B. wrote:Who is Montagna's friend, the New York mafioso married to Vito Rizzuto's niece? Would this be his wife's niece or a daughter of Paolo Renda? And could this NY mafioso be the one who called a Rizzuto "clan member" after Montagna's murder? It would explain why a Montagna supporter would also easily have access to a Rizzuto loyalist.
Now that would be a decent explanation.
It mentions the two Montreal police confronting Montagna and his two "henchmen"/"bodyguards", who he told to back off when the police walked up. Curious who these two men were -- from their behavior it does sound like they were acting as subordinates to Montagna.
These two were most likely Antonio Pietrantonio and Lorenzo LoPresti.
Antimafia wrote:This book has made me reconsider whether Vito Rizzuto ordered Di Maulo’s murder, as Di Maulo appeared to show Rizzuto that the two men shared the same displeasure with Desjardins.
Are you hereby suggesting that it may have been retaliation from the Bonannos?
Imo, if there's anything to pinpoint directly to Rizzuto it is the murder of Di Maulo.
It had everything of the hallmark of vengeance. The way it was carried out, at his home in front of his wife and for everyone to see just like the murder of Nick Rizzuto, not to mention the timing just after Vito's return to Montreal followed by the slaughter of other Rizzuto enemies. And it was quite obvious that Di Maulo had to be the first to go for Rizzuto to make a symbolic statement. Even if Di Maulo had little to do with the killings of the Rizzutos, he was as good as an enemy, because he basically approved of it by doing nothing to prevent it.
I would be very suprised if Rizzuto had nothing to do with Di Maulo's murder.
Antimafia wrote:In Cellule 8002 vs mafia, Renaud previously wrote about the Rizzuto loyalists being behind the attempted murder of Desjardins, as well as the attempt on Antonino Arcuri. Renaud wasn’t interjecting a theory but, rather, law enforcement’s assessment. Montagna was telling the truth to Desjardins’ envoy(s). The Rizzuto loyalists came up with a brilliant plan, despite not killing Desjardins. Any crime group would have come up with the same plan in a situation where you had three rival factions.
So what about those transcripts showing Desjardins and Mirarchi talking about hitting Antonino Arcuri? Is LE rejecting its own intel?
I'm impressed how you (as always) are connecting the dots (Galante/Montreal crew/individual connections lineages) based on excellent research. You may be the forum's best analyst.
Antimafia wrote:This book has made me reconsider whether Vito Rizzuto ordered Di Maulo’s murder, as Di Maulo appeared to show Rizzuto that the two men shared the same displeasure with Desjardins.
Are you hereby suggesting that it may have been retaliation from the Bonannos?
Imo, if there's anything to pinpoint directly to Rizzuto it is the murder of Di Maulo.
It had everything of the hallmark of vengeance. The way it was carried out, at his home in front of his wife and for everyone to see just like the murder of Nick Rizzuto, not to mention the timing just after Vito's return to Montreal followed by the slaughter of other Rizzuto enemies. And it was quite obvious that Di Maulo had to be the first to go for Rizzuto to make a symbolic statement. Even if Di Maulo had little to do with the killings of the Rizzutos, he was as good as an enemy, because he basically approved of it by doing nothing to prevent it.
I would be very suprised if Rizzuto had nothing to do with Di Maulo's murder.
I’m not suggesting retaliation from the Bonannos or anyone else in Quebec who sided with Montagna. Recall, as well, that Montagna at one point asked Di Maulo to lead Montreal, a position that Di Maulo declined. (The offer makes sense because Di Maulo was a made Bonanno, and Montagna would be his superior in the Bonanno Family.)
I too would be surprised if Rizzuto had nothing to do with Di Maulo’s murder but I am open to entertaining other theories, even rumours. One rumour is that the Hells Angels arranged to kill Di Maulo. For what reason(s), I do not know.
Antimafia wrote:In Cellule 8002 vs mafia, Renaud previously wrote about the Rizzuto loyalists being behind the attempted murder of Desjardins, as well as the attempt on Antonino Arcuri. Renaud wasn’t interjecting a theory but, rather, law enforcement’s assessment. Montagna was telling the truth to Desjardins’ envoy(s). The Rizzuto loyalists came up with a brilliant plan, despite not killing Desjardins. Any crime group would have come up with the same plan in a situation where you had three rival factions.
So what about those transcripts showing Desjardins and Mirarchi talking about hitting Antonino Arcuri? Is LE rejecting its own intel?
In his 2016 book, Renaud writes that the September 4, 2011 attack on Antonino wasn’t at all on the radar of either the police or the media. (Arcuri was hit with four bullets.) Renaud further specifically writes the following: Avec le recul, et en analysant la suite des événements, tout porte à croire que la tentative de meutre contre un des fils Arcuri est le premier acte de la riposte des Siciliens. Le deuxième acte sera joué moons de deux semaines plus tard.
So the Rizzuto loyalists seemed to first be behind the attack on both Antonino and, exactly two weeks later, on Desjardins.
B. wrote:Sal Vitale said he expected there to be 10 members when he visited Montreal and was surprised they had close to 20, so the Massino regime may have been under the incorrect impression Montreal stuck to the original 10 member limit.
Which really suprises me. This says a lot about Montreal's relative autonomy as a Bonanno crew that Massino and co. didn't even know all the members. It's also very bad inner-family administration because the admin should keep a record of all its members. On top of that it shows that Massino didn't care much about Montreal either.
I agrree, Lupara, to an extent. Humphreys and Lamothe even defend Massino and his administration for the sloppy recordkeeping:
Had Vito’s men gone through such a process, presumably Massino and Vitale would know how many members there were in Montreal. Although, it could just have been that there had been so much tumult in the Bonanno Family over the years that such institutional knowledge had been lost and the ebb and flow of membership had not been carefully tracked. Regardless, it shows how little the Bonanno administration knew of the internal affairs of the Canadian operation and how much they eyed it with suspicion. (The Sixth Family..., 2014, p. 292
Massino and the admin., including Vitale, knew about Joe Renda having been made by at least the time of Sciascia’s funeral—made probably in New York but possibly in Montreal, given the New York–born Renda’s and his family’s ties to Montreal. All the New York Families, not just Massino’s, would have known about the Romeo Bucci proposed by Montreal in the late ‘90s (per former poster JD’s research). Humphreys and Lamothe knew about Renda’s made status, but I strongly doubt the authors knew of Bucci’s proposed membership.
Antimafia wrote:In Cellule 8002 vs mafia, Renaud previously wrote about the Rizzuto loyalists being behind the attempted murder of Desjardins, as well as the attempt on Antonino Arcuri. Renaud wasn’t interjecting a theory but, rather, law enforcement’s assessment. Montagna was telling the truth to Desjardins’ envoy(s). The Rizzuto loyalists came up with a brilliant plan, despite not killing Desjardins. Any crime group would have come up with the same plan in a situation where you had three rival factions.
So what about those transcripts showing Desjardins and Mirarchi talking about hitting Antonino Arcuri? Is LE rejecting its own intel?
In his 2016 book, Renaud writes that the September 4, 2011 attack on Antonino wasn’t at all on the radar of either the police or the media. (Arcuri was hit with four bullets.) Renaud further specifically writes the following: Avec le recul, et en analysant la suite des événements, tout porte à croire que la tentative de meutre contre un des fils Arcuri est le premier acte de la riposte des Siciliens. Le deuxième acte sera joué moons de deux semaines plus tard.
So the Rizzuto loyalists seemed to first be behind the attack on both Antonino and, exactly two weeks later, on Desjardins.
So the Rizzuto group was the gang that couldn't shoot straight (two failed hits) and somehow that played out in their favor. Could it be that they deliberately wanted the hits to fail? It seems too much of a coincidence.
And again, what do we then make of the hacked phone transcripts of conversations between Desjardins and Mirarchi talking about hitting Antonino Arcuri exactly around the same time. During these days Mirarchi was actively looking to hit Arcuri and had his men do surveillance. Is Renaud (or LE) ignoring this evidence?
Antimafia wrote:In Cellule 8002 vs mafia, Renaud previously wrote about the Rizzuto loyalists being behind the attempted murder of Desjardins, as well as the attempt on Antonino Arcuri. Renaud wasn’t interjecting a theory but, rather, law enforcement’s assessment. Montagna was telling the truth to Desjardins’ envoy(s). The Rizzuto loyalists came up with a brilliant plan, despite not killing Desjardins. Any crime group would have come up with the same plan in a situation where you had three rival factions.
So what about those transcripts showing Desjardins and Mirarchi talking about hitting Antonino Arcuri? Is LE rejecting its own intel?
In his 2016 book, Renaud writes that the September 4, 2011 attack on Antonino wasn’t at all on the radar of either the police or the media. (Arcuri was hit with four bullets.) Renaud further specifically writes the following: Avec le recul, et en analysant la suite des événements, tout porte à croire que la tentative de meutre contre un des fils Arcuri est le premier acte de la riposte des Siciliens. Le deuxième acte sera joué moons de deux semaines plus tard.
So the Rizzuto loyalists seemed to first be behind the attack on both Antonino and, exactly two weeks later, on Desjardins.
So the Rizzuto group was the gang that couldn't shoot straight (two failed hits) and somehow that played out in their favor. Could it be that they deliberately wanted the hits to fail? It seems too much of a coincidence.
And again, what do we then make of the hacked phone transcripts of conversations between Desjardins and Mirarchi talking about hitting Antonino Arcuri exactly around the same time. During these days Mirarchi was actively looking to hit Arcuri and had his men do surveillance. Is Renaud (or LE) ignoring this evidence?
Would I be correct in assuming that you’re only going by parts of the transcripts that were in Paul Cherry’s article(s)? From his June 11, 2016 article:
An exchange of messages sent on Sept. 6, 2011, revealed Desjardins and Mirarchi were also discussing the possibility of killing brothers Domenico and Antonino Arcuri, the longtime owners of Ital Gelati Inc., an ice cream company in St-Léonard. According to evidence presented in court, the brothers had turned their backs on the Rizzuto organization and teamed up with Montagna. Based on their text messages, Desjardins and Mirarchi believed that if they eliminated the brothers, Montagna would lose a considerable amount of support.
Two days later, on Sept. 8, 2011, it was apparent that Mirarchi was ready to make a move on at least one of the Arcuri brothers. He sent Desjardins a message informing him that Antonino Arcuri was “back to work” and therefore easy to locate.
Cherry’s article from which I excerpted was one of the best I read—if not the best—in all of 2016. The article refers to Desjardins, Montagna, and Mirarchi wondering whether the Rizzuto loyalists are up to anything. Link: https://montrealgazette.com/news/local- ... ntagna-hit.
Montagna envoie un message à Desjardins dans lequel il lui annonce que l'un des frères Arcuri a été victime d'une tentative de meurtre quatre jours auparavant.
« Je ne peux croire que cette maudite famille essaie encore. Il [Vito Rizzuto] a envoyé un message de l'intérieur qu'il se lancera aux trousses de chacun d'entre nous », écrit Montagna. Desjardins transfère le message à Mirarchi.
« Il met ça sur le dos de Vito ! Je ne le crois pas », écrit Desjardins.
16 septembre
Desjardins est victime d'une tentative de meurtre à Laval. Dans les minutes qui suivent, il fait un appel de 29 secondes à Domenico Arcuri, allié de Montagna.
« Je sais que c'est vous. Vous m'avez manqué, mais je ne vous manquerai pas », dit-il.
Arcuri envoie un message à Raynald Desjardins pour lui dire que lui et Montagna veulent le rencontrer d'urgence. Desjardins envoie son homme de confiance, Giuseppe Bertolo.
« Ils disent que ce n'est pas eux. Qu'ils ont des preuves d'où ça vient : la famille [Rizzuto]. Apparemment, ils sont de retour dans le portrait », écrit ensuite Bertolo.
« Lol, ils auraient pu trouver quelque chose de meilleur que ça », répond Mirarchi.
Montagna, Desjardins, and Mirarchi underestimated the Rizzuto loyalists. Desjardins refused to believe Montagna’s claim that Vito Rizzuto (who incidentally was still in prison) directed people to attack Montagna’s camp. Now we learn from Renaud’s book that Desjardins’ envoy, Giuseppe Bertolo, was shaken after meeting with Montagna, Domenico Arcuri, and others shortly after the attempt on Desjardins. Shaken because it seemed that Montagna was telling the truth.
"Mirarchi announces to his mentor that one of their own men, Calogero Milioto, has received an offer to eliminate Desjardins."
In any case, even if the Rizzuto group was already making moves, both camps (Montagna vs. Desjardins) were looking to target each other anyway. It may not have played out differently. Either Montagna or Desjardins (or both) would've ended up dead.
Crazy to think that if the hit on Desjardins was not deliberately failed (bullets apparantly scratched his head) and organized by the Rizzuto group, it still turned out in their favor.
I also remember a poster on Gangsterbb seemingly spreading misinformation sharing that 'word on the street was that Pietrantonio was looking to kill Montagna' around the time of Montagna's murder (not sure if it was posted before or after the actual deed). In this time and age it is certainly not unthinkable that mobsters are using mob forums as part of their strategy too. I'm sure some of the people involved in Montreal (or elsewhere) have been following our discussions and perhaps even participate from time to time.
"Montagna sends a message to Desjardins in which he announces that one of the Arcuri brothers was the victim of an attempted murder four days earlier.
"I can not believe this damn family is still trying. He [Vito Rizzuto] has sent a message from the inside that he will get on the heels of all of us, "Montagna writes. Desjardins transfers the message to Mirarchi.
"He puts that on Vito's back! I do not believe it, "writes Desjardins."
Interesting. And I'm suprised of Desjardins' reaction to Mirarchi as they themselves were planning to hit them at the same time. Was Desjardins perhaps sarcastic with his remark? If he didn't believe that the Rizzuto group did it, who else, other than himself, would he think was behind it?
