Montreal Mafia
| Founded | 1970s |
|---|---|
| Founded by | Nicola Rizzuto |
| Founding location | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Years active | 1970s-present |
| Territory | Greater Montreal and the province of Québec and Ontario; Venezuela, Sicily Saudi Arabia, Cuba, UAE, England, Switzerland, Bahamas, Haiti, Mexico |
| Ethnicity | Italian-Canadian |
| Membership (est.) | 30 made members, 500 associates |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, gambling, murder, loan Sharking, extortion, racketeering |
| Allies | Bonanno crime family, Cuntrera-Caruana Mafia clan, West End Gang, Hells Angels, Musitano Crime Family |
| Rivals | Siderno Group, Cotroni crime family, Commisso 'ndrina |
The Rizzuto family is a crime syndicate based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The family territory covers most of southern Quebec and Ontario. The FBI considers the family to be connected to the Bonanno crime family, but Canadian law enforcement considers it to be a separate crime family. The Rizzuto family was part of the powerful Montreal Cotroni decina until an internal war broke out and the Rizzutos formed their own organization.
In the 1970s an internal war broke out in the Cotroni crime family between the Sicilian and Calabrian factions. The Sicilian faction was led by Nicolo Rizzuto and the Calabrian faction was led by family boss Vincenzo Cotroni through his right-hand man Paolo Violi. This led to a violent Mafia war of power struggle in Montreal leading to the deaths of Violi (who was acting capo and underboss for Cotroni) and his brothers along with others spanning the mid 1970s to the early 1980s until the war ceased.
Vito Rizzuto's style of business was a striking contrast to flamboyant American mobsters like John Gotti. He remained at the top of Canada's criminal underworld by keeping a low profile, working only with trusted people close to the family, and spreading the wealth around. He is credited with playing a major role in bringing a truce in the deadly war between the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine in Quebec. The Rizzutos worked with both Sicilian Mafia and Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta families, the Cuntrera-Caruana Mafia clan (which branched out from Sicily to Canada and South America), Colombian drug cartels, and the five Mafia families of New York, in particular the Bonannos and Gambinos. Rizzuto was the mediator who oversaw the peace with the Hells Angels, the Mafia, street gangs, Colombian cartels and the Irish mobs such as the West End Gang when the order of the day was co-operation.
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Wikipedia