Montreal Mafia status - Post Rizzuto Era

[dixiemafia]

I'm still not sure Di Maulo was 100% in with overthrowing Rizzuto. I do think he went along with the plan of course, but it didn't seem like he was trying very hard to be the man. I think it could have been Desjardins and he played along since he was family. Of course I'm probably 100% wrong but that is what I think about the situation. He seemed like he was way to easy to find to have been the man as evidenced when he was popped in his driveway. Or maybe he was overconfident I don't know.

[Lupara]

I'm still not sure Di Maulo was 100% in with overthrowing Rizzuto. I do think he went along with the plan of course, but it didn't seem like he was trying very hard to be the man. I think it could have been Desjardins and he played along since he was family. Of course I'm probably 100% wrong but that is what I think about the situation. He seemed like he was way to easy to find to have been the man as evidenced when he was popped in his driveway. Or maybe he was overconfident I don't know.

More likely accepting his fate, knowing that the plan had failed and he was on his own. I don't think he was very interested in assuming power anyway at his age. I think he acted as an arbitrator and counselor, not a usurper. He did nothing to prevent the coup which was betrayal from Rizzuto's pov.

[dixiemafia]

Oh I agree with you there. He would have been better off wanting the spot and chopping everyone out of the way as Rizzuto would always look at him as someone who turned on him whether he truly did or not.

[Laurentian]

Yes, it is quite possible that Di Maulo was not in fact interested to the big job. It makes sense. The man, at 70, had already a long criminal career behind him. Most of the time, he acted as a counselor and/or mediator. But one thing is sure, he did prepare the ground for someone else, who could be for instance Mirarchi.

But the rules of law and justice in the underworld are costly. Di Maulo was the highest and most experienced mobster during Rizzuto's absence. He had a moral obligation to keep the ship sailing at good port. He did not bother. The sitdown with Vito proved to be fatal for Di Maulo.

[B.]

Not sure I understand the "moral obligation" to sail the ship for the Rizzutos. DiMaulo came up under the Cotronis (plus the marital connection like you said), and had contact with NYC Bonanno leaders spanning at least a couple of decades, the extent of which we don't know. So he was well aware of the world before the Rizzutos and outside of their bubble. If anything, his decades of experience would tell him that changes in leadership happen, sometimes violently, and that he had no obligation to support the Rizzutos, who themselves staged a violent takeover. If the Bonanno leadership (which includes Montagna) was pushing for a change in Montreal, that would be DiMaulo's only "moral obligation" in the context of mafia politics. Outside of mafia politics, on a "practical" criminal level, it seems like there was a large enough anti-Rizzuto movement to put those politics into action. Maybe the practical criminal side of the story is the most important to all of this, and the politics were molded around the rackets rather than the other way around, but if that's the case what I said about DiMaulo still applies, maybe even more.

I know that Project Colisee recorded Montreal leaders in their social club, but did they get picked up discussing anything related to their formal structure, internal membership practices, or anything except money/rackets? A glaring problem with any discussion related to Montreal is that there are no member informants/witnesses (and having member informants doesn't always clear things up, but it helps). I'm also not aware of any wiretaps that have revealed anything about the formal set-up. Without that, we're forced to look at them entirely through the pre-Apalachin lens of criminal associations and rackets, which seems to be how Canadian LE and many Montreal experts view the Montreal group. I'm not saying that approach is wrong for their purposes, but you can't confuse criminal associations and racket-based pecking order with a formal "mafia family".

Your contributes are great, L, so hopefully this doesn't come across the wrong way when I harp on these types of points. Like everyone, I want to know more about Montreal.

[Lupara]

I think Laurentian was referring to the Montreal Mafia as a whole, not necessarily the Rizzuto faction. Di Maulo was regarded as an elder statesman and perhaps the Rizzutos were expecting him to preserve the peace as an arbitrator, which Di Maulo clearly wasn't interested in. I don't think Di Maulo had any affinity for the Rizzutos and just played along all these years. Like you said he came up under the Cotronis and he had no moral obligation to the Rizzutos. They were hypocritical and naive if they believed so. Before the Rizzutos assumed power violently, Di Maulo was a rising star and probably next in line to one day lead the Montreal group. The Rizzutos thwarted those plans. I don't think Di Maulo cared whatsoever what happened to them. He may have even despised them as did the Cotronis.

[Laurentian]

Thank you very much B. for your comments. Very much appreciated.

I think that by "moral obligation", I meant to say that given the fact that Di Maulo was the most senior and experienced member of the mafia at that time, he had the duty to do something, but he turned back on the Rizzutos and sided with the Calabreses. Note that DI Maulo is not himself a Calabrese.

I think Lupara got very well my thoughts on the Montréal mafia and Di Maulo. Thanks!

If I may say so, most of the american observers on the Montreal underworld, and in particular the mafia, tend to analyse and judge the latter with their american lens. The dynamic of the mafia of Montréal is quite unique and very different from american crime families. And in my opinion, it is an error to do so. Members of the mafia here speak Italian, French and English. It is a very small world here compare to New York, for instance. Here, in Montréal, everybody in the underworld knows almost each other. Also, there are no rigid structure like we see in U.S. The structure here is rather smooth. In the tapes, we never hear words like caporegime, etc. For instance, guys like Francesco Arcadi or Rocco Sollecito were never mentioned or talked on of that sort. However everyone knew these two held authority over others. Their words carried "laws".

Finally, Montreal has lot of europeans traits and mentality. the mafia members, as it was the case for the Cotroni and the Rizzuto, have always been closed and attached to the mother country.

B. as for your questions on Colisée, the Social club Cosenza was a public place, i.e. to say that you and I could have been able to have a cup of espresso..... But one would not be managed to stay for a second cup, because the bartender would have felt tense. The Cosenza was rather a place attended mostly by men of Sicilian ancestry. They go their for social purposes. But not everyone could go in the backroom where some people could enter and have sitdowns or place to deliver monies. There, as tapes, produced at trial, revealed, their feud among them, disputes over debts, etc. But they did not discuss their business or their rackets there. It was done elsewhere. They were always on their guards. They never talked loud. Always whispering. However, they never imagined that the place (backroom) was videotaped. We could not always hear what they were saying, but we could see them talking in the ear of the other.

Canadian police, RCMP, Sûreté du Québec, and the Montréal police, used to have a "pre-Apalachin lens", like you said, as their appréciation of the dynamics of organized crime. But today it is no more true. The RCMP, for which I worked as analyst, and the Montréal Police, those two major police corps in Québec province, have acquired over the years a great deal of expertise on the Montréal mafia. Far much better than one can think. And I know it by expérience too. As for the SQ, the provincial police who has jurisdiction all over the province of Québec, their expertise is without contest the OMG.

[Laurentian]

Last December 23, it was already four years ago that Vito Rizzuto had died.

Here is an article released on that day December 23, 2013.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/ ... -1.2474011

[dixiemafia]

Y'all forget that Rizzuto was golf buddies with Joe Di Maulo's brother, and if you golfed with Vito then you was generally VERY close to him. From everything I've seen Joe had a good relationship with Vito as well. Now I'm not totally sure Vito & Joe were tight, but Vito & Joe's brother was and I can't remember his name right now to save my life.

[Laurentian]

Rizzuto and Sollecito acquitted!

http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/justi ... uittes.php

[Lupara]

Rizzuto and Sollecito acquitted!

http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/justi ... uittes.php

Interesting times ahead.

Sollecito looks like he's winning his battle with cancer. Now let's see if he can also win the other battles.

[SonnyBlackstein]

Rizzuto and Sollecito acquitted!

http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/justi ... uittes.php

Huge.

Rizzuto still faces gun and other charges but this is a huge win.

Appreciate the post.

[Laurentian]

Another good article on the acquitment of Rizzuto and Sollecito.

http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2018/0 ... -acquittes

[antimafia]

The English-language article to which I've linked below essentially draws on the French-language articles published earlier about the acquittal of Sollecito and Rizzuto.

Alleged Montreal Mafia leaders Rizzuto and Sollecito acquitted

http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-n ... d-reports/

[Dwalin2014]

That's really a SHAME....Excluding existing evidence on a technicality; I mean, if the conversation between Rizzuto and the lawyer proved the crimes, excluding it because of the "solicitor-client privilege" is like doing a favor to criminals. It would be understandable if there wasn't evidence or if they hadn't said anything relevant in that conversation, but throwing out existing evidence for THIS reason is ridiculous imo.