Musitano crime family

Musitano crime family
Founded by Angelo Musitano
Founding location Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Years active ca.1944–present
Territory Various neighborhoods over Hamilton and Toronto
Ethnicity Made men are Italian, Italian-Canadian. Criminals of various ethnicities are employed as "associates"
Membership (est.) Unknown
Criminal activities Racketeering, loan sharking, money laundering, fraud, prostitution, murder, gambling, drug trafficking, smuggling, extortion and corruption
Allies Rizzuto, Buffalo and Chicago crime families, West End Gang, Hells Angels and various other crime families and gangs
Rivals Papalia crime family and various gangs over Canada including their allies

The Musitano crime family is a 'Ndrangheta (Calabrian Mafia) organization based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The Musitano clan is the smallest of three centralized Mafia organizations in Hamilton the other two being the Papalia crime family and the Luppino crime family.[1]

History

In 1937, Angelo Musitano who was also known as the "Beast of Delianova" fled illegally from Delianuova, Italy to Canada after killing his sister Rosa after he believed she had disgraced the family by becoming pregnant out of wedlock; he lived under the name of Jim D'Augustino upon landing in Canada.[1] In 1940, an Italian court convicted Angelo in absentia to 30 years in prison.[2] In 1965, Angelo was extradited to Italy to serve his sentence.[3] "The Beast" had two nephews, Anthony "Tony" and Dominic Musitano.

In January 1983, Tony was sentenced to 15 years in prison for bombing a number of businesses in Hamilton, including bakeries. While in prison, he orchestrated the murder of Toronto mobster Domenic Racco of the Siderno Group, who violated their cocaine trade agreement by dealing behind Musitano's back, and also owed the Musitano family as much as $500,000.[4] Tony Musitano befriended inmate Billy Rankin at Millhaven Institution in Kingston who was due to be released in December that year.[4] Giuseppe "Joey" Avignone, nephew of Tony and Dominic Musitano, often visited Tony in prison to discuss details of the plot, which were secretly recorded by the police.[4] Rankin was released on December 7, and given "the okay" by Dominic Musitano. On the night of December 10, 1983, Racco got into a car in front of his Mississauga apartment with Rankin, Dominic Musitano and Peter Majeste, thinking it was to discuss potential drug trade – the night he was taken to a railway track and killed.[4]

In March 1984, Dominic and Tony Musitano, Avignone and Rankin were arrested. Dominic Musitano received six years for being an accessory after the fact to murder. Anthony Musitano, already in prison on the bombing charges, was sentenced to 12 years concurrently, Avignone got five years and Rankin was sentenced to 12 years, all three pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit murder.[4][5] Tony was granted full parole in 1990.[2]

Dominic Musitano's two sons Pasquale "Pat" or "Fat Pat" and Angelo "Ang" Musitano joined their father in organized crime. By 1992, the Hamilton-Wentworth Police estimated that the family was earning $14 million per year through various aspects of illegal gaming.[6] The crime family was led by Dominic until his death on August 13, 1995 from a heart attack.[1] Pat Musitano took over as boss of the 'Ndrangheta organization.[7]

Pat Musitano was president of P&L Tire Recycling Inc. in 1992; he was found guilty of failing to make his Mount Hope tire dump conform to the Ontario fire code. He and his father were later handed a $1.8-million fine from the Ministry of Environment for its cleanup of the site, a fine Pat dodged with a 1993 bankruptcy claim.[8]

In 1997, Pat Musitano was in charge of a sports-betting ring which brought in as much as $100,000 in bets per week; cousin Joey Avignone also led a network for distributing illegal gambling machines in bars.[2]

Also in 1997, the family was accused of ordering the mob hits of Johnny Papalia, to whom the Musitanos owed money, and Papalia's right-hand man, Carmen Barillaro.[9] The hitman for both murders, and for the 1985 murder of Salvatore Alaimo who owed gambling money to the Musitano crime family, was alleged to be Kenneth Murdock.[10][11][12] In November 1998, Murdock pleaded guilty to three counts of second degree murder, was sentenced to life imprisonment, and named Pat and Angelo as the men who had ordered the murders; he also said that Angelo Musitano had been waiting in the vehicle outside during the Barillaro murder.[10] Murdock was released on parole after serving 13 years.[13][12][11]

In February 2000, the Musitano brothers were sentenced to 10 years for conspiracy in the murder of Barillaro in a plea bargain arrangement.[14] No action was taken against either in relation to the Papalia or the Alaimo murder.[9][10] In October 2006, the Musitano brothers were both released from prison.[1] Angelo was re-arrested in March 2007 for an alleged parole violation. He was held in the minimum security Frontenac Institution until June 2007 when the parole board decided not to return him to prison.[15]

Later developments

Since the brothers' release, the police had little involvement with the family for some years.[7] Then, in September 2015, Pat Musitano's 2013 Ford Edge was set on fire in a suspected arson; his home also sustained minor damage.[16][17][18]

On May 2, 2017, Angelo Musitano was shot dead in his truck in the driveway of his home in Waterdown, Ontario in broad daylight at the age of 39.[5] Surveillance video showed a Ford Fusion in front of the home and a heavy-set man shooting Ang. The vehicle was later found; it had been stolen previously.[7] Almost two months later, on June 26, 2017, Pat Musitano's home was shot at multiple times during the night; no one was injured.[19] Hamilton Police are investigating both incidents but were not getting cooperation from the family. Pat refused police protection.[20][21]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Unease as mobsters set free". National Post. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Humphreys, Adrian (1999). The Enforcer:Johnny Pops Papalia, A Life and Death in the Mafia. Toronto: Harper Collins. ISBN 0-00-200016-4.
  3. ↑ https://books.google.ca/books?id=q7qlDG1KaiAC&pg=PA280&dq=pops+papalia&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=pops%20papalia&f=false, p=280
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Chapter 2 – Settling scores". thespec.com. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Mobster Angelo Musitano shot in Waterdown driveway". The Hamilton Spectator. 2017-05-02.
  6. ↑ https://books.google.ca/books?id=ZO8jKSn25DAC&pg=PA540&lpg=PA540&dq=Adrian+Humphreys+dominic+musitano&source=bl&ots=r-pXlseXzp&sig=RlQpFo26WO2iTetGRHpvfyh9DtM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjdt9vFiPDUAhVm2IMKHY2nBFg4ChDoAQhFMAY#v=onepage&q=Adrian%20Humphreys%20dominic%20musitano&f=false, p=540
  7. 1 2 3 O'Reilly, Nicole (29 June 2017). "Police wary of more mob violence after Musitano’s Hamilton home hit with gunfire". TheSpec.com.
  8. ↑ "Hamilton mobsters: The Musitano family tree". thespec.com. 3 May 2017.
  9. 1 2 "Mafia hitman reveals his code for killings". thestar.com. 13 August 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 "Brothers plead guilty in mob murder case". theglobeandmail.com. 5 February 2000. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  11. 1 2 "Kenny Murdock, mob-boss Papalia's killer, gets new identity". thespec.com. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  12. 1 2 nurun.com. "Hitman out on full parole". Niagara Falls Review.
  13. ↑ "Parole of convicted mob killer notorious for his explosive temper tested by road raging motorist". 9 July 2014.
  14. ↑ "Notorious mobster Pat Musitano believed to be targeted in Hamilton house shooting".
  15. ↑ "Mob Boss's Son Allowed to Remain Free". National Post. 6 June 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  16. ↑ "Hamilton mobster’s SUV found on fire in east end driveway". The Hamilton Spectator. 2015-09-22. Retrieved 2015-09-25.
  17. ↑ Dunphy, Bill (24 September 2015). "Hamilton mobster's SUV fire may not be mob activity: expert". TheSpec.com.
  18. ↑ O'Reilly, Nicole (28 June 2017). "Shooting at Hamilton mobster Pat Musitano’s home a ‘warning shot’ after brother’s murder". TheSpec.com.
  19. ↑ "Hamilton home of Mafia boss Pat Musitano shot repeatedly during the night". nationalpost.com. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  20. ↑ "Don't expect Musitano retaliation after latest shooting, expert says".
  21. ↑ "Mob chief ‘Fat Pat’ won’t play canary". Toronto Sun.
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