The Clemenza investigation by the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) was the largest anti-mafia investigation since Operation Colisée that targeted the Rizzuto crime family back in 2006.
It produced arrests of individuals linked to the Montreal mafia from 2014-2016 on various charges including drug trafficking, weapons possession, and kidnapping. But according to a recent report from La Presse the Federal Crown is now set to drop the charges against 36 individuals arrested during the investigation. Convictions from the case could have significantly impacted the mafia in Montreal according to police sources.
Prosecutors plan to continue charges against 11 individuals that were arrested for cocaine trafficking and gangsterism during the later stages of the operation in 2016. Many defendants linked to the clan of now deceased mafia leader Giuseppe De Vito are believed to benefit from the halt in the charges against them including Davide Barberio. According to the report, Vittorio Mirarchi an associate of imprisoned mob leader Raynald Desjardins who is awaiting sentencing for the murder of mobster Salvatore Montagna may also be in line to benefit from this collapse. Another key player in the current Montreal mob landscape Liborio Cuntrera the son of former Rizzuto family leader Agostino Cuntrera will also have the charges against him dropped.
The Clemenza investigation also called Project Clemenza was mainly built on evidence in the form of millions of text messages between the suspects mainly on Blackberry devices between 2010-2011. These pin to pin messages were intercepted by members of the RCMP using a sophisticated surveillance device. It is believed that the disclosure of evidence relating to these techniques of the investigation and the interception of these communications is not unrelated to the recent decision to suspend the judicial proceedings against the defendants. The prosecution still has the possibility to bring new charges against these defendants within the next year.
As the bloody Montreal mafia war continues many now wonder what impact this recent development may have on the conflict.
Wow well this will seemingly put a couple of key pieces back on the street and may end up causing yet another escalation in the conflict up there. Definitely gonna make some waves in both factions it would seem .. what a cluster fuck by the RCMP.
Liborio Cuntrera was part of the Sicilian leadership table. things are gonna get interesting .
Yes it will put some key players back on the streets which one would think again changes the dynamic some. Could very well see another span of violence.
Have to keep in mind the depth of corruption in Quebec, and in Canada in general.. the rizzutos had a made guy (Alfonso gagliano) in Jean Chrétiens federal government (liberals), and we now again have a liberal government. For all we know there are just too many secrets to be leaked that it’s not worth the crown prosecuting some of these guys, or our current federal government. Cuntrera especially. The caruana and cuntreras have deep roots in Canada.
Oh yada yada yada. The collusion between your government and the Mafia is no different than the collusion between the government and corporations, except for one’s dirty deeds being legitimised.
Can people get off of their soap boxes and quit judging these guys from a moral standpoint? If you want to sing the praises of law enforcement I’m sure that there are plenty of pro-government and police sites for that.
Toronto is heating up, two mob hits in less than a week. Tony Large, relatively small time guy shot dead in his driveway, and the other day Domenic Triumbari (‘ndrangheta) was shot dead outside a Woodbridge social club . Both pro jobs. I forget their relation but Salvatore Triumbari was murdered in Toronto about fifty years ago in a vendetta brought over from Calabria and that’s what made the police and public aware of the siderno groups presence in Toronto.
These two hits are for sure connected