be a casual introduction or if Violi meant he'd introduce them to Morena as made members. Metelsky has now said more than once that Morena had his own ties to Montreal mafiosi. As Antimafia has pointed out, Morena was arrested in the Montreal area in late August 2014 after seemingly living in Canada since 2011.

What OCSleeper shared in the original post might be relevant, as Natale Luppino was introduced to Paolo and Joe Cuntrera as members by a high-ranking Bonanno member. What Sleeper posted said "NYC Bonanno" Family but that doesn't necessarily mean the leader was based in NYC, it could just be clarifying the Bonannos are an NYC Family and this could be a Canada-based Bonanno leader. This is more likely to me than an NYC-based Bonanno leader introducing two Cuntreras as members to Natale Luppino but who knows, this whole case has defied expectations and that's just the little we know from it. Either way Todaro told Luppino, and Natale's brother Rocco agreed, that they shouldn't recognize the Cuntreras as they couldn't verify if they were even made overseas. Does this mean Buffalo isn't recognizing members made in Sicily or does it mean the Cuntreras were made in Canada but it was unsanctioned? Could they have been made in Montreal without proper approval? If so, a Bonanno leader (whether he is NYC or Canada based) still recognized them, introduce them to a capodecina of another Family, and was recognized by Buffalo himself so there is some level of Bonanno support for the Cuntreras as members even if Buffalo didn't share this view.

Metelsky has had the most interesting public commentary on Hamilton for me. He is the one who said the RCMP believed Pat Musitano was made by Buffalo in 1997 and shortly thereafter he was formally introduced to Vito Rizzuto as an amico nostra with Pino Avignone and Gaetano Panepinto, which would mean the latter two were made by then as well. Avignone is affiliated with Buffalo but if this account is accurate it opens the question of whether Panepinto was made with Buffalo or the Bonanno Family. It's assumed he was "with" Rizzuto but all we have is evidence of a close friendship and partnership -- assuming affiliation based on these factors alone is an outdated and often inaccurate way of understanding these relationships. It's often stated that Musitano was "with" Rizzuto for the same reasons and we have a former RCMP figure saying explicitly they believe Musitano was made by Buffalo. I mean, without Morena's cooperation we would otherwise assume he was a Buffalo member, or even a so-called "Luppino-Violi Crime Family" member, based on what he was doing and who he was associating with in Hamilton. But no, he was a Bonanno member. We need insiders willing to fully cooperate in Canada if we want to truly understand what has been going on there not just in recent years but going back generations.

[antimafia]

That's a great article.

In September 2016, Morena recorded a conversation in Hamilton with Giuseppe Violi where they both agreed that Massimigliano Carfagna deserved to be straightened out. Violi also noted that Carfagna would be willing to commit murder if he had to.

Joey Violi’s mention of murder must have posed a problem for Morena’s police handlers — any serious steps taken by Joe Todaro Jr. or the NYC Bonannos to ask Carfagna to make his bones would have caused Project OTremens to come to a screeching halt, possibly before there was enough evidence to lay charges against the targeted members of the Luppino-Violi group (Natale and Rocco; Dom and Joey). Stephen Metelsky seems to think or know that Joey Violi was affiliated with the Bonannos. Screencaps from Metelsky’s Mob Museum presentation in March 2021:







The RCMP might have wanted Morena to tape others’ induction ceremonies — not just his own — and to record individuals in Montreal to whom Dom Violi offered to introduce him. Metelsky can’t answer whether Morena’s arrest in Laval years earlier was staged — I’ve privately asked Metelsky the question — and one reason, in my opinion, is that Morena reached out to Canadian authorities about becoming a police agent, not the other way around; that is, Morena didn’t agree to become a police agent because he engaged in crimes in places like Laval and Saint John (New Brunswick) but, rather, he was already being used earlier to help arrest people in RCMP stings, such as Project J-Tornado. There are of course other more important reasons as to why even a retired police officer like Metelsky can’t confirm or deny anything said about someone in witness protection. Another screencap from Metelsky’s presentation:

[NickleCity]

…snip…
Stephen Metelsky seems to think or know that Joey Violi was affiliated with the Bonannos. Screencaps from Metelsky’s Mob Museum presentation in March 2021:

…Snip…

Thanks for bringing this up about Metelsky’s graphics. I’m wondering what people think about this.
1. Is he saying that he believes Joe Violi was made or proposed to be made into the Bonnano family?
2. If so, how does that square with the comment that Violi wanted to stay put? See below:

when the Agent was discussing the prospect for Joe Violi to join the Bonanno Family in New York City, Joe Violi apparently commented that he would rather stay put: “would only see them once every ten years … if you are never going to see these people what’s the point of being with them?”.

I wonder what exactly stay put means in this sense. Does it mean he doesn't want to be made? Or would he rather stay put within Buffalo's influence and be made with them? Both Dom and Joe Violi were present at the police informants induction which could imply he was made with Buffalo by that time.

I interpreted that as Joe Violi not wanting to be a Bonanno member rather than not being made at all. The notes cites that particular piece of information as coming from May 6, 2015, so if Violi was a Buffalo member by the time of Morena's ceremony he'd have to be made between May and November 2015.

However, I'm not sure Joe Violi was inducted at that time because the article also states when Dom is promoted to underboss in 2017 his brother's affiliation is regarded as an "outstanding item to consider".

3. Like Chin I took this that Joe Violi did not want to become a Bonnano member and wanted to stay put in the the Buffalo sphere, but this graphic definitely complicates that take. Any ideas on how to square the Metelsky’s graphic with Violi’s words and the fact that we don’t have the entire context and complete conversation?
4. I wonder why Joe Violi would have considered joining the Bonannos if his brother and uncles were with Buffalo, was his relationship with Morena that strong? I guess he could have been working a lot with Bonanno associates and members.
5. If he was working a great deal the Bonanno’s could Metelsky have just confused Violi’s functional relationships with his potential official relationships?
I’d love to get everyone’s thoughts.