Business or Blood (40 page)

Vittorio (Victor) Mirarchi was left by his late father to Desjardins' care and thrived under his mentor, just as Desjardins had once thrived under Vito.

'Ndrangheta killer Domenic Napoli had been part of a hit team in Siderno but ran afoul of Panepinto for encroaching on his video-gambling turf in York Region.

In Bagheria, Sicily, Fernandez tried to wait out Vito's war and maintain loyalty to both the godfather and his enemy Desjardins.

Portuguese national Fernando Pimentel brought Fernandez extra muscle in Bagheria.

Fernandez underestimating the extent of police surveillance in Italy.

Fernandez with Andrea Fortunato Carbone, Michele Modica's bodyguard who escaped the California Sandwiches shooting unscathed.

Fernandez with mobster Pietro Scaduto, also present at the North York shooting and deported.

Vito and Fernandez in happier days. In Vito's last war, no slight went unpunished.

T
here's a term in Italian—
staffetta
—that translates roughly to “passing the baton.” It is natural to wonder if Vito had made plans to pass the baton to another or others in his group before his death. Even if he wasn't dying of cancer, he must have contemplated the possibility of his own murder.

Revenge was an all-consuming and sacred pursuit in the final year of his life. A short list of his next murder victims is believed to have included a long-time member of a street gang, a developer and an Ontario mobster with a long history of drug problems. Vito's death meant the new leadership of his group had the choice of picking up the baton and continuing the slaughter or moving on to rebuild after the damage done by Project Colisée and the Charbonneau Commission. Or would they choose a Canadian compromise, killing a few of his enemies as a nod to the old guard in the family and then turning to business?

Police surveillance officers were startled in early 2014 to see Vito's last
consigliere
Rocco Sollecito making the rounds with a fresh face in the
milieu
. This man has a clean criminal record but enjoyed a tight, affectionate tie to Vito. Sollecito seemed bent on introducing him to everyone who was anyone in his world. As he made the rounds with Sollecito, the man carried himself with the utmost seriousness, as one might expect from the new boss of a major crime family.

The quick decision not to hold an autopsy on Vito's body means the cause of his death will be forever a mystery. If Vito did indeed die of cancer, it was an odd strain of the disease as in recent weeks he looked as though he had put on a little weight and seemed full of energy. If he was murdered, it was likely poison dropped in a glass from a smiling well-wisher. If Ponytail De Vito could be poisoned in maximum-security
Donnacona penitentiary, then Vito could be drugged in a bustling public nightspot. Perhaps the killer even liked Vito, but chose business over blood. Perhaps the new boss already knows the answer to this riddle.

There were good reasons to fear Vito's revenge, even months after his death. In April 2014, Carmine Verduci of the Toronto 'Ndrangheta was shot dead in mid-afternoon outside a café in Vaughan. Verduci had been host of the
camera di controllo
meeting in his yellow brick home in Woodbridge on October 7, 2009, while Vito was in prison and his family was under siege in Montreal. “To me it's a huge message,” a police officer specializing in organized crime said. “It's not over just because Vito's dead.… Certain people have to die before business gets done.” On the evening of August 2, 2014, the body of gang leader Ducarme Joseph was found in the middle of a St. Michel district street. Someone had pumped multiple gunshots into the prime suspect in the murder of Vito's son, Nick Jr.

As this book goes to press, a half-dozen other men on Vito's hit list have not yet been murdered. They do not need this book to know they are fortunate to be alive.

Francesco
(
Compare
Frank) Arcadi.
Underboss in Rizzuto crime family.

Agostino (The Seigneur of Saint-Léonard) Cuntrera.
Member of wealthy international money-laundering family.

Federico (Freddy) Del Peschio.
Family friend of Rizzuto crime family.

Lorenzo (Skunk) Giordano.
Tough senior member in Rizzuto crime family.

Mike Lapolla.
Enforcer for Rizzuto crime family who was murdered March 10, 2005.

Domenico Macri.
Murdered soldier in Rizzuto crime family and nephew of lieutenant Francesco Arcadi.

Paolo Renda.
Trusted
consigliere
, cousin and brother-in-law of Vito Rizzuto.

Nicolò (Nick) Rizzuto Jr.
Murdered eldest son of Vito Rizzuto.

Nicolò (Zio Cola, Uncle Nick) Rizzuto Sr.
For decades he was the top Mafioso in Canada, before passing control to his only son, Vito.

Vito Rizzuto.
Son of Nicolò Rizzuto and top figure in Canadian Mafia.

Rocco (Sauce) Sollecito.
Member of Vito's inner circle. His son Stefano was part of Vito's expansion into Ontario in the early 2000s.

Giovanni (Johnny) Bertolo.
Close associate of Raynald Desjardins, and murder victim.

Raynald Desjardins.
One-time ally of Vito Rizzuto who broke ranks after serving a lengthy sentence for drug trafficking and sparked a bloody underworld war.

Giuseppe (Joe) Di Maulo.
Brother-in-law of Raynald Desjardins and senior underworld figure.

Paolo Gervasi.
Montreal strip club owner who was murdered on January 19, 2004. Vito Rizzuto was blamed for his killing.

Moreno Gallo.
A millionaire baker who was once a member of Vito's group. He backed Salvatore Montagna of New York in his push to run the Montreal mob.

Lorenzo (Larry) Lo Presti.
Neighbour of Vito Rizzuto and son of murdered Mafia lieutenant.

Vittorio (Victor) Mirarchi.
Suspect in murder of New York City Mafia boss Salvatore Montagna.

Paolo Violi.
Former head of the Cotroni crime family of Montreal, which for a time included Vito and Nicolò Rizzuto.

Juan Ramon (Joe Bravo) Fernandez.
Former Toronto lieutenant for Vito Rizzuto.

Gaetano (Guy) Panepinto.
Toronto lieutenant for Vito Rizzuto.

Antonio Coluccio.
Brother of 'Ndrangheta members Giuseppe and Salvatore Coluccio. Told by federal government he is inadmissible to live in Canada.

Giuseppe Coluccio.
Former Toronto resident said to be top member of international 'Ndrangheta crime family.

Salvatore Coluccio.
Former Toronto resident said to be high-level 'Ndrangheta member.