Project Croisière, Bruno Diquinzio, is being sought on drug trafficking charges filed in Vancouver.

Bruno Diquinzio, 42, was named yesterday as remaining at large following arrests in Project Croisière, a joint police investigation into a cocaine trafficking ring that stretched from Vancouver to Montreal.Diquinzio, a Montrealer, played an enforcer for a mafioso in Omertà, a popular fictional account of the Montreal Mafia that aired on Radio Canada during the late 1990s. The series title was borrowed from the Sicilian expression for the Mafia's code of silence.Besides charges filed against him in Montreal court yesterday, Diquinzio is being sought since June 1 on drug trafficking charges filed in Vancouver.In 2000, he was sentenced to a 3-year prison term after police in Montreal linked him to a large stash of drugs, cash and weapons uncovered in the St. Michel district. Police initially linked him to the Montreal Mafia, but during a Dec. 2000 parole hearing, his classification was modified to a "large-scale drug trafficker" with extensive contacts in the drug milieu.At least one of the people arrested yesterday is known to have links to the Montreal Mafia through the Rizzuto clan. Antonino Milioto, 62, was arrested in 1999 in connection with another cocaine smuggling ring along with people connected to the Montreal Mafia. In 2003, he was sentenced to 31/2 years for playing a limited role in the plot to smuggle hundreds of kilos of cocaine from Miami to Montreal.Sûreté du Québec Sgt. Martine Isabelle described Project Croisière as a joint investigation by the SQ, the RCMP and Revenue Quebec."A part of the investigation leads us to believe it can be tied to (the Hells Angels)," she said.None of those arrested yesterday appears to be full-patch members of the biker gang.Nine people were arrested in Montreal. Another five were arrested in Ottawa and two others were apprehended in Vancouver. Arrests were also made in the Laurentians, Eastern Townships and western Quebec."The investigation began in September 2006, and it showed that the drugs were imported from Mexico to Canada," Isabelle said. "On an annual basis this organization was importing several hundred kilos of cocaine."The drugs were smuggled via the western U.S. into British Columbia in vehicles. From Vancouver, the cocaine was driven to Montreal, then distributed to various part of Quebec.Included among the people identified by police as leaders of the network were Lionel Gauthier, 67, of Val Morin; Robert Brunet, 62, of Rosemere; Mario Cariello, 46, of Montreal; Richard Paré, 42, of Rosemere; and 46-year-old Michel Lecompte of Gatineau. Revenue Quebec announced yesterday it was placing seizure orders on assets owned by Gauthier, Cariello and Lecompte.Isabelle said two large seizures were already made in Montreal and in western Quebec in April and May during the investigation. Police seized cocaine, ecstacy and cars at the time

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Nicolo Rizzuto reputed head of the Montreal Mafia father of alleged Mafia kingpin Vito Rizzuto.

Nicolo Rizzuto was smiling and waving to family members after the 84-year-old father of the reputed head of the Montreal Mafia was given a suspended sentence and probation on yesterday.The Crown acknowledged police were not thorough enough in following the money trail in their investigation of Rizzuto, the father of alleged Mafia kingpin Vito Rizzuto.Nicolo Rizzuto pleaded guilty last month to two charges -- possessing goods obtained through criminal gains and possession of proceeds of crime for the benefit of a criminal organization.Crown prosecutor Yvan Poulin noted that Rizzuto had already served two years and the court decided that would count as four years."So, today he's gonna be on probation for three years,'' Poulin said.
Poulin said evidence gathered by the RCMP during a four-year investigation showed Rizzuto possessed an unknown amount of proceeds of crime.Rizzuto was arrested as part of a large police sweep in November 2006 dubbed Project Colisee.Rizzuto's grandson and other close family members were among those who packed the courtroom for the sentencing.Poulin said the prosecution decided to suggest a sentence of four years after considering Rizzuto's age and fragile health.They also took into consideration the limited role he played in the organization which was involved in importing and exporting drugs through Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Montreal.A total of $4 million was seized during the 2006 police operation but Poulin said no money was confiscated at Rizzuto's home.Rizzuto was expected to be freed from prison last night.Four other alleged Mafiosi who also pleaded guilty to various charges, including gangsterism, were sentenced along with Rizzuto and were given prison terms of between six and 15 years.

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Francesco Del Balso and five other men who pleaded guilty to a series of criminal charges, are alleged by the RCMP to be top kingpins Montreal Mafia

Francesco Del Balso and five other men who pleaded guilty Thursday to a series of criminal charges, are alleged by the RCMP to be top kingpins in the organization of Montreal Mafia Godfather Vito Rizzuto.Mr. Rizzuto was arrested in January of 2004 and extradited to the United States where he is serving a 10-year sentence for racketeering.Police wiretaps filed in court reveal that, in his absence, his underlings were increasingly under threat from other criminal groups.Mr. Del Balso and another gang captain, Lorenzo Giordano, come across as short-tempered men who scuffle and get into gunfights on the slightest provocation from bikers or street gangs.And despite their fierce reputation, the Montreal Mafia captains met their match in a dispute with an little-known group from small-town Granby, Que.
Police wiretaps document a money feud where the D'Amico family of Granby, in alliance with francophone bikers, rattled the Montreal kingpins over a $900,000 debt owed to the D'Amicos.Seething with rage, the interim boss of the Rizzuto organization, Francesco Arcadi, is heard on wiretap recalling how he went to Granby to meet one of D'Amicos, lecturing him and calling him a “damn wanker.”
The other man defiantly replied: “Don't worry, new Montreal godfather, we'll collect with me, with a gang of wankers.”In a brazen provocation, members of the D'Amicos strolled through the Consenza café that served as headquarters for the Rizzutos, then drove out in a convoy.The two sides tried to set up conciliatory meetings. One wiretap recorded the mobsters musing about buying $400 plane tickets so they could meet in a departure lounge. They reasoned it would be a safe spot because everyone had to pass through airport security checks.It is unclear from the court evidence how the feud was settled.But violence continued to erupt.On Aug. 22, 2006, a scuffle outside a downtown restaurant between Mr. Del Balso and Hells Angels supporter Charles Huneault ended with the Mafia men opening fire on Mr. Huneault's Porsche.
When an underling urged him to cool off, Mr. Del Balso said: “So why does this guy (Mr. Huneault) have the honours of grabbing my throat?”A week later, the gang was flustered further when one member, Domenico Macri, was shot dead by two motorcyclists as he was motoring towards Mr. Arcadi's home.Thereafter, the Montreal kingpins constantly had bodyguards and kept a stash of guns – police found two M-16-style rifles, a sawed-off shotgun, a submachine gun and a pistol and bulletproof vests.It was during that time that police recorded Mr. Del Balso ordering two armoured cars.A month later, the gang members were hit instead by another threat they hadn't foreseen. The RCMP issued arrests warrants for them and nearly 90 other gang members.

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Nicolo Rizzuto, the octogenarian father of reputed mob boss Vito Rizzuto

Six men alleged to be leaders of the Montreal Mafia have decided to proceed with a trial on several charges laid after Project Colisée.
All six, including Nicolo Rizzuto, the octogenarian father of reputed mob boss Vito Rizzuto, appeared before Superior Court Justice James Brunton yesterday via video linkups between the Montreal courthouse and detention centres.
Lawyers representing all six said they are ready to proceed with a trial in Quebec Court before a judge alone. Prosecutor Yvan Poulin said the Crown did not object with the request.Nicolo Rizzuto is taken into police custody in Nov. 2006 in Montreal. He appeared before Superior Court Justice James Brunton on Tuesday through a video linkup.
Lawyers representing all six said they are ready to proceed with a trial in Quebec Court before a judge alone. Prosecutor Yvan Poulin said the Crown did not object to the request. Two weeks in September have been set aside for both sides to argue pre-trial motions. The case is scheduled to be heard at a special courthouse, which was constructed for criminal trials held against members of the Hells Angels a few years ago. Since then, the courthouse has been used for other trials involving several defendants tied to organized crime. Project Colisee was a lengthy police investigation into the activities of the Montreal Mafia and resulted in the arrests of more than 90 people in November 2006. Most of the investigation was conducted while Vito Rizzuto was behind bars and awaiting the outcome of a U.S. case where he ultimately pleaded guilty to racketeering for his role in the 1981 murders of three men in New York. He is serving his sentence in the U.S. The six men who appeared before Brunton on Tuesday were singled out as leaders in the alleged conspiracies probed during Project Colisee, including drug trafficking, extortion and illegal gambling.

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