Bonanno members on Montreal

[chin_gigante]

Thought it would be useful to gather all the statements we have from Bonanno members about Montreal in one thread.

===

Frank Lino – Massino trial (2004)

Q. Who is that?
A. That looks like Vito Rizzuto from Montreal.
Q. Did he hold a position in the Bonanno Family?
A. I met him, he was a soldier.

Q. What other country does the Bonanno Family – country or countries does it operate in?
A. Well, Canada and Sicily.
Q. Is there a member of the Bonanno Family who controls Canada?
A. Well, yes.
Q. Who?
A. Well, I knew George.
Q. Okay. What about before George?
A. Before George, I think it was Lilo Gallante [sic.], Carmine.
Q. Do you know who controls Canada now?
A. Not really.
Q. Do you know any soldiers or anybody who’s in the Bonanno Family in Canada?
A. The only one I know now is, Vito Rizzuto and some other people, I don’t know their names.
Q. The people in Canada, who do they report to?
A. At one time, they reported to Lilo. Then they reported to George.
Q. Are they responsible to anyone in the hierarchy of the Bonanno Family?
A. They were probably responsible to Rusty at one time.
Q. What about who they would report to?
A. Whoever the boss is, Joe Massino.

Q. You mentioned that Lilo died. Who was Lilo?
A. He was, I guess, he ran Montreal. He was like a captain.
Q. What was his official position in the Bonanno Family?
A. I knew him – he wasn’t the boss. I guess he wanted to be the boss but he didn’t make it.

Q. Mr. Lino, during the course of your involvement in the Bonanno Family, did you ever travel to Canada?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you travel there on one occasion, or more than one occasion?
A. More than one.
Q. On the first occasion, who did you go with?
A. With Bruno and Tommy Karate.
Q. Bruno who?
A. Anthony Embarrato [sic.]
Q. Did both of those men hold positions in the Bonanno Family?
A. Yes.
Q. What was the purpose of your trip?
A. We went to see, you know, a closer relationship with the Montreal faction.
Q. Was the Montreal faction, was that fact associated –
A. George, Joe LoPresti, Vito Rizzuto.
Q. Were they associated with a family in New York?
A. Yes.
Q. Which family?
A. The Bonanno Family.
Q. The second time that you went to Canada, approximately when was that?
A. I think around 1990, ’91.
Q. Who did you go with?
A. I went to Spero, Anthony Spero, and Frank Porco, Big Frank.
Q. At the time, did Anthony Spero hold a position in the Bonanno Family?
A. Yes. He was a consigliere.
Q. When you travelled to Canada, who did you meet with?
A. We met with George, Joe LoPresti, Vito Rizzuto. We had a dinner with about thirty, forty people.
Q. And those individuals were located in Canada?
A. In Montreal.
Q. What was the purpose of that trip?
A. Well, to make them understand that they still had ties with New York, and that you brought the family closer together, because, I guess, they might have lost ties when Lilo Gallante was killed.
Q. At some point during either of the trips, did you discuss with the Canadian faction that there was a new boss of the Bonanno Family?
A. No, not me personally.
Q. Did anyone from the group do that?
A. I couldn’t tell you.
 

Frank Coppa – Massino trial (2004)

Q. Is there a relationship between the Bonanno family and Canada?
A. Yes.
Q. What is the relationship?
A. They have made members in Canada.
Q. Who has made members in Canada?
A. Joe Massino.
Q. And what family is that?
A. Bonanno.
Q. And with respect to the Bonanno family members in Canada, did you ever have conversations with Mr. Massino about whether the Bonanno family members in Canada paid any money to Mr. Massino?
A. Yes.
Q. What, if anything, did Mr. Massino say?
A. He said they sent him 15,000.
Q. Did he say when they do that?
A. Christmas.

Q. Did you hear from anyone that the drugs came in from Canada?
A. No.
Q. Or from Italy?
A. No.
Q. Never heard that?
A. No.

Q. Do you know somebody by the name of Joseph LoPresti?
A. Who?
Q. LoPresti.
A. No.
Q. How about somebody by the name of Big Joe?
A. Yes. He was from Canada.
Q. He was from Canada?
A. Yes.
Q. What happened to him?
A. I heard he got killed.
Q. Who did you hear from?
A. I heard it from Frank Lino.
 

Vincent Basciano – recorded conversation (2005)

BASCIANO: You know what happened to Nicky [Santora]? You know the situation that Nicky been in? Him too would have a problem with me. You want to know why? You want to know the first thing he wanted to know?
MASSINO: Why?
BASCIANO: Should we send anybody up to Canada. What’s happening with Canada?
MASSINO: Oh yeah, what’s happening with Canada?
BASCIANO: What’s happening with Canada? Nothing’s happening with Canada?
MASSINO: Okay.
BASCIANO: Nothing’s happening with Canada.
MASSINO: Okay.
BASCAINO: Nothing’s happening in Canada. Sal wanted permission to go up there because there was a cousin for some work. I gave him permission to go up there. I says go there. I says you can’t cause any
MASSINO: What’s the story with the kid Sal?
BASCIANO: … Sal the iron-worker? He’s alright, but he’s a little fuckin’ ah ah – He he’s alright.
MASSINO: He’s got that kid Vinnie Vituchio.
BASCIANO: I put Vinnie Vituchio. I told Michael to take Vinnie Vituchio. I told Michael to take Vinnie Vituchio.
MASSINO: You know, that’s another thing you shoulda sent word to me.
BASCIANO: About what?
MASSINO: About Vinnie Vituchio. He’s with me. Nobody asks me anything.
BASCIANO: I but I – Listen, I don’t know this.
MASSINO: Where do, who do you think he was around?
BASCIANO: Well, I sent word to you with Vinnie Vituchio.
MASSINO: I never got it. I got no problem. Let me tell you what happened. -Eh if I remember…
BASCIANO: If I’m (UI) you told before. I told Michael get two thousand or six thousand.
MASSINO: … When when I was in here you was in the street. He report to Louie Restivo.
BASCIANO: Correct.
MASSINO: You’s guy sent me word Canada wanna put Vinnie
BASCIANO: Correct.
MASSINO: Vitucchio with Sal iron-worker.
BASCIANO: Correct.
MASSINO: And I said no.
BASCIANO: Correct.
MASSINO: Alright?
BASCIANO: Correct. That’s correct.
MASSINO: I got a good memory. But I didn’t go fuckin’ go senile yet.
BASCIANO: That’s absolutely correct. That’s correct.
MASSINO: But you can’t take my guys and do what the fuck.
BASCIANO: No.
 

Salvatore Vitale – Basciano trial (2006)

Q Who were the other people that were assigned as shooters?
A Vito Rizzuto; an old timer from Canada, I never got his name; another individual from Canada called Manuel.

Q Did anybody ask your permission to kill Joseph Lopresti?
A Yes
Q Who?
A George from Canada.
Q Can you explain that to the jury?
A I was on Grand Avenue and George come to me and he told me he just left Anthony Spero. He talked to Anthony Spero and said Anthony Spero gave him permission to kill George from Canada. George was - Joe from Canada. Joe was acting for George, and he believed that Joe was doig drugs - using drugs. He was out of control. So he went and asked Spero for permission. When he came to me I said if he gave you permission do what you got to do.

A That's Vito Rizzuto from Canada.
Q Does he hold a position in the Bonanno family?
A Captain. Last I heard, acting captain.
Q Okay. How do you know that he was an acting captain?
A Because he was acting for George from Canada.

Q As of the time of your arrest, was there a particular person who you considered the most powerful person in Canada, the person who you would deal with in Canada?
A Yes.
Q Who was that?
A Vito Rizzuto.
Q Who is Vito Rizzuto? Let me withdraw that. Was Vito Rizzuto associated with a particular organized crime family?
A The Bonanno family.
Q Who did he report to?
A He's supposed to report to Joe Massino, but they have their own little splinter group, but they do come under Mr. Massino's authority.

Q Was there anybody from anybody from Canada who was present [at Sciascia’s funeral]?
A Yes.
Q Who?
A Joe Rena [sic.] That's Vito Rizzuto's nephew. He's a goodfellow in our family.

Q At some point after the murder of George, were you sent by Mr. Massino anywhere?
A Yes.
Q Where?
A Montreal, Canada.
Q Did you go?
A I did.
Q Did you go alone?
A No, I went with Tony Urso.
Q Why did you go?
A Joe just wanted to get -- Joe just wanted to see what was going on up there. I think he wanted to feel their pulse to see what they were thinking about the murder. He wanted me to sit down with Vito and just have a general conversation with him who the men up there respect. I think he was figuring out who he was going to put as captain there.
Q What happened when you were up there?
A I met with Vito. We had lunch together and I says to Vito, Vito, who do they respect up here, who is the man up here? Vito says, Not me, he says, maybe my father. He says, I'll be here. We've our own little family, there's about 18, 20 of us, and we stay by ourselves and everybody respects everyone else. He was more like hedging it. He knew where I was heading and he didn't want to become a captain. He kept saying, Ah, ah, maybe my father, they respect my father. He's a lot older than me. Everybody respects everybody up here, Sal, we all close. That was the extent of that.
Q So what did you do after that?
A When I came back to New York?
Q Yes. Did you talk to Mr. Massino about it?
A I talked to Mr. Massino.
Q What did he say?
A I should have forced you to make him official captain, but I'll handle that.
Q Mr. Rizzuto, was he part of the Bonanno family?
A He was acting captain for George, and he was very -- he was very hurt by what happened to George.
 

Richard Cantarella – Basciano trial (2007)

Q Where, if at all, outside the United States does the Bonnano [sic.] family operate?
A I believe Canada.
[…]
Q Do you know believe or you know Canada?
A No, I know Canada.

Q Now, first of all, were you aware that the Bonanno family had any activities in Canada?
A I knew there was a faction in Canada.
Q Where did they operate from?
A Canada, that’s all I know.
 

Joseph Massino – Basciano trial (2011)

Q Where geographically did the Bonanno Crime Family operate when you were boss?
A Queens; New York; Brooklyn; Montreal, Canada; California; Vegas; Jersey; Connecticut.
(102)

Q Who were the shooters of the three captains?
A Sal Vitale was one of the shooters, Vito from Canada was another shooter, Vinny from Canada was another shooter, Frank Navarra that was a shooter and some old guy by the name of Bonventre, who was a shooter.

Q Did you discuss an individual named Joseph LoPresti and Sal Vitale?
A Yes, I did.
Q What did you discuss with Mr. Vitale?
A George from Canada was his best friend, and he says that he’s always stoned, he snorting coke and he’s very disrespectful to him. He said, you’re not my friend, you’re my captain. Otherwise, I wouldn’t talk to you. You want to – he wanted the okay to kill him. I gave him the permission.
Q When you spoke to Sal Vitale, what was your position?
A I was the underboss then.
Q What was Sal Vitale’s role?
A Captain.

Q At the time the information came to your attention regarding George from Canada, what was George from Canada’s position in organized crime?
A He was a captain in Montreal, Canada.
Q What information came to your attention?
A He come and he told me that Frank Catrone’s [sic.] son beat up his nephew and that he killed him. I said, “You what?” He said, “I killed him.”
Q Who had, who did George from Canada admit killing?
A Frank Catrone’s son.
Q Who was Frank Catrone?
A Frank Catrone was a wiseguy in the Bonanno Family.
Q How did you react when you learned that George from Canada had killed a wiseguy’s son?
A I knew once he did that, that I was going to kill him.

Q When you were asked, “How many guys we got to do?” What did you mean by that?
A I was referring to how many guys we got left to make in the Bonanno Family. He said two.
Q And then lines 12 and 13 he says, “two” and he mentions, “And the guy up there in Canada.” What did you understand him to mean by that?
A We had a guy die in Canada by the name of Frank Cutrone and we can replace natural deaths, so that gave us another one.
Q So you had three spots to fill?
A Three total.

A I killed Georgie Sciascia because he killed a wiseguy’s son. You can’t kill a wiseguy’s son without getting an okay from the underboss, not you. As much as I didn’t want to kill him, I had to kill him. Otherwise, everybody would be – would come back again.
Q Now, is this the Frank Catrone situation?
A Montreal, Canada. That’s correct. He killed his son.
Q So George had the son of this wiseguy killed in Canada?
A Montreal, Canada, correct.
Q And the son had gotten into a fight with one of Georgie Sciascia’s relatives?
A I believe it was his nephew.
Q And the son who got killed, he broke the nephew’s jaw?
A Correct.
Q And did Georgie Sciascia ask for your permission?
A No, he didn’t.
Q He didn’t get your okay?
A No. That’s why he died.

Q Did you get any tribute from Canada?
A Yes.
Q How much?
A 10,000 for Christmas. And I split 5,000 with Sal Vitale, my brother-in-law.
 

Vincent Asaro – recorded conversation (2011)

“I don’t know what the fuck is going on in Canada. I don’t even know what’s going on in Ozone Park.”
 

Dominick Cicale – The Cicale Files (2014)

“The word on the street was that George was killed in a robbery or a drug deal that went bad. Vito from Canada was not buying it one bit. He refused to replace George as captain. Other stories started to trickle down to Joe Massino […] He did not like what he was hearing, so he immediately sent for Vito to get his ass down to Maspeth, Queens, in New York where Joe informed Vito who the boss was and that Canada was still under the control of the Bonanno crime family.”

“Vito had no choice. If he did not show, he could have easily gotten killed – even by someone close to him in Canada. Keep in mind that everyone is always looking to move up in the ranks.”

“Rizzuto carried out other orders issued from New York […] Massino, for example, sent word to Vito to open a strip club in Canada. Massino and Vito would be 50-50 partners. Vito did as he was told.”

“I was on the streets of midtown Manhattan [in July 2001] meeting Vinny and some other guy I had never seen before. They were sitting at a sidewalk café, drinking and talking. Vinny introduced me to the man he was with and the guy turned out to be a middle-aged Bonanno soldier from Canada. Vinny seemed to know him extremely well.
[…]
“I was instructed by Vinny to stop by our secret stash spot. A gym bag was stored there which contained something of high value. Vinny also handed me a piece of paper on which he scrawled a Manhattan street address, where I was to meet another Bonanno soldier, also from Montreal. At that point I was told to give that second Bonanno soldier the gym bag. I was a loyal dog following the orders of my best friend and brother, so I immediately headed back to the Bronx. Twenty-five minutes later, I found myself entering the rented garage on Penny Field Avenue in Throg’s Neck. That garage was the stash spot where all the drugs were stored. I did not want to draw any attention, so without turning on any lights, I opened the garage door, grabbed the gym bag of drugs stored in one of the back corners and headed back into Manhattan. It took me a little longer to reach the city because I avoided speeding with a gym bag containing 250,000 ecstasy pills on the backseat of my new black Acura RL. In addition to whatever business Vito Rizzuto had with Massino officially, Rizzuto also had opened a backchannel to the Bonanno family in the person of Vinny.”

“Vinny, in fact, made several trips to Canada with the goal of reopening the drug pipeline into New York. Vinny was truly a slicker, going to a doctor in Canada for his hair transplants. Vinny had used that as a cover to meet with Vito so that the two Bonanno family members could re-establish the lucrative drug connection. The drugs were now flowing in on a biweekly basis. Vinny and Anthony ‘Bruno’ Indelicato were getting massive quantities of high-grade marijuana, along with ecstasy pills. They were both rocking and rolling in the drug trade, all without Big Joe even hearing a word of what was going on.
“The Bronx was different animal. It’s like we were on a different planet altogether as far as Massino and the other crews in the family were concerned. With the pipeline in full force, Vinny’s relationship with Vito became solid and Vito knew that Vinny could be trusted. Not to mention that Vito knew that Vinny and George had been extremely close friends. Now with the pipeline of drugs running smoothly on a biweekly basis, Vinny and Bruno were making some serious dough. But as fast as it came in, Vinny was gambling it all away. Vinny was flying on Learjets all over the country to gamble. The fact is, Vinny Gorgeous was the mirror image of John Gotti. The two mob bosses were degenerate gamblers. Vinny even got himself barred from Atlantic City. The gambler and the cokehead Bruno were actually spending more than they were reaping in drug profits. On the night that Vinny paged me, it was as part of an effort to appease Vito in Montreal.”

[Cicale also claims to the best of his knowledge the pipeline was permanently halted shortly afterwards due to law enforcement scrutiny at the border]

The previous Christmas, while “Tony Green” was on the streets, Vito Rizzuto sent $25,000 down from Canada.
“Vito was part of the Bonannos and he did as every other captain did during the holiday – he gave money to the boss of the crime family as a show of appreciation […] For this upcoming Christmas, Vinny sent word with Sal that Vito had to step it up and send $100,000. So Vito sent the money.”

“Another year had passed and Christmas was once again around the corner. But this time I was jailed along with Vinny. Baldo had just received word from the street that the year when Sal went to Canada to retrieve the $100,000, Vito was extremely upset. They gave Sal shit, but in the end they still paid up.”

 
Vincenzo Morena – recorded conversation (2016)

Buffalo member Domenico Violi tells Morena that things have stabilised in Quebec, everyone is working together, and the old barriers are gone
Violi invites Morena to meet Francesco Arcadi, Frank Cotroni, Jr., and Antonio Mucci


Peter Lovaglio – Merlino trial (2018)

Q. What part of the country did the Bonanno crime family operate in within La Cosa Nostra?
A. We operated from Connecticut all the way down to Florida.
Q. And did, based on your experience, did the family operate north of Connecticut?
A. Yes. North of Connecticut?
Q. Yes.
A. We were also in Montreal, I mean, we were all over the place.

[chin_gigante]

The claim from Cicale about tribute I think deserves deeper exploration. $100,000 at Christmas would be a ridiculous increase from the $10,000 or $15,000 described before. We know from the prison conversations between Massino and Basciano that the most any decina was kicking up to the war chest was about $2,500 a month or roughly $30,000 a year. This would be over three times that amount. At first, I thought it was a typo, but Cicale repeats it. I'm very sceptical about that figure. Even the original figure he cites of $25,000 for Christmas 2003 would be $10,000 to $15,000 more than what Massino was getting from them when he was on the street. The whole thing seems about ten times too much. I would buy it if in 2003 they kicked up $2,500 and then got bumped back up to $10,000, but not 25 to 100.

It's also important to acknowledge that Rizzuto was arrested in early 2004 and therefore would not have been on the street to kick up a fuss at Christmas 2004 and Christmas 2005.

[motorfab]

Nice breakdown chin_gigante, thanks !

[Hired_Goonz]

Thanks for the great breakdown as always. Yea I don't know what to make of Cicale's claims. I don't see any way that Massino calls Vito down to Queens to flex on him like that in the time period we're talking about. Then forces him to open a strip club? And then if Vito refuses what happens, Massino is gonna send Vitale up to order someone like Joe Di Maulo to kill Vito and "move up the ranks"? It honestly reads like fan fiction.

I can buy into the idea that Basciano was getting drugs from Montreal but Cicale says a lot of other stuff that seems like total BS. So if he doesn't say it under oath I'll take it with a grain of salt.

[B.]

Good to have their POV in one place.

- The FBI made a chart around the big indictments where Vito Rizzuto was named as acting captain. Vitale identifing him as acting captain for Sciascia makes sense and was what I suspected a while back. Curious if Vito became acting captain immediately after LoPresti's murder.

- So Lino went earlier on with Bruno Indelicato and Tommy Karate. First time I've heard of that.

- Massino telling Vitale he'd "take care of that" in reference to making Nick Rizzuto official captain indicates Massino had other channels to contact Montreal outside of Vitale.

I don't think it's unrealistic that the boss could petition members in Montreal to kill someone up there. There were 19 or 20 guys up there and as we know they had their own interests. I agree though that Cicale should be scrutinized.

[CabriniGreen]

Thanks for the great breakdown as always. Yea I don't know what to make of Cicale's claims. I don't see any way that Massino calls Vito down to Queens to flex on him like that in the time period we're talking about. Then forces him to open a strip club? And then if Vito refuses what happens, Massino is gonna send Vitale up to order someone like Joe Di Maulo to kill Vito and "move up the ranks"? It honestly reads like fan fiction.

I can buy into the idea that Basciano was getting drugs from Montreal but Cicale says a lot of other stuff that seems like total BS. So if he doesn't say it under oath I'll take it with a grain of salt.

It always sounded like something Cicale made up or exaggerated to make Basciano look like " The Boss". And I kinda believe most of what he says. I just don't think he was totally accurate. Maybe not necessarily lying, but his info wasn't completely correct..

[B.]

One thing too is the possible discrepancy about Vitale and Massino's account of the LoPresti murder. Massino says the issue was brought to him and he approved it, indicating he took responsibility for the murder which contrasts with Vitale's suspicion that Sciascia killed LoPresti on his own and asked permission later. Vitale did say it was only a suspicion on his part that LoPresti was killed before permission was asked.

However, Vitale's description of the LoPresti murder is very similar to Massino's justification for the Sciascia murder -- that Sciascia killed the son of a member in Montreal and asked permission after the fact. Should be noted in the Basciano trial when Vitale was asked about LoPresti he couldn't remember who he was. If Sciascia killed LoPresti without permission that's a more severe infraction than killing the son of a member so I'd think Massino would remember that and would have used it as an additional justification for the Sciascia murder. Massino also wouldn't take responsibility for it like he did in his testimony if he felt Sciascia killed LoPresti on his own.

--

Another discrepency with Vitale is the translation Cabrini posted from Renaud's book:

In the following weeks, the plane of Salvatore Vitale and his companion landed at Dorval Airport, now Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau. Vitale's mission is to convince and take the pulse of the bosses of the Montreal mafia, including Vito Rizzuto, whom he knows and respects. The two men share a terrible secret that has not yet come to light and that will have impacts for both clans in the years to come. When the two men leave the airport, two vehicles are waiting for them. New York visitors are surprised and worried about having to ride each separately in a car. They are not armed and several Montreal mafiosi are present, including Giuseppe Di Maulo, will later tell Vitale. Di Maulo invites Vitale to take a seat in his vehicle. The complexion of Joseph Massino's brother-in-law becomes livid. "They will bring me, they will kill me and they will bury me here, somewhere. I have no chance, I'm dead, "he thinks, swallowing his saliva.

But the car ride continues and Vitale relaxes little by little. Di Maulo makes him go sightseeing. It passes and stops in front of some buildings of Little Italy, Saint-Leonard and elsewhere in Montreal proudly announcing that they belong to them. He finally brings the visitor to a large room not far from the Consenza bar, headquarters of the Mafia Street Jarry, now missing.

Inside, about twenty "men of honor" of the Montreal mafia receive him and his flying companion, who is already there. Vito Rizzuto is here, his father, Nicolo, too. The men present have a drink and expect a lot from Vitale's visit. They believe that the latter will announce to them the name of the successor of Gerlando Sciascia. But they will be disappointed. Massino did not send Vitale to Montreal for this reason, but to try to rebuild the relationship between the two clans at a time when clouds are looming on the horizon. Vitale and his companion then return to New York. When reporting to his brother-in-law, Vitale told him that he had noticed that "the guys from Montreal" were disappointed that no one had been named to succeed "George of Canada". Massino may have had to step into the door at that moment, because when he sends his right arm back to Montreal, six months later, the tone has changed. Vital enters the same room, where are more or less the same men of honor as the first time. This time, he has an official approach to do and he moves away from a few steps with Vito Rizzuto.

- I have orders from Joe. He wants to name you officially at the head of the Montreal cell, Vitale announces him without hiding a certain pride.

Calmly, Vito Rizzuto looks at his interlocutor in the eyes and answers:

- No, I do not want it. Out of respect for my father, you give him this title, not me.

Vitale acquiesces and confirms Nicolo Rizzuto, then 75 years old, in the position of godfather of the Montreal cell of the Bonanno clan. But when Salvatore Vitale returns to Massino, he is perplexed. Later, he will tell Lorie McDougall, who visited him in New York, that it was only because of the protocol that the Montreal mafiosi agreed to receive him and that he had the impression that they laughed at him. For Vitale, the Rizzuto were already doing what they wanted. They no longer needed to ask permission in New York and they were now independent

- I don't know what testimony / interviews this is based on, but it says Montreal was initially eager for the Bonanno leaders to name a new official capodecina over Montreal and were disappointed that Vitale's first visit didn't include this.

- Says Vitale did confirm Nick Rizzuto as official capodecina, which conflicts with the other testimony that says this did not happen and Massino said he would handle the appointment.

It should be noted Vitale has memory issues, as evidenced by the LoPresti situation and other details. He's particularly weak about dates / timelines. I don't see how he would forget a second trip to Montreal where Nick Rizzuto was confirmed as captain but hard to gauge where his mind is/was at.

[B.]

I notice too Lino said the Bonanno Family operated in Sicily.

[antimafia]

Au sujet des attaques contre son clan, Rizzuto dit croire qu’elles proviennent de New York. Il confirme qu’après le meurtre en 1999 de Gerlando Sciascia – qui n’aurait jamais dû mourir, croit-il –, il était très en colère et que, par la suite, le clan Rizzuto a avisé les responsables de la mafia new-yorkaise qu’il coupait les liens avec elle. Il pense que les mafiosi américains se sont vengés en attaquant son clan par le biais de Salvatore Montagna, ancien chef intérimaire du clan Bonanno. Mais les policiers lui font valoir que des criminels montréalais sont vraisemblablement impliqués dans les attentats contre sa famille.

[antimafia]

From «Ponte sullo Stretto e la Canadian Connection» by Antonio Mazzeo:

Sempre secondo Vitale, per completare l’ascesa ai vertici della criminalità, Vito Rizzuto dovette attendere almeno sino al 1999, quando Joseph Massino ordinò di assassinare Sciascia. «Dopo l’omicidio del boss, Rizzuto fu nominato capitano della cellula. Rizzuto chiese che suo padre, soldato della famiglia, fosse designato al suo posto in segno di rispetto. Non so come fu risolta la questione. So comunque che Rizzuto è un membro estremamente potente ed influente della famiglia e continua ogni anno a pagare un tributo a Massino».

[antimafia]

Vito Rizzuto is speaking with both Lorie McDougall and Serge St-Denis, an RCMP Staff Sergeant who at the time is McDougall's colleague. Also present in the room is a young FBI agent.

Le froid entre eux s'est estompé. Comme s'ils étaient de vieux amis qui se connaissent depuis des décennies, le parrain et Lorie McDougall se rappellent de vieux souvenirs, tant agréables que plus douloureux.

McDougall émet une théorie sur le meurtre de l'ami de Rizzuto, Giuseppe Lo Presti, commis en 1992. Il lui dit croire que lui, Vito Rizzuto, a reçu la commande, mais qu'il a été incapable de l'exécuter et qu'il à demandé a des membres du « gang de l'ouest » de le faire a sa place. Le parrain regarde le plancher et ne répond pas.

Le chef de la mafia qualifie les membres du clan Bonanno de New York de « rats ». II dit qu'il a toujours su que c'était leur chef Joe Massino qui avait fait exécuter son ami Gerlando Sciascia et qu'auparavant, le clan Rizzuto remettait toujours des enveloppes à la famille mafieuse americaine à Noël, mais qu'à partir de ce moment, ce fut terminé.

[antimafia]

En ce qui a trait à l’enlèvement de son beau-frère Paolo Renda et au meurtre d’Agostino Cuntrera, il ne croit pas que ces attentats aient été commandités par les familles de New York.

– Il n’y a aucun lien entre eux et Montréal, dit-il.

Il soutient que le seul lien qu’il entretenait était avec son ami Gerlando Sciascia, tué en 1999. Il confirme avoir rencontré Salvatore Vitale et que ce dernier lui avait offert le poste de capitaine pour les Bonanno, mais qu’il avait refusé en le traitant d’imbécile. Il ajoute que chaque fois qu’il a rencontré un membre du clan Bonanno, il avait eu mal au cœur.

– C’est une gang d’imbéciles, martèle-t-il devant les enquêteurs.

Il ajoute que depuis l’adoption de la loi RICO aux États-Unis, les familles de New York sont devenues de petites cellules.

[antimafia]

- Appartenez-vous à une organisation criminelle ? poursuit le magistrat.

– Oui, admet le mafioso, sans plus.

Le juge Garaufis est satisfait du témoignage de Rizzuto, bien qu’il soit très succinct, et accepte sa réponse. Il reporte le prononcé de la sentence de trois semaines. À la sortie de la salle d’audience, l’avocat John W. Mitchell déclare aux journalistes que son client n’a pas tout perdu, qu’il n’a pas admis son appartenance à la famille Bonanno et que cela est très important pour lui. L’avocat l’écrira d’ailleurs un peu plus tard dans une série d’objections à un «rapport présentenciel : « Le défendeur s’objecte à ce qu’il soit décrit comme un “soldat” de la famille criminelle Bonanno. Même s’il a plaidé coupable à des crimes commis dans un contexte d’association, il nie être ou avoir été membre de cette famille. Après le 5 mai 1981, il n’a pas été un membre ni même un associé de la famille Bonanno.»

Mais durant les dernières années à New York, le délateur Salvatore Vitale avait témoigné que Vito Rizzuto avait été le premier à ouvrir le feu à New York, en 1981. Il a aussi décrit le chef de la mafia montréalaise comme le plus puissant au Canada et mentionné qu’il était plus particulièrement associé à la famille Bonanno.

[CabriniGreen]

- Appartenez-vous à une organisation criminelle ? poursuit le magistrat.

– Oui, admet le mafioso, sans plus.

Le juge Garaufis est satisfait du témoignage de Rizzuto, bien qu’il soit très succinct, et accepte sa réponse. Il reporte le prononcé de la sentence de trois semaines. À la sortie de la salle d’audience, l’avocat John W. Mitchell déclare aux journalistes que son client n’a pas tout perdu, qu’il n’a pas admis son appartenance à la famille Bonanno et que cela est très important pour lui. L’avocat l’écrira d’ailleurs un peu plus tard dans une série d’objections à un «rapport présentenciel : « Le défendeur s’objecte à ce qu’il soit décrit comme un “soldat” de la famille criminelle Bonanno. Même s’il a plaidé coupable à des crimes commis dans un contexte d’association, il nie être ou avoir été membre de cette famille. Après le 5 mai 1981, il n’a pas été un membre ni même un associé de la famille Bonanno.»

Mais durant les dernières années à New York, le délateur Salvatore Vitale avait témoigné que Vito Rizzuto avait été le premier à ouvrir le feu à New York, en 1981. Il a aussi décrit le chef de la mafia montréalaise comme le plus puissant au Canada et mentionné qu’il était plus particulièrement associé à la famille Bonanno.

So...as of 1981, Vito wasn't a made guy yet? Did he ever get inducted? This is pretty big....

[johnny_scootch]

Someone break out the translator and help the rest of us out.