Billionaire Michael DeGroote's casino dream turns into organized crime nightmare Late Mafia godfather Vito Rizzuto muscles his way in on Caribbean gambling venture By Zach Dubinsky, CBC News Posted: Jan 23, 2015 9:51 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 23, 2015 10:03 AM ET
One of Canada's richest men, whose name adorns a university and the Order of Canada, poured $112 million US into a gambling venture headed by three businessmen with ties to organized crime, and is now locked in an international fight over Caribbean casinos whose cast includes one of Canada's most feared Mafia clans.
Michael G. DeGroote, who has the business and medical schools at Hamilton's McMaster University named after him, and who has been lionized as a self-made billionaire philanthropist, lent the money to a trio of men from the Toronto area to create a chain of gaming facilities in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.
There is no evidence that at the time, DeGroote knew of their underworld connections.
Now, as a year-long joint investigation by the CBC and the Globe and Mail found, the companies known as the Dream Group have descended into a bitter conflict of alleged murder plots, threats, armed robbery and bribery allegations, featuring an underworld roster right up to the late Montreal godfather Vito Rizzuto....
Re: Montreal Mafia connection to gambling venture?
[Re: antimafia]
#825295 01/23/1511:14 AM01/23/1511:14 AM
Vito Rizzuto’s final deal: Last known video of Montreal mob boss taken at Dominican casino Adrian Humphreys | January 23, 2015 | Last Updated: Jan 23 1:17 PM ET _______________
I have not excerpted the article.
Here is the link to the video of Rizzuto in the casino:
At the bottom of the article, mention is made about the CBC program the fifth estate airing an episode on this subject tonight at 9:00 pm EST--it will probably show the video of Rizzuto, to which I posted the link above. Canadian viewers and Americans who have access to CBC programs should check local/guide listings.
The episode will be posted online at some point, but I don't know whether there will be viewing restrictions for those who are outside of Canada.
I recommend checking @thefifthestate's Twitter timeline at
What you need to know about billionaire Michael DeGroote In 2003, DeGroote made a historic $105-million donation to McMaster's School of Medicine CBC News Posted: Jan 23, 2015 1:54 PM ET Last Updated: Jan 23, 2015 3:13 PM ET http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/n...roote-1.2929234
The doc is online. I'm not buying this Degroote guy. A successful businessman for 60+ years you're telling me he just gives a $112 million to a couple of guys without doing any due diligence on the business, gambling in the Caribbean, or his business partners most of whom the rumors suggest have or had some affiliation with mobsters and bikers? Yeah right, he didn't just fall off the turnip truck. If he didn't know what he was getting into he sure as fck should have. Business in lawless, corrupt countries with at least 2 (if not 3 or 4 or 5) convicted criminals. .... ...... .
The landing page also has the audio between Visser and Carbone.
Francesco Carbone, casino mogul in $112M lawsuit, heard plotting murder on secret tape Charges dropped when con man who made recording flees By Zach Dubinsky, CBC News Posted: Jan 24, 2015 5:00 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 24, 2015 5:00 AM ET
Re: Montreal Mafia connection to gambling venture?
[Re: antimafia]
#827934 02/09/1510:01 PM02/09/1510:01 PM
Earlier this month, CBC News obtained information from the ongoing Ontario Superior Court trial in which the family of Michael DeGroote is trying to recover the $112 million he invested in Dream Casino. Some of the information obtained contradicts DeGroote’s claim, via his lawyer a number of years ago, that DeGroote “has never had any association with [Vito Rizzuto] of any kind."
Re: Montreal Mafia connection to gambling venture?
[Re: antimafia]
#1003126 01/11/2101:03 AM01/11/2101:03 AM
