Cotroni crime family

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cotroni crime family
Founded1940s
Founded byVincenzo Cotroni
Founding locationMontreal, Quebec, Canada
Years active1940s–?
TerritoryMontreal
EthnicityPeople of Italian descent as "made men", and other ethnicities as "associates"
Criminal activitiesRacketeering, drug trafficking, murder, illegal gambling, corruption, extortion, theft, loan sharking, fraud
AlliesBonanno crime family
RivalsRizzuto crime family

The Cotroni crime family, originally Cotrone[1] (Italian: [koˈtroːni]) is an organized crime family based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The FBI considered the family a branch of the Bonanno crime family.[2]

A Calabrian immigrant from Mammola, Vincenzo Cotroni established the organization in the 1940s. Their territory once covered most of southern Quebec and Ontario.[2] An internal war broke out between the Calabrian and Sicilian factions of the family in the late 1970s, which resulted in the death of acting captain Paolo Violi and his brothers. This allowed the Sicilian Rizzuto crime family to overtake the Cotronis as the preeminent crime family in Montreal. Vincenzo died of cancer in 1984, followed by his brother Frank in 2004.

History[]

Royal Canadian Mounted Police chart of the Bonanno crime family's crew (decina) in Montreal

In 1924, Vincenzo Cotroni immigrated to Montreal, Quebec, with his two sisters, Marguerita and Palmina, and his brother Giuseppe; his two other brothers, Frank and Michel, were later born in Montreal.[3] In the 1950s the family formed a strong connection to the New York Bonanno crime family, as the crime family began controlling the majority of Montreal's drug trade.[4] In 1953, Carmine "Lilo" Galante, an influential member of the New York-based Bonanno crime family, arrived in Montreal and worked with Cotroni. Galante planned to make Montreal a pivotal location in the importation of heroin from overseas for distribution in New York City and across the United States in the French Connection. Police also estimated that Galante was collecting gambling profits in Montreal worth about $50 million per year.[5] In April 1956, due to Galante's strong-arm extortion tactics, the Canadian Government deported him back to the United States.[6]

In the late 1960s, the Cotronis had violent feuds with French-Canadian mobster Richard Blass, with Cotroni associate Joe Di Maulo doing much of the enforcing.[7] On May 7, 1968, Blass and Robert Allard attempted an ambush of Frank outside his home; two of his bodyguards were killed but Frank escaped.[8]

In the 1960s and 70s, Cotroni used associate William "Obie" Obront to supervise a bookmaking network in the Ottawa-Hull area that handled around $50,000 in bets per day, with 25 percent going to Paolo Violi.[9] Obie also served as Cotroni chief banker and financial adviser, responsible for laundering money.[9] For Montreal's Expo 67, Obie also helped the Cotronis land the meat and vending machine supply contract — most of which was tainted meat.[10] In 1973, Obie was charged with tax fraud, sentenced to 20 months in jail, and ordered to pay $683,046 in back taxes.[9]

Mafia war in Montreal[]

In the early 1970s, Vincenzo Cotroni transferred the day-to-day activities of the family to his Calabrian compatriot Paolo Violi, a capodecina together with Nicolas Di Iorio, Frank Cotroni and Luigi Greco.[11][12] Cotroni's role became more that of an adviser to the younger Calabrian.[13][14] Greco led the Sicilian faction of the family until his death in 1972.[15][16]

Soon after, in 1973, a violent internal power struggle broke out between Sicilian and Calabrian factions in the family, notably aspiring Sicilian mob boss Nicolo Rizzuto.[17][4][18] During the violent Mafia war in Montreal, Violi and his brothers were murdered along with others through the mid 1970s to the early 1980s, when the war ceased.[4][19][20] By the mid 1980s, the Rizzuto crime family emerged as Montreal's pre-eminent crime family after the turf war.[2]

Canadian Security Intelligence Service chart of the Mafia in Montreal in the 1980s

The Calabrian faction continued to operate with Frank Cotroni, who had been imprisoned from 1975 to 1979,[21] as acting boss for his ill brother after the early 1980s. When Vic Cotroni died of cancer in 1984, Frank was left as boss.[22] Frank Cotroni developed connections with French-Canadian Réal Simard, who became his driver and hitman. In 1986, Simard turned informant after his arrest, confessing to five murders and involvement with Cotroni. Cotroni was sentenced to eight years in prison for manslaughter in 1987.[23] Frank Cotroni died, of cancer, in August 2004, leaving the Rizzuto Sicilian faction as the most powerful crime family in Canada.[24]

On November 4, 2012, Joe Di Maulo, a longtime ally of the Cotroni family, was murdered outside his Montreal home.[25] Police believe his murder is part of an ongoing power struggle between the Sicilians and their rivals.[26]

References[]

  1. ^ Auger and Edwards The Encyclopedia of Canadian Organized Crime p.63.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Lamothe & Humphreys, The Sixth Family, p.308
  3. ^ "Le parrain discret: vie et carrière de Vincenzo Cotroni" (in French). quebec.huffingtonpost.ca. 14 September 2014. Archived from the original on 8 November 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c The Rizzuto family Archived 2013-07-23 at the Wayback Machine by Corinne Smith (January 6, 2011) CBC News Montreal
  5. ^ Auger and Edwards The Encyclopedia of Canadian Organized Crime p.63.
  6. ^ Capeci, Jerry (2004). The complete idiot's guide to the Mafia (2nd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Alpha Books. ISBN 1-59257-305-3.
  7. ^ Schneider, Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada, pp. 270
  8. ^ D'Arcy O'Connor (2011). Montreal's Irish Mafia: The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang. ISBN 9780470159248.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c Schneider, Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada, pp. 262
  10. ^ Schneider, Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada, pp. 264
  11. ^ Auger and Edwards The Encyclopedia of Canadian Organized Crime p.195.
  12. ^ L'atentat, p. 65
  13. ^ La Presse, 1er décembre 1973
  14. ^ Idem, p. 63
  15. ^ Lamothe, Lee. Humphreys, Adrian. The Sixth Family: The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto. pg.27–29 Archived 2014-06-22 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ Manning, George A, PH.D Financial Investigation and Forensic Accounting pg.214–215
  17. ^ "The man they call the Canadian Godfather". National Post. February 26, 2001. Archived from the original on 11 April 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  18. ^ Champlain, Pierre De. "Organized Crime". Archived from the original on 2010-01-21. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
  19. ^ "Canada's alleged Godfather pleads guilty" Archived 2012-11-07 at the Wayback Machine, Montreal Gazette, September 18, 2008
  20. ^ "Mob takes a hit" Archived 2008-03-23 at the Wayback Machine, Montreal Gazette, November 23, 2006
  21. ^ "Frank Cotroni dies of cancer". Canadian Press. 21 August 2004. Archived from the original on 27 December 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  22. ^ FBI linked Montreal mobster to alleged U.S. assassination plot Archived 2012-11-07 at the Wayback Machine, CanWest News Service, July 10, 2007
  23. ^ "Montreal crime family's last member dies at 72". theglobeandmail.com. 18 August 2004. Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  24. ^ Alleged crime boss Cotroni buried in Montreal Archived 2009-02-21 at the Wayback Machine, CTV News, August 22, 2004
  25. ^ Reputed Montreal crime boss Joseph Di Maulo killed in his driveway north of the city Archived 2012-12-25 at the Wayback Machine, National Post, November 5, 2012
  26. ^ Police fear Montreal mobster’s murder may be start of bloody Mafia war Archived 2012-12-11 at the Wayback Machine, National Post, November 5, 2012

External links[]

Retrieved from ""