So the Sicilians had given Whooley a piece of the "Book". Thats the 1st time I've heard that....interesting..OcSleeper wrote: ↑Fri Nov 17, 2023 9:37 am Gang leader Gregory Woolley shot dead
https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/just ... um=twitter
Looks like they have someone in custody already.
Montreal Mafia status - Post Rizzuto Era
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CabriniGreen
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Re: Montreal Mafia status - Post Rizzuto Era
Re: Montreal Mafia status - Post Rizzuto Era
Is this from street gangs or an organized attack on the Rizzuto-Sollecito faction? Could be bikers too?
Re: Montreal Mafia status - Post Rizzuto Era
Bikers 100%
Re: Montreal Mafia status - Post Rizzuto Era
The Sports Betting War
https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/just ... #topAnchor
3 part article with some great info
https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/just ... #topAnchor
3 part article with some great info
Re: Montreal Mafia status - Post Rizzuto Era
Sports betting The book of discord
DANIEL RENAUD INVESTIGATION TEAM, THE PRESS
Published at 5:00 am
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, PRESS ARCHIVES
Police believe that the assassination of gang leader Gregory Woolley on November 17 in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu could be linked to the conflict surrounding the control of sports betting.
Attempted murder against Leonardo Rizzuto. Assassinations of Claudia Iacono, Francesco Del Balso and Gregory Woolley. Montreal organized crime is shaken this year by a new high-level conflict. One of the background: the control of the Montreal mafia's sports betting register.
"He who owns the Book has the power," summarized a source from the police ranks at La Presse recently.
Both in the criminal community and among police officers, we subscribe to this maxim.
The Book is an expression dedicated to designate the list of customers and the accounting of sports betting of the Montreal mafia, and the loans related to it.
Historically, it is the dominant mafia clan that holds it.
The past has also shown that during some internal wars that have periodically shaken the Montreal mafia for almost 20 years, the holder of the Book was among the first targets of a coup attempt.
While for about ten years from 2013, Mafia and Hells Angels sat at the same table to lead Montreal organized crime, it seems that this alliance broke out last year.
The police believe that one of the reasons for this breakup is that a group of Montreal Hells Angels, led by Martin Robert and Stéphane Plouffe, is trying to take control of the Book that has belonged to the Sicilian clan of the Montreal mafia for decades.
In 2021, the Montreal Hells Angels accepted into their ranks a former Ontario member, Rob Barletta, a specialist in illegal sports betting, and the police believe that the arrival of the biker in the Belle Province is not insignificant.
Martin Robert's group had also accepted into its lap Francesco Del Balso, former lieutenant of the Sicilian clan and one of the mafia's sports betting officials before his arrest and conviction in the wake of the Colosseum investigation by which the RCMP beheaded the Rizzuto clan in 2006.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
Francesco Del Balso, during his arrest as part of Operation Colosseum in 2006
It seems that Del Balso did not appreciate the way the mafia dealt with him during his detention and wanted to take over the direction of the Book when he was released from prison. But the Sicilians would have put an end to him in no-recive.
Del Balso's experience in this area was welcome among the Hells Angels, but quickly, violent events followed one another.
Del Balso was the victim of an attempted murder near his home in Laval in November 2022.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Leonardo Rizzuto was targeted by an attempted murder in mid-March in Laval.
In mid-March, Leonardo Rizzuto, the youngest son of the late mafia godfather Vito Rizzuto, was shot on Highway 440, also in Laval.
In May, Claudia Iacono was murdered in Montreal, but the police believe that it was her spouse, Anthony Gallo, close to Del Balso, who was targeted.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
Funeral of Claudia Iacono
On June 5, it was Del Balso's turn to fall under the bullets in western Montreal, probably a victim of the Rizzuto's revenge.
Police believe that all these attacks, including the murder of gang leader Gregory Woolley in mid-November, have this same showdown as a backdrop.
Delighted with debts at 18 years old
Illegal sports betting is a traditional mafia activity.
One might think that this is a crime from another era, but sports betting, which at the same time allows officials to lend large sums of money at usurious rates, is extremely profitable for the mafia.
In addition, the police rarely look into these activities and the penalties for such crimes are often mild.
However, they can have very serious consequences.
In May 2019, an 18-year-old Laval resident, a part-time worker in a restaurant of a fast food chain, hanged himself at home after contracting a $80,000 debt by betting on the mafia's online betting site.
"Mr. revealed to his parents in November 2018 that he has gambling problems. Moreover, he makes several bank transfers from his account. On May 15, 2019, a loved one, who has access to the young man's bank account, noticed that he withdrew $400. He talks with the young man on the phone and agrees with him that he will manage his pay in the future, to ensure that he does not waste money. The young man studies at a friend's house that evening. He returns home around 1 a.m. in the night. His mother wants to talk to him but he refuses, saying he is tired. A suicide note is found on his cell phone. He explains that he is not depressed but rather that he is not happy, "reads the coroner's report.
According to our information, even after the young man's death, the mafia contacted the family so that the debt was still repaid.
Betting on the rise
During the Colosseum investigation, more than 15 years ago, an expert established that sports betting had allowed the Montreal mafia to raise 27 million in 18 months between 2004 and 2006.
According to the police, the millions raised through sports betting allow the mafia and organized crime to finance other criminal operations, such as the importation of drugs or the execution of contracts.
Those responsible for mafia sports betting in 2023 are the same as during the Colosseum investigation.
The results of a study published in March in La Presse conclude that online games exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, from 5.2% of followers in 2018 to 15.6% in 2021.
The police do not know how much the annual profits of the mafia's illegal sports betting amount in 2023, but they certainly stand at tens of millions of dollars.
Last January, La Presse revealed that Loto-Québec had announced advertising campaigns and exclusive agreements with the media and sports teams to face the competition it described as "illegal".
A risky bet
Readers have already asked La Presse why players turn, at their own risk, to illegal sports betting rather than legal sites, such as those of Loto-Québec.
According to sources, odds and gains would be higher. Since everything is done in cash, this leaves no trace for big players who will not be bothered by income agencies.
On the other hand, a losing player must immediately repay his debt, which increases rapidly, at usurious rates. A punter who does not pay exposes himself to receiving a visit from a collector or seeing his vehicle burned.
Sources told us that traders had lost their livelihood at the hands of mafias after contracting large gambling debts.
During the Colosseum investigation, RCMP investigators found that players had been beaten, committed suicide or lost property due to such debts.
DANIEL RENAUD INVESTIGATION TEAM, THE PRESS
Published at 5:00 am
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, PRESS ARCHIVES
Police believe that the assassination of gang leader Gregory Woolley on November 17 in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu could be linked to the conflict surrounding the control of sports betting.
Attempted murder against Leonardo Rizzuto. Assassinations of Claudia Iacono, Francesco Del Balso and Gregory Woolley. Montreal organized crime is shaken this year by a new high-level conflict. One of the background: the control of the Montreal mafia's sports betting register.
"He who owns the Book has the power," summarized a source from the police ranks at La Presse recently.
Both in the criminal community and among police officers, we subscribe to this maxim.
The Book is an expression dedicated to designate the list of customers and the accounting of sports betting of the Montreal mafia, and the loans related to it.
Historically, it is the dominant mafia clan that holds it.
The past has also shown that during some internal wars that have periodically shaken the Montreal mafia for almost 20 years, the holder of the Book was among the first targets of a coup attempt.
While for about ten years from 2013, Mafia and Hells Angels sat at the same table to lead Montreal organized crime, it seems that this alliance broke out last year.
The police believe that one of the reasons for this breakup is that a group of Montreal Hells Angels, led by Martin Robert and Stéphane Plouffe, is trying to take control of the Book that has belonged to the Sicilian clan of the Montreal mafia for decades.
In 2021, the Montreal Hells Angels accepted into their ranks a former Ontario member, Rob Barletta, a specialist in illegal sports betting, and the police believe that the arrival of the biker in the Belle Province is not insignificant.
Martin Robert's group had also accepted into its lap Francesco Del Balso, former lieutenant of the Sicilian clan and one of the mafia's sports betting officials before his arrest and conviction in the wake of the Colosseum investigation by which the RCMP beheaded the Rizzuto clan in 2006.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
Francesco Del Balso, during his arrest as part of Operation Colosseum in 2006
It seems that Del Balso did not appreciate the way the mafia dealt with him during his detention and wanted to take over the direction of the Book when he was released from prison. But the Sicilians would have put an end to him in no-recive.
Del Balso's experience in this area was welcome among the Hells Angels, but quickly, violent events followed one another.
Del Balso was the victim of an attempted murder near his home in Laval in November 2022.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Leonardo Rizzuto was targeted by an attempted murder in mid-March in Laval.
In mid-March, Leonardo Rizzuto, the youngest son of the late mafia godfather Vito Rizzuto, was shot on Highway 440, also in Laval.
In May, Claudia Iacono was murdered in Montreal, but the police believe that it was her spouse, Anthony Gallo, close to Del Balso, who was targeted.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
Funeral of Claudia Iacono
On June 5, it was Del Balso's turn to fall under the bullets in western Montreal, probably a victim of the Rizzuto's revenge.
Police believe that all these attacks, including the murder of gang leader Gregory Woolley in mid-November, have this same showdown as a backdrop.
Delighted with debts at 18 years old
Illegal sports betting is a traditional mafia activity.
One might think that this is a crime from another era, but sports betting, which at the same time allows officials to lend large sums of money at usurious rates, is extremely profitable for the mafia.
In addition, the police rarely look into these activities and the penalties for such crimes are often mild.
However, they can have very serious consequences.
In May 2019, an 18-year-old Laval resident, a part-time worker in a restaurant of a fast food chain, hanged himself at home after contracting a $80,000 debt by betting on the mafia's online betting site.
"Mr. revealed to his parents in November 2018 that he has gambling problems. Moreover, he makes several bank transfers from his account. On May 15, 2019, a loved one, who has access to the young man's bank account, noticed that he withdrew $400. He talks with the young man on the phone and agrees with him that he will manage his pay in the future, to ensure that he does not waste money. The young man studies at a friend's house that evening. He returns home around 1 a.m. in the night. His mother wants to talk to him but he refuses, saying he is tired. A suicide note is found on his cell phone. He explains that he is not depressed but rather that he is not happy, "reads the coroner's report.
According to our information, even after the young man's death, the mafia contacted the family so that the debt was still repaid.
Betting on the rise
During the Colosseum investigation, more than 15 years ago, an expert established that sports betting had allowed the Montreal mafia to raise 27 million in 18 months between 2004 and 2006.
According to the police, the millions raised through sports betting allow the mafia and organized crime to finance other criminal operations, such as the importation of drugs or the execution of contracts.
Those responsible for mafia sports betting in 2023 are the same as during the Colosseum investigation.
The results of a study published in March in La Presse conclude that online games exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, from 5.2% of followers in 2018 to 15.6% in 2021.
The police do not know how much the annual profits of the mafia's illegal sports betting amount in 2023, but they certainly stand at tens of millions of dollars.
Last January, La Presse revealed that Loto-Québec had announced advertising campaigns and exclusive agreements with the media and sports teams to face the competition it described as "illegal".
A risky bet
Readers have already asked La Presse why players turn, at their own risk, to illegal sports betting rather than legal sites, such as those of Loto-Québec.
According to sources, odds and gains would be higher. Since everything is done in cash, this leaves no trace for big players who will not be bothered by income agencies.
On the other hand, a losing player must immediately repay his debt, which increases rapidly, at usurious rates. A punter who does not pay exposes himself to receiving a visit from a collector or seeing his vehicle burned.
Sources told us that traders had lost their livelihood at the hands of mafias after contracting large gambling debts.
During the Colosseum investigation, RCMP investigators found that players had been beaten, committed suicide or lost property due to such debts.
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chin_gigante
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Re: Montreal Mafia status - Post Rizzuto Era
Great read, so it all seems to be pointing back to control of sports betting
'You don't go crucifying people outside a church; not on Good Friday.'
Re: Montreal Mafia status - Post Rizzuto Era
Amazing that I’ve always considered these wars in Montreal over the control of the cocaine/narcotics market, but the gambling book seems to be a huge source of many of the conflicts.
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CabriniGreen
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Re: Montreal Mafia status - Post Rizzuto Era
What I find interesting, and unsurprising, is the sports betting structure, pretty much mirrors the organizational structure. Essentially a " criminal holding conpany", an illegal corporation with dominant Sicilian Family clans in the " Executive branch", with "voting" shareholders who have an interest, maybe based on the territory they administer.
The Bikers seem to be fed up with JUST a shareholders vote. They have a majority/ marketshare of the streets in terms of enforcement/ muscle, and seem to be making a push. The muscle, combined with Italians like Barletta and DelBalso's knowhow seems to have emboldened them, they feel like they dont need the Sicilians? Martin Robert's faction of the Hells seems actually very ......mafia- ish.
Did they say Miriarchi administers Ndrangheta gambling interest in Montreal? Or did I read that all fuck up?
The Bikers seem to be fed up with JUST a shareholders vote. They have a majority/ marketshare of the streets in terms of enforcement/ muscle, and seem to be making a push. The muscle, combined with Italians like Barletta and DelBalso's knowhow seems to have emboldened them, they feel like they dont need the Sicilians? Martin Robert's faction of the Hells seems actually very ......mafia- ish.
Did they say Miriarchi administers Ndrangheta gambling interest in Montreal? Or did I read that all fuck up?
Re: Montreal Mafia status - Post Rizzuto Era
There was no mention of the Ndrangheta at all.
I found it interesting Carmelo Cannistraro is back running all of this and how little it seems to have changed since Project Colisée. Makes me wonder about many of the others who were involved in it back in the early 2000s like Paccione, DePasquale twins, Velenosi, etc.
Here's a little graphic/chart I did up awhile back on the way they described it in Project Colisée.
The West End Gang's Sean Purdy was said to own a piece of the book back during the Magot-Mastiff investigation but there's been little mention of him in recent years and no mention of him in this article. Have to wonder if he still has a piece or if/why he doesn't anymore.
I found it interesting Carmelo Cannistraro is back running all of this and how little it seems to have changed since Project Colisée. Makes me wonder about many of the others who were involved in it back in the early 2000s like Paccione, DePasquale twins, Velenosi, etc.
Here's a little graphic/chart I did up awhile back on the way they described it in Project Colisée.
The West End Gang's Sean Purdy was said to own a piece of the book back during the Magot-Mastiff investigation but there's been little mention of him in recent years and no mention of him in this article. Have to wonder if he still has a piece or if/why he doesn't anymore.
Re: Montreal Mafia status - Post Rizzuto Era
Does anyone think Frank Arcadi just gave up the life and walked away? And if he didn't, how is he staying out of the limelight so well and under the radar and how could he possibly be relegated to a minor role...seems like he was probably too high up for that to be the case...
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CabriniGreen
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Re: Montreal Mafia status - Post Rizzuto Era
I mean... from what I gathered, he pulled the trigger on Bertolo? Which kicked off the whole war....and then retaliation came in the form of that Domenico Macri kid getting killed? I think I'm remembering correctly.mr white wrote: ↑Thu Nov 30, 2023 8:50 pm Does anyone think Frank Arcadi just gave up the life and walked away? And if he didn't, how is he staying out of the limelight so well and under the radar and how could he possibly be relegated to a minor role...seems like he was probably too high up for that to be the case...
I think the guy ran to Europe. What's worse, is he didn't like dealing with the gangs in the alliance, yet Rizzuto and Sollecito ended up depending on Whooley, go figure...lol
To me he seemed incompetent...
Re: Montreal Mafia status - Post Rizzuto Era
They really go hard in Canada. Looks like it is about to get pretty hectic up there for the battle of the book. Will be some pretty important bodies to drop from either side before this cools down. Would be an interesting outcome for a biker gang to take control of a mafia sportsbook.
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AntComello
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Re: Montreal Mafia status - Post Rizzuto Era
Does anyone think that the Rizzutos have enough shooters to win a war against the bikers? Seems like they are out numbered, especially now that whooley is dead. This should be interesting.
That’s the guy, Adriana. My Uncle Tony. The guy I’m going to hell for.
Re: Montreal Mafia status - Post Rizzuto Era
The Rizzuto mafia clan is seriously threatened with the assassination of kingpin Gregory Woolley
https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2023/ ... ry-woolley
Individuals of all stripes came to the funeral home
https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/just ... eraire.php
https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2023/ ... ry-woolley
https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2023/ ... ry-woolley
Individuals of all stripes came to the funeral home
https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/just ... eraire.php
Prominent gangsters bid final farewell to kingpin Gregory WoolleyAmong the notable guests, let us highlight the presence of Leonardo Rizzuto, youngest son of the former mafia godfather Vito Rizzuto, the gang member Jean-Philippe Célestin, the ex-biker Mario Brouillette, the mafioso Pietro D'Adamo, biker and mafia associate Giuseppe Focarazzo and members of the Hells Angels, including some former Nomads, the now-defunct group led by Maurice Boucher during the biker wars.
https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2023/ ... ry-woolley
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PogueMahone
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Re: Montreal Mafia status - Post Rizzuto Era
The JE investigative show did a detailed report on the status of the Montreal Mafia. Definitely worth watching if you understand French: https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/emissions/je