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Tonino Callocchia, member of Italian Mafia, gunned down in Rivière-des-Prairies

PAUL CHERRY, MONTREAL GAZETTE
More from Paul Cherry, Montreal Gazette
Published on: December 1, 2014Last Updated: December 1, 2014 5:05 PM EST
Montreal mafia shooting
Montreal police secure the area around the Bistro XO Plus in Montreal on Monday December 1, 2014.

Allen McInnis / Montreal Gazette
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After months of relative peace within Montreal’s Mafia circles, one of its members was fatally shot in a restaurant in Rivière-des-Prairies Monday afternoon.

Police sources have confirmed that the city’s latest homicide was Tonino Callocchia, 53, a man who survived an attempt on his life in February 2013 and has been described in past parole decisions as “an active member of the Italian Mafia.”

Callocchia was pronounced dead at the scene of the Monday afternoon shooting at Bistro XO Plus on Henri-Bourassa Blvd. E. near the corner of LJ-Forget Ave.

Callocchia spent most of the 1990s behind bars serving a 21-year aggregate sentence for a series of drug-related offences and money laundering. Last month, a judge at the Montreal courthouse fixed a date in September 2015 for a hearing in a case where Callocchia was charged with extortion.

Callocchia's murder is significant, especially because he was identified as a godfather candidate to succeed Vito Rizzuto.

I have a feeling the mob war in Montreal may rage on--not to the extent witnessed in previous years but an unfinished mob war nonetheless.

They attempted on him last year but he escaped not so lucky this time and I agree this is not quite over just yet.

For those like me who can muddle their way through French, here is an interesting (audio) analysis by Daniel Renaud of the murder victim:

http://www.985fm.ca/lecteur/audio/daniel-renaud-journaliste-a-la-presse-250334.mp3

Anti can you translate any of that?

I agree the bodies are not going to stop dropping. There are too many still alive that crossed Vito that are going to die.

^^^^
The mp3 is more than five minutes long. :-)

But here are some takeaways:

*Callocchia's murder is probably the most significant Montreal Mafia murder in the last year, rivalled only perhaps by that of Roger Valiquette (in December 2013). (Callocchia and Valiquette were very close; Valiquette, considered one of the most significant loansharks in the Montreal area, was close to Desjardins).

*Renaud saw Callocchia this past September when the latter was in court in relation to charges stemming from threats made. (Callocchia was charged in May 2013 for threatening a businesswoman, who is considered close to Desjardins, over a significant amount of money owed.)

*Although a construction-company businessman in name, Callocchia was considered to be in the very heart of the Montreal Mafia, who saw his star rise after Vito Rizzuto's death in December 2013, was tapped as a godfather candidate (possibly by Vito himself), and was apparently part of the mafia roundtable (that supposedly was used to resolve conflicts between those who sat on it and used to determine the direction of the Montreal Mafia).

*Callocchia was considered to have several enemies.

*Callocchia was known for importing coke. (Recall that Callocchia is the brother-in-law of Vincenzo Armeni, the Calabrian-Canadian drug trafficker who is very influential in Quebec. Personally, I consider Vincenzo Armeni and his relatives to have remained loyal to the Rizzutos before and during the war. Those familiar with some of Lee Lamothe's posts on other organized-crime forums know that after his and Adrian Humphreys's book The Sixth Family... came out, Lamothe described the Rizzuto organization as a multifaceted one that included Calabrian crime groups or cells.)

*According to Renaud, Callocchia was not respected.

Thanks!

A very good article by Daniel Renaud this morning about Callocchia and his murder.

Link to French-language article:

http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/justic...cile-en-vue.php

A small photo of Callocchia, taken when he attended Vito Rizzuto's funeral Mass, accompanies the article.

Good stuff anti. I tell you though he looked like shit for a guy in his early 50's. My Father looks better and he is 78.

This is confusing, if he was with the rival faction why was he speared and was given a seat at the table with the rizzuto's

Is it possible that this is some internal housekeeping within the Rizzuto organization, maybe a power struggle amongst the players that served as the management team after Rizzuto's death?

Mob families very rarely recover from wars like this. Everything the Rizzuto's built will be significantly diminished soon enough.


I hope someone flips and a book comes out on this whole thing though because it seems pretty fascinating.

was he a bonanno button or was he made into another family? I know this question been asked 1000 times. goes back to sal vitale testifying at a trial, that when he went to montreal in 2000 there was 19 guys part of his family.

Great article by Adrian Humphreys on this topic.

Link:

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/12/02/...zuto-documents/

have reporters ruled out the possibility that the calabrians were behind it?

I mean yes, he's related by marriage to the Armeni's...but who knows?

Perhaps they didn't want him to jeopardize their relationship with the winning Rizzuto-supporting faction.

Define Calabrians.

This seems like a house cleaning event, not an external hit. This might mean that who ever is in power, (it would be good to know) might be more powerful than we think.

I don't think he was given a spot at the table. I don't believe for one minute Vito would have made him boss over others that were very close to him.

if these guy wore red and some blue this shit would be L.A. in the 80tys. no respsect for a fellow wiseguy up there. just fighting over turf/drugs. making there fellow American guys look civil.

All these killings where a long waited revenge from violis kids nephews ect. They waited 30 plus years. When they sniped nick rizzuto just like Rocco violi. What comes around goes around . there gonna be nothing left for any of this guys just a lot of widows. And kids with no grandpa. Maybe some of Jonny pops family for rizzuto killing him.

Except this shit is about more than slinging rocks on a corner. Its about a multibillion $ drug business and institutionalised monopoly of the cities construction industry.

The only thing in common Montreal has with the 'red n blues' is they have and are willing to use force in their respective trades.

Is there any evidence that suggests he was in fact considered as a successor by Vito himself, other than speculation?

No one on this board has any evidence of who Rizzuto named as a successor—insofar as he did—especially you and me.

I'm fairly certain you've seen this news item written by Daniel Renaud four days after Rizzuto died:

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s229/sh/8...ba63331d35dbff8

The ones I mentioned in my post

If you mean that the Armeni crime group killed or arranged to kill Callocchia, I have no idea. Callocchia's wife and the imprisoned Vincenzo Armeni's former wife are sisters, as far as I have been able to tell. Callocchia does not have a Calabrian surname; however, I don't know from which region in Italy he or his parents descend.

I have maintained on other organized-crime forums that Vincenzo Armeni and his group--assuming he leads it--remained loyal to Vito Rizzuto and the Rizzutos before and during the war. The Armeni group may be one of those Calabrian crime groups or cells that were known, according to Sixth Family... co-author Lee Lamothe, to make up part of the Rizzuto organization. And I would argue that all such Calabrian crime groups or cells, whether in Quebec or Ontario (e.g., the Commissos in Toronto), were subordinate to the Rizzuto organization.

La Presse journalists Daniel Renaud and Vincent Larouche co-wrote an article in today's online edition of their paper about Callocchia's dealings last year. In particular, the reporters cite evidence that was to be presented in his extortion case.

Among other tidibts of information was that during Callocchia's threats against Marlène Girard, an engineer and businesswoman who was supposedly close to Raynald Desjardins, Callocchia confirmed that Sal Montagna was expecting an additional tax to be paid by all businesspersons (who were already paying, I presume). There is also some information about the Arcuri brothers (Domenico and Antonino), who may have been persona non grata in the Montreal area for a reason other than fear of Vito Rizzuto's revenge: a falling out with Desjardins and Desjardins's allies over money owed because of a failed business venture. Seems that Marlène Girard was also close to Domenico Arcuri.

Link:

http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/justic...utre-tombe-.php

The name appears to be from Abruzzi

Link to French-language article:

http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/justic...ns-un-piege.php

Link:

http://tvanouvelles.ca/lcn/infos/faitsdivers/archives/2014/12/20141204-224022.html

Link:

http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2014/12/04/le-mafieux-abattu-a-ignore-les-avertissements