The Musitano crime family has been a leading force in the Hamilton underworld for decades but there are signs that the times they are a changin.
Violent attacks against the Hamilton Mafia family continued with what appears to be a drive-by shooting targeting the home of mob boss Pasquale “Pat” Musitano. According to authorities, multiple gunshots were heard and the home was hit with several bullets although no one was injured. This attack comes only a month after Pat’s younger brother Angelo Musitano who was also believed to be a leading figure within the crime family was shot and killed in the driveway of his home. Pat is believed to have taken the reigns of the organized crime family in 1995 after the death of his father and former boss Dominic Musitano.
“Angelo Musitano and Pat Musitano”
Both Pat and Angleo were charged with ordering the murders of former Ontario mafia boss John “Johnny Pops” Papalia and his right-hand man Niagara Falls mobster Carmen Barillaro. They agreed to a plea deal which allowed them to plead guilty conspiring to kill Barillaro while the charges in Papalia’s death were dropped. In 2000 the Musitano brothers were sentenced to 10 years in prison under the terms of the agreement but were released in 2007. They seemingly aligned themselves with the once powerful Rizzuto crime family of the Montreal mafia in an effort to seize control of the Ontario underworld now that Papalia was out of the way.The brothers remained low key after their release from prison until Pat’s SUV was set on fire in his driveway in a suspected arson attack in 2015.
These attacks against the Musitano family seem to be targeted and well organized although the motivation behind them remains a mystery. The Musitano brothers violent past may be coming back to haunt them and these attacks could very well be revenge from one of the many enemies they acquired over the years. Another theory of mafia experts from the area is that the crime family may be under attack from a new and more powerful Ndrangheta cell looking to put an end to the Musitano era. The Musitano family has weakened over the last few years and mob experts don’t believe they have the resources needed to strike back.
The protection they once enjoyed from being aligned with the Rizzuto family no longer exists after the death of longtime Montreal godfather Vito Rizzuto and the dismantling of the families hierarchy in the ongoing Montreal mafia war. The Rizzuto clan is but a shadow of its former self leading to a power vacuum which has yet to be filled leaving themselves and their allies vulnerable. It seems clear that someone wants the Musitano family out of the way and many believe the families decades-long run atop the Hamilton mafia may be coming to an end. Much like his brother Pat’s days as a mafia leader seem to be numbered although he and the rest of the Musitano family have refused to cooperate with authorities.
