Business or Blood: Mafia Boss Vito Rizzuto's Last War

[dixiemafia]

Here is another one I find interesting

There's a plaque in the basement of the Loreto Funeral Home with a sign "Dal 01 novembre 2012 al 31 ottobre 2013" to commemorate people who had funerals out of the home between those dates. In the third column, four names from the top, is an intriguing entry; "De Vito Giuseppe." Did Ponytail make some kind of peace with Vito's family at the very end of his life? Or did the Rizzuto family make some sort of peace with De Vito's family?

I look forward to reading this book. Seems like it could have some interesting things in it for sure.

[B.]

Thanks for posting some of those bits...

I wonder if LoPresti sided with Montagna partly because of what happened to his father. Supposedly Sciascia (most likely in collaboration with the Rizzutos) killed Joe LoPresti, which also shows that Cattolica Eraclea alone was not enough reason to ensure loyalty to one another.

[B.]

Also, any further info on the Luccheses action in Canada? Are they getting drugs from there or does it give any info at all? Would be surprising if it's anything else.

[antimafia]

Thanks for posting some of those bits...

I wonder if LoPresti sided with Montagna partly because of what happened to his father. Supposedly Sciascia (most likely in collaboration with the Rizzutos) killed Joe LoPresti, which also shows that Cattolica Eraclea alone was not enough reason to ensure loyalty to one another.

In my opinion, the strongest theory about who was behind Giuseppe Lo Presti's murder is that John Gotti wanted him dead. I don't think the Gambinos would have had any trouble in 1992 getting one or more people to travel to Montreal for the hit.

I can't recall whether someone asked in "The Cicale Files" thread about Lo Presti's status or rank in the Bonannos; whether the poster asked about Lo Presti's status in the Rizzuto organization. A few Canadian newspaper articles from the 1980s and early 1990s refer to Lo Presti as Vito Rizzuto's right-hand man. I've already stated in "The Cicale Files" thread that Vito grieved for many months after Lo Presti's murder.

I don't think Vito, the Rizzutos, or Gerlando Sciascia had anything to do with Lo Presti's murder. I wouldn't be surprised if Vito, Sciascia, and Lo Presti were all related somehow. From my own research, I know that the Montreal-area business Construction Lopresti Inc. is owned by a Joseph Sciascia and by Lo Presti's wife, Rosa Lumia. I suspect that this Joseph Sciascia is Gerlando's son.

[antimafia]

Here is another one I find interesting

There's a plaque in the basement of the Loreto Funeral Home with a sign "Dal 01 novembre 2012 al 31 ottobre 2013" to commemorate people who had funerals out of the home between those dates. In the third column, four names from the top, is an intriguing entry; "De Vito Giuseppe." Did Ponytail make some kind of peace with Vito's family at the very end of his life? Or did the Rizzuto family make some sort of peace with De Vito's family?

I look forward to reading this book. Seems like it could have some interesting things in it for sure.

Attached is a screenshot of the photo I took of the sign.

Please do not share this screenshot anywhere on the Net; I will not be sharing this screenshot or the original photo on any other organized-crime forums. Please do feel free to save the attachment to your PC, laptop, or mobile device.

A short time after taking the photo I contacted the Centrale de l'information criminelle (CIC) in Quebec and e-mailed the photo to cic@surete.qc.ca. I was told the photo would then be turned over to an investigator looking into the Giuseppe De Vito murder investigation and that I should expect a call from the investigator. No one ever contacted me afterward.

I did share the photo with the co-authors of Business or Blood. The publisher was not interested in including the photo in the book.

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[Lupara]

Lupara THANKS for the info!! This does explain a lot and some seems to have been figured out by how things played out.

* The failed attempt on Desjardins was carried out by black assassins. Members of street gangs were also hired by Montagna's group to collect money on his behalf. Montagna was now demanding twice the amount of 'pizzo' local businesses previously payed to the Rizzutos. After the failed attempt on Desjardins Montagna was notably nervous and met with Giuseppe Bertolo of the Desjardins group to explain that he was not behind the attempt and claimed that it was the Rizzuto family that according to him was now led by Libertina Rizzuto, Nick's late widow.

That shows how weak Montagna's plan was and it also showed how stupid he was. Saying Libertina was trying to call some shots? Then using the blacks on the failed hit? That told Desjardins right away it was more than likely Montagna behind the hit. Also at that time supposedly many of the Rizzuto faction still had no idea who was clipping them, if that is true why would Desjardins think the Rizzuto's were trying to kill him? Up to that point it seems there was no evidence of which side he was playing on. Of course I might be wrong on my timing there, but this makes Montagna look very very sloppy in all of this.

He wasn't stupid, but he was an idiot. He was in an excellent position to take over and he did everything right in the initial stages after setting foot in Montreal, seeking out and shaping alliances with the right people and surgically removing the key Rizzuto guys. But once the Rizzutos were out of the way arrogance and hunger for power overtook him. You must be an idiot demanding twice the amount of pizzo from business men who were previously loyal to the Rizzutos. He also used street gangs to do the dirty work for him such as extorting businesses, firebombings and for the sloppy hit on Desjardins. If he had valued his alliance with Desjardins he would've had a powerful coalition and Rizzuto would've been exiled or killed. In the end Montagna had made more enemies than friends. I'm thinking that perhaps the reason why little was done about his murder is because he had embarrassed his own people, including the Bonannos.

Moreno Gallo was in Montagna's camp. He had met with Montagna and members of the 'Ndrangheta in Toronto and turned over the Montreal sportbooks to them. After Montagna's murder Gallo left Canada because he feared for his life.

This is definitely not surprising. But I wonder why they say "he left" Canada? He was deported in 1/2012. Of course I know nothing about Canada's deportation laws and he might have gave up to go ahead and go on the run.

It was a bit suprising to me as Gallo was a longtime player in the so called Calabrian faction. He came up as a footsoldier for Paolo Violi and was close to Joe Di Maulo. But he was most likely a made member in the Montreal Bonanno crew which explains why he sided with Montagna.

Also, it contains a strong underlying pro-Vito Rizzuto/anti-Bonanno sentiment similar to the Sixth Family. Perhaps this is some form of Canadian patriotism. For instance the authors state that in the late 1990s the Bonanno family was in no position to resist Vito Rizzuto's expansion in Ontario while in the late 90s the Bonanno family was a powerhouse under Massino, being the only New York family unaffected by government scrutiny.

Or it's very possible that it is true. I've always thought by the time Sciascia was clipped the Rizzuto's were already moving away from the Bonanno's and that was the final nail in the coffin for their relationship. I think Massino proved how strong Rizzuto was when he told the capos that he had no idea who clipped Sciascia and it had to be a dope deal gone bad to try and hide him being behind the killing.

Stating that the Bonanno family in the late 90s was in no position to stop Vito's expansion in Ontario is naive. In the late 90s the Bonannos were having a revival and were probably at their strongest since the 1960s. I'm thinking that the real reason why the Bonannos didn't interfere with Vito's ventures is because they weren't that interested in Canada. By that time there was no heroin pipeline between Montreal and New York and so Montreal had little to offer to the Bonannos. The fact that Massino and Vitale decided to 'familiarise' themselves with Montreal two years after clipping Sciascia says enough. If Montreal was so important to them they would've quickly sought to name a new capo. Also, I don't think that Massino necessarily feared retributions from the Rizzutos for killing Sciascia. He had killed a highly respected capo of the Bonanno family's Sicilian faction, that included the Rizzutos. If they found out that Massino had ordered Sciascia to be killed they could have conspired against him.

[Rocco]

I agree with Lupara on this. "Montagna was now demanding twice the amount of 'pizzo' local businesses previously payed to the Rizzutos" Was just stupid. You want people to accept you by creating as little change as possible for a smooth transition of power. Demanding more money from business that were already being extorted was just stupid. Kinda like what Casso and Amuso did with their own people demanding 3times they amount the crew were paying to Corallo. Power goes to their heads and GREED takes over. Its safe to say the Greed is behind most LCN homocides. Also if he had created strong alliances why did he have Black street gangs collected extortion payments. And what made him think that was a good idea? Letting Black street gangs collect extortion payments.? Now the blacks know exactly who and what these rackets are. Why would he even trust the blacks with delivering and collecting his money? One would think he could have Italians doing this for him? Its one thing to insulate yourself from the collecting of extortion payments but its a whole other ball game to use people you cant trust and more than likely don't like you.

[B.]

Thanks for posting some of those bits...

I wonder if LoPresti sided with Montagna partly because of what happened to his father. Supposedly Sciascia (most likely in collaboration with the Rizzutos) killed Joe LoPresti, which also shows that Cattolica Eraclea alone was not enough reason to ensure loyalty to one another.

In my opinion, the strongest theory about who was behind Giuseppe Lo Presti's murder is that John Gotti wanted him dead. I don't think the Gambinos would have had any trouble in 1992 getting one or more people to travel to Montreal for the hit.

I can't recall whether someone asked in "The Cicale Files" thread about Lo Presti's status or rank in the Bonannos; whether the poster asked about Lo Presti's status in the Rizzuto organization. A few Canadian newspaper articles from the 1980s and early 1990s refer to Lo Presti as Vito Rizzuto's right-hand man. I've already stated in "The Cicale Files" thread that Vito grieved for many months after Lo Presti's murder.

I don't think Vito, the Rizzutos, or Gerlando Sciascia had anything to do with Lo Presti's murder. I wouldn't be surprised if Vito, Sciascia, and Lo Presti were all related somehow. From my own research, I know that the Montreal-area business Construction Lopresti Inc. is owned by a Joseph Sciascia and by Lo Presti's wife, Rosa Lumia. I suspect that this Joseph Sciascia is Gerlando's son.

There may be a relation, but apparently Gerlando Sciascia and Giuseppe LoPresti's families lived only houses away from each other in Cattolica Eraclea or something like that. Sciascia's son is named Joseph, by the way.

LoPresti was a member of the Bonannos according to Frank Lino and Salvatore Vitale. He was also said to be Sciascia's representative when he was unavailable, and I feel like I read at some point that he was Sciascia's acting capo, as it was easier for LoPresti to travel back and forth between NY and Canada. Not sure how accurate that is.

Sal Vitale said that Sciascia came to him and asked permission to kill Joe LoPresti, but that after he gave his approval Sciascia's response made it sound like the job had already been done and he was just going through the formality of asking after the fact. Whether the Gambinos had something to do with it or not, it appears that Sciascia was at least part of the conspiracy. Based on what I know of Sciascia and LoPresti's relationship, plus what I assume of the Rizzutos, I imagine they would have grieved the murder even if they felt justified in doing it.

[moneyman]

I'm curious regarding the Lucchese Canada connection. I never heard of that before. I recall a post where someone mentioned Frank Cali traveled to Canada a couple of times in the past year..

[Lupara]

It is indeed stated in the Sixth Family that LoPresti was acting capo for Sciascia. They also state that he was Vito Rizzuto's right hand man. After LoPresti was killed they state Valentino Morielli took over that role, perhaps becoming a liason between Montreal and New York as well.

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[B.]

It is indeed stated in the Sixth Family that LoPresti was acting capo for Sciascia. They also state that he was Vito Rizzuto's right hand man. After LoPresti was killed they state Valentino Morielli took over that role, perhaps becoming a liason between Montreal and New York as well.

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Thanks. I knew I saw it somewhere.

I would take any "right hand man" type statements with a grain of salt, though. It's not a formal title and could mean anything.

[Cheech]

I don't know why but I have no interest whatsoever in this whole thing. Not sure why. Kudos to you guys for being all over it. Very well researched and thought out.

[B.]

I don't know why but I have no interest whatsoever in this whole thing. Not sure why. Kudos to you guys for being all over it. Very well researched and thought out.

It's been one of the most interesting mob events in modern history, if not all time, but it's so overwhelming and there are so many opinions that I lose interest in it (though I speculate with my own opinions now and again). I hope someday there is enough info to paint an accurate picture of everything that happened... seems like each new event, article, or book that comes out changes the perspective on it which is cool but also makes it hard to grasp.

[johnny_scootch]

There may be a relation, but apparently Gerlando Sciascia and Giuseppe LoPresti's families lived only houses away from each other in Cattolica Eraclea or something like that. Sciascia's son is named Joseph, by the way.

LoPresti was a member of the Bonannos according to Frank Lino and Salvatore Vitale. He was also said to be Sciascia's representative when he was unavailable, and I feel like I read at some point that he was Sciascia's acting capo, as it was easier for LoPresti to travel back and forth between NY and Canada. Not sure how accurate that is.

Sal Vitale said that Sciascia came to him and asked permission to kill Joe LoPresti, but that after he gave his approval Sciascia's response made it sound like the job had already been done and he was just going through the formality of asking after the fact. Whether the Gambinos had something to do with it or not, it appears that Sciascia was at least part of the conspiracy. Based on what I know of Sciascia and LoPresti's relationship, plus what I assume of the Rizzutos, I imagine they would have grieved the murder even if they felt justified in doing it.

I remember reading somewhere that Joe LoPresti was killed because he was using drugs. He became an embarrassment and a liability hence Sciascia's desire to clip him.

[B.]

There may be a relation, but apparently Gerlando Sciascia and Giuseppe LoPresti's families lived only houses away from each other in Cattolica Eraclea or something like that. Sciascia's son is named Joseph, by the way.

LoPresti was a member of the Bonannos according to Frank Lino and Salvatore Vitale. He was also said to be Sciascia's representative when he was unavailable, and I feel like I read at some point that he was Sciascia's acting capo, as it was easier for LoPresti to travel back and forth between NY and Canada. Not sure how accurate that is.

Sal Vitale said that Sciascia came to him and asked permission to kill Joe LoPresti, but that after he gave his approval Sciascia's response made it sound like the job had already been done and he was just going through the formality of asking after the fact. Whether the Gambinos had something to do with it or not, it appears that Sciascia was at least part of the conspiracy. Based on what I know of Sciascia and LoPresti's relationship, plus what I assume of the Rizzutos, I imagine they would have grieved the murder even if they felt justified in doing it.

I remember reading somewhere that Joe LoPresti was killed because he was using drugs. He became an embarrassment and a liability hence Sciascia's desire to clip him.

I remember that, too. With the Rizzutos and Sciascia being as conservative as they were, it sounds possible. Gotta love it, though... it's totally fine and respectable to be among the biggest drug traffickers in N.America, but not okay to party.