Did Montreal Mob Boss Vito Rizzuto Really Die of Cancer?
He was a gangland figure who returned with a vengeance. Literally.
And his end came quite sudden. But was it really cancer that did him in shortly before Christmas 2013 -- or was it some other cause, presumably not natural?
That is a question posed in Business or Blood: Mafia Boss Vito Rizzuto's Last War by Peter Edwards and Antonio Nicaso, which debuted this week.
The book describes Vito Rizzuto as the consummate global criminal, a cultured man who enjoyed reading about the ancient Greek and Roman empires. Playing golf was his escape from daily life.
Vito spoke four languages (French, Italian, Spanish and English) and held an "innate understanding of the nexus between the underworld and the world of the state and mainstream economic power."
But in the end it was revenge -- that primal instinct, the ancient call to slaughter all enemies -- that drove Rizzuto, not the Mafia's raison d'être: making money.
Which may represent a motive, the authors say.
The former boss of Montreal's Cosa Nostra returned home in October 2012 after finishing a prison sentence in America due to his old pal, former Bonanno boss Joseph "Big Joey" Massino, doing the unthinkable.
The story has been told and retold how Rizzuto's father and son were murdered in his absence, among others dear to him.
What followed was a series of gangland hits as far away as Acapulco, Mexico, and Casteldaccia, Sicily, not to mention the bloodied bullet-ridden bodies found all over Montreal and Toronto.
Some had thought (many no doubt prayed) that Rizzuto one day would meet a similar fate.
It seems he didn't. In the end it was cancer that finally claimed the life of the mob boss who singlehandedly redefined the term "old school."
Or was it?
The Mafioso "died in circumstances that were never made clear. Many people predicted his death, of course, but few thought it would be the result of natural causes, as was quickly and widely accepted by the authorities and the press."
It's further noted that Rizzuto's death "brought relief in some powerful circles, criminal and otherwise. By the time of his death, he had actually become bad for business. Revenge was more important to him than making money, and every day brought news of fresh bloodletting among men known to be his enemies.
"Exactly what killed Vito himself will most likely remain a mystery..."
We hate mysteries...
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| Vito Rizzuto |
And his end came quite sudden. But was it really cancer that did him in shortly before Christmas 2013 -- or was it some other cause, presumably not natural?
That is a question posed in Business or Blood: Mafia Boss Vito Rizzuto's Last War by Peter Edwards and Antonio Nicaso, which debuted this week.
The book describes Vito Rizzuto as the consummate global criminal, a cultured man who enjoyed reading about the ancient Greek and Roman empires. Playing golf was his escape from daily life.
Vito spoke four languages (French, Italian, Spanish and English) and held an "innate understanding of the nexus between the underworld and the world of the state and mainstream economic power."
But in the end it was revenge -- that primal instinct, the ancient call to slaughter all enemies -- that drove Rizzuto, not the Mafia's raison d'être: making money.
Which may represent a motive, the authors say.
The former boss of Montreal's Cosa Nostra returned home in October 2012 after finishing a prison sentence in America due to his old pal, former Bonanno boss Joseph "Big Joey" Massino, doing the unthinkable.
The story has been told and retold how Rizzuto's father and son were murdered in his absence, among others dear to him.
What followed was a series of gangland hits as far away as Acapulco, Mexico, and Casteldaccia, Sicily, not to mention the bloodied bullet-ridden bodies found all over Montreal and Toronto.
Some had thought (many no doubt prayed) that Rizzuto one day would meet a similar fate.
It seems he didn't. In the end it was cancer that finally claimed the life of the mob boss who singlehandedly redefined the term "old school."
Or was it?
The Mafioso "died in circumstances that were never made clear. Many people predicted his death, of course, but few thought it would be the result of natural causes, as was quickly and widely accepted by the authorities and the press."
It's further noted that Rizzuto's death "brought relief in some powerful circles, criminal and otherwise. By the time of his death, he had actually become bad for business. Revenge was more important to him than making money, and every day brought news of fresh bloodletting among men known to be his enemies.
"Exactly what killed Vito himself will most likely remain a mystery..."
We hate mysteries...