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Reputed Mob Figure In Critical Condition After Apparent Hit Attempt In Montreal

A full-scale Mafia war has been taking down underworld figures in Montreal, QB Canada over the last few years.

The latest apparent casualty in the ongoing violence is Antonio Pietrantonio a/k/a Tony Suzuki who was severely injured after getting shot outside a restaurant on Tuesday night as reported by Jan Ravensbergen for Postmedia News.

Last October Lorenzo "Larry" Lopresti was whacked who "was believed to have close ties to Antonio Pietrantonio" according to a police source as then reported by Paul Cherry for The Gazette, and Lopresti further "was known to be close to Agostino Cuntrera, an influential figure within the Rizzuto clan who was murdered in St. Léonard in June 2010,"

Others within the Rizzuto clan who have been slain include patriarch Nicolo Rizzuto and his grandson Nick Rizzuto Jr.

Last month Salvatore "Sal the Ironworker" Montagna, the former acting boss of the Bonanno crime family, was whacked.

The Bonanno family from NYC has deep long-time ties with the Rizzuto family in Montreal, and reputed boss Vito Rizzuto currently is serving time at the supermax facility in Florence, CO on a 2007 racketeering conviction involving the 1981 New York City murders of three Bonanno capos during an internal power struggle.

One theory put forward to explain the ongoing blood bath is that the Calabrian Mafia is attempting to wrest control from the Sicilian Mafia -- i.e., the Rizzuto clan -- over the Montreal underworld.  The police also believe that Montagna was pushing to become the top dog among the Sicilians. To further complicate matters some sources believe that Montagna had allied himself with the Calabrian clans in Ontario and NYC.  It's unknown -- at least to the civilian world -- whether Montagna was whacked by the Calabrians or his own paisanos.  The Rizzuto clan was closely tied with motorcycle clubs, and outlaw bikers "are among the numerous suspects being eyed" in the Montagna hit. 

The Calabrian Mafia or 'Ndrangheta dominates the cocaine trade in Europe, and in recent years further has become entrenched in Australia, Canada and the United States with surprisingly little push back from law enforcement in those countries.

According to police sources Montagna, Pietrantonio and Raynald Desjardins previously "were attempting to reach a consensus on who should act as the next leaders among the Mafia in Montreal" as reported by Paul Cherry for Postmedia News.  In 1993, "Pietrantonio and Desjardins were arrested together in an RCMP investigation dubbed Project Jaggy, which uncovered a conspiracy between Mafia members and Hells Angels to smuggle cocaine into Canada," and an attempted hit was made on Desjardins last September.

Vito Rizzuto gets out of the pokey in October 2012.

Mafia War Claims Another Rizzuto Associate

Last night Lorenzo "Larry" Lopresti was murdered last night in Montreal, QB Canada when he stepped out for a smoke on his condo balcony and was met with gun fire as reported by Jan Ravensbergen for The Gazette:

"Investigators are saying this could be related to organized crime" was the furthest Montreal police Constable Dany Richer would venture. * * * According to Constable Daniel Lacoursière, he had suffered at least one gunshot wound.

Lopresti "was known to be close to Agostino Cuntrera, an influential figure within the Rizzuto clan who was murdered in St. Léonard in June 2010," and "a police source said LoPresti was believed to have close ties to Antonio Pietroantonio, 48, who was arrested in 1993 in an RCMP investigation into a plot hatched by the Hells Angels and the Mafia to smuggle cocaine into Canada" as reported by Paul Cherry for The Gazette.

Loprestis father Giuseppe "Joe" Lopresti, a close associate of reputed Montreal Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto, was whacked in 1992, and he was involved in the crime family's drug trade.

Rizzuto currently is serving time at the supermax facility in Florence, CO on a 2007 racketeering conviction involving the 1981 New York City murders of three Bonanno capos, and when he gets out in October 2012 he'll face a changed landscape in Montreal.

Over the last few years several Rizzuto clan members and associates -- including Vito's father Nicolo Rizzuto and Vito's son Nick Rizzuto Jr. -- have been slain.

One theory put forward to explain the ongoing blood bath is that the Calabrian Mafia is attempting to wrest control from the Sicilian Mafia over the Montreal underworld.

Slain Mobster's Wife Lists Mansion For Sale

A Mafia widow has put her Montreal mansion on the market for $2.2 million following the July 2010 rubout of her husband and Rizzuto lieutenant Agostino Cuntrera as reported by the Toronto Sun:  "he was nicknamed the 'Lord of St. Leonard,' a reference to his popular status in the north-end Montreal borough that is home to many of Montreal's 250,000 residents of Italian origin."

Over the last few years several Rizzuto clan members and associates -- including Nicolo Rizzuto and his grandson Nick Rizzuto Jr. -- have been slain.

Reputed Montreal mob boss Vito Rizzuto currently is serving time at the supermax facility in Florence, CO on a 2007 racketeering conviction involving the 1981 New York City murders of three Bonanno capos, and no doubt he'll be in an ugly mood upon his release in October 2012 after losing both his father and son to underworld violence while incarcerated.

When Vito is released next fall he may not be returning to the old neighborhood as his family home went on the market last July.

Montreal Mafia Don Nicolo Rizzuto Slain At Home During Supper: “The Family Is Finished”

Nicolo Rizzuto, the 86-year-old patriarch of the Montreal Mafia for the last thirty years, was assassinated last night at his home as reported by Les Perreaux for The Globe and Mail. A gunman had set up in a wooded area behind Rizzuto's home, and shot him through a window as reported by Jessica Murphy and Brian Daly for QMI Agency. Video

It's been a tough year for the Rizzuto clan while Vito Rizzuto – the son of Nicolo and reputed boss – serves a ten-year term at a federal penitentiary in Florence, CO following his 2007 racketeering conviction involving the 1981 murder of three Bonanno capos in NYC. Last December Nick Rizzuto Jr. – Nicolo's namesake and Vito's son – was gunned down. And a slew of other top leaders have met similar fates. Last September associate Ennio Bruni was gunned down; last July family leader Agostino Cuntrera and his driver and body guard Liborio Sciascia were shot to death; last June reputed consigliere Paolo Renda apparently was kidnapped into oblivion; and in August 2009 associate Frederico Del Peschio was murdered.

Investigators believe that interloping 'Ndrangheta or Calabrian mobsters from Ontario – perhaps with the blessing of some boys from New York – may be responsible for the ongoing massacre against the Sicilian Montreal Mafia. The Rizzuto legacy has come to an inglorious end, and retired RCMP intelligence analyst Pierre de Champlain stated: "It's the end of the Rizzuto crime family. The killing is probably not over, but the family is finished."

Sal Vitale Took Down The Montreal Mafia

Earlier this month former Bonanno underboss Salvatore Vitale was rewarded by the feds for his cooperation, and it turns out that Good Looking Sal not only was responsible for bringing down his own crime family in NYC but also the Montreal Mafia and its reputed boss Vito Rizzuto as reported by Adrian Humphreys for the National Post: "His evidence was . . . crucial in the U.S. obtaining the extradition of Rizzuto for his role in three gangland murders in New York that took place in 1981. Vitale and Rizzuto were two of four gunmen who burst into a Brooklyn social club and killed three rebellious [Bonanno] mob captains. The murders were colourfully recreated in the Hollywood movie Donnie Brasco, starring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp." Vitale further dished the dirt on the Montreal Mafia to Canadian investigators who in 2006 pursuant to Project Colisee arrested Vito's father Nicolo Rizzuto, his brother-in-law Paolo Renda, and "a wide swath of the criminal organization's leadership and foot soldiers."

It's been a tough year for what has remained of the Montreal Mafia. Last September associate Ennio Bruni was gunned down; last July family leader Agostino Cuntrera and his driver and body guard Liborio Sciascia were shot to death; last June reputed consigliere Paolo Renda apparently was kidnapped into oblivion; last December Nick Rizzuto Jr. was gunned down; and in August 2009 associate Frederico Del Peschio was murdered. Investigators believe that interloping 'Ndrangheta or Calabrian mobsters from Ontario may be responsible for the ongoing massacre against the Sicilian Montreal Mafia, and the latter is powerless to defend its turf with reputed boss Vito serving a ten-year term at a federal penitentiary in Florence, CO and many of his purported Bonanno allies from NYC similarly incapacitated. The Rizzuto legacy comes to an inglorious end.