Friends of Ours

Vito Rizzuto To Testify At Charbonneau Comm'n

Reputed Montreal Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto has been subpoenaed to appear before the Charbonneau Commission which is probing corruption allegations in the award of public contracts in the construction industry as reported by CTV:  "several businessmen and city engineers testified at the Charbonneau Commission that Rizzuto was at the centre of a widespread scheme of kickbacks and collusion responsible for inflating the cost of government infrastructure projects by as much as 30 per cent."

Vito Rizzuto was released from a U.S. prison last month after serving several years on a racketeering conviction involving the 1981 murders of three Bonanno capos in New York City, and while the reputed boss was doing time all hell broke loose in Montreal including hits against Vito's son Nick Jr. in 2009 and family patriarch Nicolo in 2010.

Some mob watchers suspect that former Bonanno boss Salvatore "Sal the Ironworker" Montagna joined with 'Ndrangheta or Calabrian Mafia clans from New York City and Ontario in a bid to topple the Rizzuto clan.

Montagna was whacked in November 2011, and several suspected Rizzuto associates, including Raynald Desjardins, were charged last December for their alleged roles in the Montagna slaying.  Desjardins was the target of an attempted hit in September 2011, and he also has been called to testify before the Charbonneau Commission.  Earlier this month Desjardins' brother-in-law Joe DiMaulo was murdered.  The buzz from some is that Desjardins and DiMaulo betrayed Rizzuto while in prison by attempting to negotiate a power sharing agreement with the interloping Montagna which broke down.

The ongoing Mafia war largely is for control over the cocaine trade in Montreal and NYC.

Funeral Mass For Slain Mobster Joe DiMaulo

The funeral mass for slain mobster Joe DiMaulo was held yesterday in Montreal, QB Canada, and among those who sent flowers was Raynald Desjardins "who is currently in jail, charged with first-degree murder in last year's killing of 40-year-old Salvatore Montagna" as reported by Paul Cherry for The Gazette: 

Desjardins was Di Maulo's brother-in-law. In 2011, both men are believed to have teamed up with Montagna on an aggressive campaign to take control over the Mafia in Montreal while Vito Rizzuto was serving a 10-year sentence in the U.S. for a racketeering conviction involving three murders. Montagna had briefly been the interim leader of the Bonanno crime family in New York.

Vito Rizzuto was released from prison last month, and upon his return to the City of Saints apparently has become obsessed with security including the acquisition of a $100,000 armored vehicle in which to jaunt about town.  The reputed mob boss may have good reason to fear for his life.  While Vito was doing time his son Nick Jr. was whacked in 2009 and father Nicolo in 2010.

Rizzuto did not attend DiMaulo's funeral.

Joe DiMaulo Whacked In Montreal War

The latest casualty in the Mafia war in Montreal, QB Canada is Joe DiMaulo who was found murdered last night outside a suburban residence as reported by CBC News.

DiMaulo was a long-time ally of the Rizzuto clan whose reputed boss Vito Rizzuto was released from a U.S. prison just last month.

While Vito was doing time 'Ndrangheta or Calabrian Mafia clans from New York City and Ontario launched a war against his Sicilian clan which knocked out son Nick Jr. in 2009 and father Nicolo in 2010.  Former Bonanno boss Salvatore "Sal the Ironworker" Montagna joined the Calabrian clans in their challenge to the Rizzuto clan, and he was whacked in November 2011.  Several suspected Rizzuto associates, including Raynald Desjardins, were charged last December for their alleged roles in the Montagna slaying.  Desjardins is the brother-in-law of DiMaulo, and himself was the target of an attempted hit in September 2011.

Vito Rizzuto apparently has become obsessed with security upon his return to Montreal, and reportedly has acquired a $100,000 armored vehicle in which to jaunt about town.

The pissing match among rival mob clans largely is for control over the cocaine trade in Montreal and NYC.

The 70-year-old DiMaulo was a Calabrian once aligned with the Cotroni and Violi clans until they were purged from power by the Rizzuto clan in the late 1970s and early 1980s as reported by Les Perreaux for The Globe and Mail.

There are "reports that Desjardins and DiMaulo might have had a falling out with Rizzuto after they angled for his job" while the reputed Montreal Mafia boss was serving his time as reported by Brian Daly for QMI Agency.