Suspected
mob hitman Carmine Verduci, the victim of a gangland style hit in a Woodbridge
café, was a target because he tried to encroach on turf which the Rizzutos
considered their own, a police source tells the Star
A
man was declared dead on the scene of a shooting Thursday in Vaughan, on Regina
Road, near Highway 7 and Martin Grove Road.
By:
Peter Edwards Star Reporter, Published on Fri Apr 25 2014
The
brazen daytime slaying of GTA mobster Carmine Verduci is a blunt message from
Montreal’s underworld: The war with Vito Rizzuto’s old crime family isn’t over.
That’s
the view of several experts on Canadian organized crime, after Verduci, 56, was
killed outside a Woodbridge café at 2 p.m. Thursday.
Rizzuto,
Canada’s top Mafioso, died in bed from what were reported to be natural causes
in December, in the midst of a gang war that pitted members of the Montreal mob
against GTA criminals.
At
the time of his death, Rizzuto was bent on revenge against at least a half
dozen GTA mobsters, police sources say.
Verduci’s
murder is a loud message to his old associates in the GTA and Hamilton
underworld, police officers who specialize in organized crime said Friday.
“To
me it’s a huge message,” one officer said. “It’s not over just because Vito’s
dead. . . . Certain people have to die before business gets done.”
Verduci,
a suspected hitman, was a presence in the GTA underworld since the late 1970s,
known for his connections and violent rages. His criminal record included
assault with a weapon and weapons possession.
“He
was feared on the street,” one GTA police officer said. “They called him The
Animal.”
Another
of his nicknames was Ciccio Formaggio, referring to his love of homemade
cheese, bread, grappa and wine.
Verduci
was pronounced dead at the scene after he was shot several times outside the
Regina Café at 140 Regina Rd., an industrial and retail plaza near Highway 7
and Martin Grove Rd.
York
Regional Police say they’re looking for two suspects who fled in a grey or
silver Honda Civic or similar car. They are described as male and white. One is
described as short, slim and wearing a black or grey hoodie and dark baggy
pants.
Police
are reviewing surveillance video from surrounding businesses.
The
slaying comes after several visits to the GTA from two senior members of the
old Rizzuto crime family this year.
Verduci
was a prime target for Montreal assassins because he tried to encroach on turf
which the Rizzutos considered their own, a police source said.
He
was a frequent visitor to Montreal during the mob wars of the past five years,
police say. Rizzuto’s eldest son and father are among the victims of unsolved
gangland murders during that time.
During
the fight to steal turf from Rizzuto, police say Verduci was part of a group
that became involved with Sal Montagna, head of the Bonanno crime family of New
York City.
Montagna
was murdered near Montreal in November 2011.
A
police report obtained by the Star states that Verduci was a “loyal member” of
a GTA cell of the ’Ndrangheta international crime organization, whose illegal
activities include “weapons trafficking; money laundering; municipal and
federal corruption; stock market fraud and drug trafficking.”
“This
group has liaison members strategically placed throughout the globe to plan and
conduct operations that all lead back to a command structure located throughout
Italy,” the report continues.
His
connections also included senior members of the Commisso crime family and some
Hamilton mobsters.
“He
was clearly involved in some activity that tied the group in Toronto with the
’Ndrangheta in Calabria,” GTA organized crime expert and author Antonio Nicaso
said Friday.
Verduci
was also tied to local Albanian mobsters and the Gambino Mafia family of New
York City, according to police.
His
telephone conversations were intercepted by police in Italy in 2008 and 2009,
including talks with Giuseppe (The Master) Commisso, head of the ’Ndrangheta
groups in Siderno.
Italian
police reported Verduci attended high-level ’Ndrangheta dinner meetings in the
province of Reggio Calabria. At one of these meetings, a member from Milan said
he wanted to run his own independent group, despite the objections of other
members.
A
month later, the dissident member was murdered.
Verduci
also attended the annual ’Ndrangheta world summit in the town of Polsi. In one
intercepted conversation, Verduci said he was concerned about his brother who
was in jail.
Commisso
replied his brother didn’t have to worry, as he wasn’t the type of man to turn
against the group.
The
expression Commisso used to convey this message was: “The jail never bites
anyone who’s a good Christian.”
Verduci
owned a comfortable yellow brick home in Woodbridge and also a sprawling farm
in Caledon. He enjoyed hunting with a shotgun and working his hobby farm.
At
6 feet tall and 265 pounds, he was physically imposing, if pear-shaped.
Verduci
headed his own street crew, which was active in the GTA and Hamilton. “He had
his own little army of guys,” a police source said.
He
was most comfortable speaking an Italian dialect from his birthplace of Oppido
Mamertina in Reggio Calabria province.
Police
believe he graduated from street level heroin dealing to high-level drug
trafficking, gun running and gambling with the ’Ndrangheta crime group,
considered Italy’s most powered organized crime network.
Police
suspected Verduci was smuggling AK-47 assault rifles into the GTA while the
’Ndrangheta was brokering arms for opium in Afghanistan.
“These
weapons are coming from the United States,” a police report obtained by the
Star states.
Italian
authorities issued a warrant against Verduci in 2011 for “Mafia associations”
but he could not be deported because he was a Canadian.
Police
files on Verduci say he was believed to have arranged heroin shipments from
Mexico, and that he also arranged multi-kilo shipments of cocaine.
“Cocaine
is transported from Mexico-BC-Ontario,” a police report says. It says he took
part in high-level deals in which mobsters swapped cocaine for heroin so they
could supply both drugs in their markets.
“Verduci
pre-arranges coke (cocaine) amounts for shipment and Verduci is associated to
Nick ‘the Greek’ who imports kilos of heroin to Canada,” a report says.