EvanL
01-20-2004, 06:33 PM
CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL - The reputed head of the Canadian Mafia has been charged in the United States with racketeering and murders that date back to 1981 and was arrested early today for extradition.
Vito Rizzuto was arrested at his Montreal home at the request of U.S. authorities who want him extradited to stand trial, said Justice Department spokesman Patrick Charette.
He was nabbed as part of a U.S. sweep in which more than 20 members of the Bonanno crime family, including the acting boss, were arrested, say documents released by the U.S. Justice Department.
Documents released by the U.S. Justice Department said Rizzuto has been charged in the slayings of three high-ranking rival members of the Bonanno Mafia family more than two decades ago.
"Rizzuto has been charged with multiple murders as racketeering acts, specifically the 1981 conspiracy to murder, and murder of, Bonanno family captains Alphonse (Sonny Red) Indelicato, Philip (Phil Lucky) Giaccone and Dominick (Big Trin) Trinchera," the documents said.
"Rizzuto faces a term of 20 years incarceration if convicted."
The 57-year-old was to appear in court this afternoon in Montreal and would face an extradition hearing at a later date, Charette said.
"He's wanted in the U.S. to stand trial on charges of racketeering and conspiracy linked to three acts of murder," Charette said from Ottawa.
Rizzuto has been referred to in news reports and by Mafia experts as the "godfather" of the Montreal Mafia and the Canadian Mafia.
"We read the reports and this is a high-profile extradition request, for sure," said Charette.
The story first came to light last week on the Gang Land website, owned by the New York Sun newspaper.
The website also said the charges against Rizzuto are based on testimony from Salvatore Vitale, a long-time Bonanno underboss who has been co-operating with authorities since last year.
Rizzuto has been on the radar of Canadian authorities for a number of years.
His organization was profiled in a 2002 report by the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada (CISC), an umbrella law-enforcement organization.
The Rizzuto group was referred to in the CISC report only as a "Sicilian crime family" that plays an influential role in the "diverse criminal milieu of Montreal."
While the Rizzutos are not mentioned by name, the family is clearly the focus of the report.
The document mentions a foiled murder plot against a reputed Montreal Mafia leader, as well as his out-of-court tax settlement with the federal Revenue Department. Rizzuto was at the centre of both cases.
Canadian authorities have never built a major case against Rizzuto, who maintained a low-key presence in an opulent home in north-end Montreal.
It is believed that the Mafia and the Hells Angels cooperate in operating the Canadian drug trade.
In 1972, Rizzuto was sentenced to two years for conspiring to commit arson. He was charged in two drug investigations in the 1980s but was acquitted both times.
http://www.thestar.com/images/thestar/img/040120_rizzuto_mafia_200.jpg
CP FILE PHOTO
Reputed Montreal mobster Vito Rizzuto is seen on this undated police handout photo. Rizzuto was arrested today at his home for alleged involvement in several homicides in the United States, police said. Allegedly the 'godfather' of the Canadian Mafia, Rizzuto is to appear in Montreal court this afternoon. .
MONTREAL - The reputed head of the Canadian Mafia has been charged in the United States with racketeering and murders that date back to 1981 and was arrested early today for extradition.
Vito Rizzuto was arrested at his Montreal home at the request of U.S. authorities who want him extradited to stand trial, said Justice Department spokesman Patrick Charette.
He was nabbed as part of a U.S. sweep in which more than 20 members of the Bonanno crime family, including the acting boss, were arrested, say documents released by the U.S. Justice Department.
Documents released by the U.S. Justice Department said Rizzuto has been charged in the slayings of three high-ranking rival members of the Bonanno Mafia family more than two decades ago.
"Rizzuto has been charged with multiple murders as racketeering acts, specifically the 1981 conspiracy to murder, and murder of, Bonanno family captains Alphonse (Sonny Red) Indelicato, Philip (Phil Lucky) Giaccone and Dominick (Big Trin) Trinchera," the documents said.
"Rizzuto faces a term of 20 years incarceration if convicted."
The 57-year-old was to appear in court this afternoon in Montreal and would face an extradition hearing at a later date, Charette said.
"He's wanted in the U.S. to stand trial on charges of racketeering and conspiracy linked to three acts of murder," Charette said from Ottawa.
Rizzuto has been referred to in news reports and by Mafia experts as the "godfather" of the Montreal Mafia and the Canadian Mafia.
"We read the reports and this is a high-profile extradition request, for sure," said Charette.
The story first came to light last week on the Gang Land website, owned by the New York Sun newspaper.
The website also said the charges against Rizzuto are based on testimony from Salvatore Vitale, a long-time Bonanno underboss who has been co-operating with authorities since last year.
Rizzuto has been on the radar of Canadian authorities for a number of years.
His organization was profiled in a 2002 report by the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada (CISC), an umbrella law-enforcement organization.
The Rizzuto group was referred to in the CISC report only as a "Sicilian crime family" that plays an influential role in the "diverse criminal milieu of Montreal."
While the Rizzutos are not mentioned by name, the family is clearly the focus of the report.
The document mentions a foiled murder plot against a reputed Montreal Mafia leader, as well as his out-of-court tax settlement with the federal Revenue Department. Rizzuto was at the centre of both cases.
Canadian authorities have never built a major case against Rizzuto, who maintained a low-key presence in an opulent home in north-end Montreal.
It is believed that the Mafia and the Hells Angels cooperate in operating the Canadian drug trade.
In 1972, Rizzuto was sentenced to two years for conspiring to commit arson. He was charged in two drug investigations in the 1980s but was acquitted both times.
http://www.thestar.com/images/thestar/img/040120_rizzuto_mafia_200.jpg
CP FILE PHOTO
Reputed Montreal mobster Vito Rizzuto is seen on this undated police handout photo. Rizzuto was arrested today at his home for alleged involvement in several homicides in the United States, police said. Allegedly the 'godfather' of the Canadian Mafia, Rizzuto is to appear in Montreal court this afternoon. .