Giuseppe “Joe” Renda is now believed to possibly be another casualty of the bloody Montreal mafia war.
According to authorities who recently released a public appeal for any information on the cold case claim the alleged Montreal mobster disappeared with out a trace back in 2012 in the middle of the fierce mob feud. He was last seen leaving his home in Westmount on May 4, 2012 , his car was later found in Montreal’s Little Italy according to Montreal police.
“Giuseppe Renda“
Renda was quietly an important figure in the Montreal mafia taking part in important moments as a representative of the mafia clan. He had direct links to former mafia boss Vito Rizzuto and was part of the powerful Renda family along with former Rizzuto brother in law and Rizzuto family consigliere Pablo Renda. Very much a low key mobster Giuseppe found himself in the middle of some major events which marked major developments in the mob.
Back in 1999 he was the Rizzuto family representative at the funeral of Gerlando Sciascia in New York. Sciascia known in New York as “George from Canada” was the Montreal mob’s man in the Bonanno crime family of the New York mafia. The Rizzuto family had long been considered a part of and major ally of the Bonanno family until the murder of Sciascia. It was discovered that he was murdered on orders of then Bonanno family boss Joseph Massino shattering the links between the Rizzuto’s and Bonanno’s.
“Murdered mobster Gerlando Sciascia, left, looks for the car keys while Joseph Massino, right, waits to get into a car in New York in 1981. In the middle, in the dark suit, is Montreal’s Vito Rizzuto“
Then in 2001 Renda was sent to Ontario on behalf of the Rizzuto family to set up a large scale illegal gambling network as the Rizzuto family looked to expand its operations. It was the move mob insiders say signaled the Montreal mafia’s encroachment into the Ontario underworld and Renda was a key figure.Renda would be arrested as part of “Operation Oltre” on illegal bookmaking charges but had his charges later dropped in exchance for a forfeiture of assets.
Renda was most recently linked the former Bonanno boss Salvatore “Sal the Ironworker” Montagna who was believed to have been a part of the coalition who attempted to take down the Rizzuto family upon his extradition to Canada in 2009. The move was made while powerful mob boss Vito Rizzuto sat in a U.S. prison although somehow went wrong leading to the assassination of Montagna.
At the time of his disappearance the family for unknown reasons didn’t want any kind of press release from police about the missing person’s case. Now the family has agreed to make things public although the timing of this move and the renewed investigation efforts by police has yet to be explained.
