There are plenty of theories surrounding the attacks against the Musitano crime family which includes the recent shooting of alleged boss Pat Musitano.
There have been multiple mafia hits tied to the unrest in Hamilton leading to speculation as to who is responsible and why. What has been characterized as an ongoing Hamilton mafia war has so far produced way more questions than answers. Are the rival families of the mafia in Hamilton which include the Papalia crime family and Luppino crime family pushing to take down the Musitanos in what amounts to a local turf war? The Musitano’s rise to power was at least in part backed by the Rizutto family in Montreal and it’s their recent downfall that may have created the opening their enemies have been waiting for. For many, this seems like the most likely scenario although some believe forces outside of Canada may also have a hand in things.
Could one of the five families of the New York Mafia or perhaps even the Buffalo Mafia be involved in the Hamilton Mafia war? During an investigation that took down Hamilton mobsters, Giuseppe Violi and his brother Domenico Violi an informant was able to record some interesting conversations. During a September 2017 conversation after successfully recording his induction into New York’s Bonanno crime family, he asks Dom Violi about the Musitano’s. According to court documents the agent said “He would have thought that they would have gotten rid of Pat (Musitano) before his brother Angelo. Violi responded by saying he thought it was a message to Pat.”
Violi went on to say that “they had told him that before Christmas Pat would be gone and that it would be one headache out the way.” Just a couple months after that conversation took place the Violi brothers were taken down in a major drug operation called Project Otremenes. It is unclear as to who he was referring to as “they” during the exchange or why the hit on Pat was delayed until recently. There is some speculation that “they” could be the Bonanno family or even the leaders of the current mafia in Buffalo. The links to the Buffalo family are potentially enhanced by other wiretap recordings. During one of the other recorded conventions, Dom claims to be have been made underboss of Buffalo’s Todaro crime family.
He claims to have been made the #2 man in control of the Cosa Nostra family beating out more than 30 others for the position. According to transcripts (previously reported on here), he claims that he was hand-picked by alleged Buffalo family boss Joseph Todaro Jr at a purported mob meeting in Florida. According to him part of his new role was to “assume control over the operations of the Luppino-Violi crime family and solidify his power base with further and greater collaboration with the New York-based Mafia families.” To date, none of Violi’s claims about Buffalo have been verified or corroborated by law enforcement or any other Mafia sources but it has certainly led to plenty of renewed interest in the once thought to be defunct Todaro family.
The Bonanno family held a making ceremony in Canada surrounded by talk of a still active and functioning mafia family in Buffalo. The Buffalo mob has long-standing ties to the Luppino family and if reports of the families demise have been exaggerated they could be backing the Luppino’s move against the Musitano’s. While this may seem like a long shot to many the possibility of the Bonanno family factoring into things may not be as far fetched. They too have historical links to the mafia in Canada that diminished during the Rizzuto family era and could be trying to help re-establish a foothold by backing members of the rival Ndrangheta factions.
Could the Bonanno family now be in control of the remaining Buffalo operations leading them to reconnect with Hamilton after the Rizzuto families fall from grace? While there is no direct evidence to support these theories we may not want to completely discount them either. So what do you think? While this may eventually prove to be nothing more than an interesting debate, for now, you may as well take a second to cast your vote!
