Key members of Montreal Mafia plead guilty in drugs, extortion case

This is a huge victory for the justice system.

LES PERREAUX and TU THANH HA

Globe and Mail — Six leading figures in Montreal's Mafia pleaded guilty Thursday morning to charges of charges of conspiracy to traffic drugs, extort, run illegal bookmaking and possess illegal goods.

On top of the pyramid of the gang's remaining leadership was Nicolo (Nick) Rizzuto, the 84-year-old father of Vito Rizzuto, described in court documents as the Godfather of Montreal's Mafia.

Vito Rizzuto, has been in jail since 2004. In his absence, the elder Mr. Rizzuto and the five other men who pleaded guilty – Rocco Sollecito, Paolo Renda, Francesco Arcadi, Francesco Del Balso and Lorenzo Giordano – have been the organization's ranking leaders, according to court documents.

The men will be sentenced in October. Crown Prosecutor Yvan Poulin said he will ask the court to seize money and property from the men.

During a four-year investigation, the RCMP penetrated the group's core, installing hidden cameras inside their headquarters.

According to RCMP affidavits, hundreds of kilos of cocaine were imported through Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, where baggage handlers, food-services employee and even customs agents were on the gang's payroll.

The allegations are outlined among more than 1,000 criminal counts filed in November 2006 against 90 people the police identified as associates and underlings of Vito Rizzuto.

The four-year investigation by several police forces culminated in a 700-officer raid in November 2006 across Quebec, as well as Halifax and Toronto where more than 70 people were arrested and homes and bank accounts were seized. About $3-million was also seized as proceeds of crime.

At the time the RCMP said police struck at the heart of one of the top criminal syndicates in Canada.

While the lion's share of members came from the Italian-based underworld, the criminal enterprise extended into the outlaw biker world as well as aboriginal communities, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Raf Souccar said in an interview at the time.The ring was also deep into online sports bookmaking and extorting businesses into purchasing from mob-approved suppliers.

The organization managed to co-opt federal employees and airport staff because it needed "facilitators" to help import drugs through different ports of entry. "You corrupt with money," he said.

The crackdown came in 2006 while the Montreal Mafia was facing a leadership vacuum, with Vito Rizzuto in detention in New York, awaiting trial on racketeering charges.

Police say the criminal organization had succeeded in infiltrating Montreal's airport and co-opting a dozen airport employees as well as a federal customs agent.An Air Canada spokesman said a number of employees in Montreal – up to five, according to one report – were suspended after they came under police investigation.

A customs officer, who worked in the border agency's regional headquarters in Montreal, was "corrupted" by the organization to help import cocaine into Canada through shipping containers, the RCMP said.Police said the drugs were moved through a U.S. port and were to be smuggled into Canada by train. Officers intercepted the delivery, seizing 300 kilograms of cocaine last year, which they said was the first part of a 1.3-tonne consignment.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4