Cosa Nostra News

By Andrew Machin " The ‘Ndrangheta is made like an octopus. The octopus has the head and tentacles. Today the head in Calabria can be [economically] stronger…. and tomorrow the tentacles may be stronger …" --Rocco Varacalli, government witness, ex-full member of a ‘Ndrangheta Locale of Torino (Turin), dependent of the mother-Locale of Natile di Careri, Nov. 2012. Giuseppe "The Master" Commisso The following in-depth analysis of the ‘Ndrangheta in the Greater Toronto Area was written by guest columnist Andrew Machin; to see Andrew's previous story on this same topic, please visit Gangsters Inc's: ‘Ndrangheta in Greater Toronto Area hit but still too powerful – “There are 9 (Mafia clans) of us” The latest Italian police operations against the mother-Locale of Siderno, Project Canadian ‘Ndrangheta Connection 1 and 2 (Jul. and Aug. 2019), has brought forth many results and has led to knowledge concerning the latest organizational developments reg...

Police have identified a suspect in last week’s shooting of Cece Luppino, 43, who was gunned down last Wednesday afternoon inside a house owned by his parents, Rocco and Helen Luppino. Cece Luppino, relation to Giacomo Luppino, was murdered in the home of his parents' last week. The Luppino name has been connected to organized crime for decades, going back to Giacomo Luppino, the Ndrangheta boss/Canadian viceroy to powerful Buffalo boss Stefano (The Undertaker) Magaddino, though Giacomo never had a successor to continue his legacy in Ontario-based organized crime. Rocco Luppino is allegedly a major player in the mob today, as per reports. Detectives have examined hours of surveillance video from the Luppino home and neighboring homes and have released a description of a suspect: A black man with an average/athletic build. At the time of the killing he was wearing a black, waist-length winter coat, black pants, black boots, a black cap, and grey shirt. Inv...

While the man gunned down in Hamilton wasn't a mob boss (his job description was  entrepreneur ), sources tell organized crime investigators that the shooting was "Mafia retaliation" for the unsolved 2017 murder of gangland boss Angelo Musitano. Albert Iavarone  Albert Iavarone was a Hamilton entrepreneur and real estate agent, and someone hid in his bushes last night and shot him dead as he walked toward his Ancaster home. Iavarone had links to associates in organized crime. "The killer hid in bushes and lay in wait for Albert Iavarone to return home Thursday night," Det. Sgt. Peter Thom told The Hamilton Spectator today . The 50-year-old was shot around 10 p.m. as he walked from his car, which was parked outside 32 Sunflower Cres. in Ancaster's quiet Scenic Woods neighbourhood. Surveillance footage revealed that a male suspect arrived in a silver vehicle, parked and hid in bushes for an “extended period of time” until Iavarone returned home. ...

A “well-known Mafia boss” who lived in Hamilton was shot dead last night, according to Hamilton’s Homicide Unit, which is investigating. Hamilton Police investigating a homicide on Sunflower Crescent in Ancaster early Friday morning. The shooting happened around 10 p.m. Thursday on Sunflower Crescent, near Highway 403 and Mohawk Road. A source with the Hamilton police department told CityNews that “the victim appears to be a well-known mafia boss who lives in the neighbourhood.” The neighbourhood of Scenic Woods is an affluent area with many large, single family homes. Two cars remained in the driveway behind the police tape at the scene around 8 a.m. this morning. This is the fifth homicide in Hamilton this year. Police said the victim, a 50-year-old man, was pronounced dead at the scene. Montreal Cosa Nostra boss Vito Rizzuto who died in December 2013. Neighbors reported hearing several gunshots and then saw a vehicle speeding away from the scene. Polic...

UPDATED Canadian law enforcement probing two murders in Southern Ontario linked to the country's Ndrangheta are on a roll, announcing several breaking developments this month. The man in black shot a 28-year-old woman. The same man killed Musitano months later. The investigation centers on the murders of Hamilton organized crime figure Angelo Musitano  last spring and a 28-year-old woman in Woodbridge shot to death months prior. A man she was meeting was likely the true target. At a news conference earlier this month, local law enforcement officials revealed for the first time that the two murders, of Mila Barberi in March 2017 and Musitano in May 2017, were linked. This was based on several main factors: from studying surveillance of the lead suspect in each shooting, police determined he is the same person. Also, a black Honda Civic Coupe was connected to both homicides, police said. Mila Barberi was slain by mistake. Police also recently revealed tha...

John Paul Getty III in Lagonegro, Italy, in Dec. 1973, after kidnappers freed him. Part 1 J. Paul Getty III, a grandson of the oil baron once considered the richest man in the world, gained tragic infamy when he was kidnapped in Rome in 1973 by Italian gangsters. "Italian gangsters" means little to anyone who knows about Italy and gangsters. ("Calabrian bandits," as per initial news reports, is more revealing, as only one crime ring hails from that region in southern Italy. Still, it's important to remember that the kidnapping was initially and widely believed to be a prank pulled by the grandson to get fast cash from granddad. That's partly why the kidnappers had to slice off an ear and put it in the mail.) After all, Italy is the birthplace of several major organized crime groups with "global footprints" today, all of which are known generally as the Mafia. Mafia is an overarching term and includes the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, an offshoot ...

Northern Italy's Emilia-Romagna region is widely known for its medieval cities and seaside resorts. It also has the distinction of being the birthplace of some of the world's premier delicacies, including Prosciutto di Parma , Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and Balsamic Vinegar . And, up until a few years ago, it was one of the few places in Italy  not typically known to have a Mafia presence. Nicola Femia was arrested for running a gambling racket. Historically, Italy's various organized crime groups tended to keep away from Emilia-Romagna, either by chance or by design. That was then.