The long and bloody Montreal mafia war along with the efforts of law enforcement has left the Rizzuto crime family crippled and the mafia in Montreal in a state of total destabilization according to police sources.
Head of the organized crime unit of the SPVM Major Nicodemo Milano said in a new Journal de Montreal report that “There is currently no willingness, either internally or externally, to take the leadership of the traditional Italian organized crime.” The Montreal mafia was ruled by the Rizzuto family and boss Vito Rizzuto for the last couple of decades but the void created by his 2013 death has yet to be filled. So far those attempting to take control or have expressed an interest in taking over even on an interim basis have done so at their own peril.
Rizzuto family loyalists have tried to maintain control of the Montreal underworld throughout the conflict but have lacked the power and influence needed to resist rival factions and or law enforcement. A mafia leadership table was formed shortly after Rizzuto’s death led by his son Leonardo Rizzuto and Stefano Sollecito but the newly formed administration was short-lived. It dissolved after the arrest of both Leonardo and Stefano in operation Magot-Mastiff. With Stefano faces both legal and health problems his father and Rizzuto family ally Rocco Sollecito stepped in as an interim leader for a short time before being gunned down. Another former power within the Rizzuto family Lorenzo Giordano expressed an interest in becoming the new Montreal mob boss but was also killed shortly after his release from prison.
It’s clear the Rizzuto family has lost its long-held grip on organized crime in Montreal and things have now become so unstable that no one seems to be interested in stepping in to fill the power vacuum that has developed. According to sources influential mafioso, Liborio Cuntrera who was just released from cocaine trafficking charges and whose father was a Rizzuto family leader has no interest in taking control. One time Rizzuto family acting boss Francesco Arcadi was returned to prison for his own safety after the death or Giordano now seems like an unlikely option. The powerful Calabrian-based Ontario mafia group which includes the new generation of the Cotroni and Violi families which once controlled the mafia in Montreal and are believed to at least in part be behind the recent attack on the Rizzuto family also seems unwilling to step in and take control according to sources.
The new leaders of Italian organized crime would not only have to deal with the instability within its own organization but also other criminal organizations which may be poised to take advantage like the Hells Angels. The powerful MC is making a comeback after Operation SharQc failed to deliver the major blow it was intended to due to various judicial problems. Influential Hells Angel leaders are making their way back to the streets after shorter than expected prison sentences and Milano notes they certainly do not intend to release their control of the narcotics market. It has been 60 years since the Montreal mafia was without a godfather and now it seems like no one wants to take the crown. Perhaps the days of an all powerful godfather in Montreal have come and gone and the once traditional dynamic is changing. Or perhaps the real power behind the dismantling of the Rizzuto family and the potential new godfather has simply not stepped out of the shadows yet.
