Rizzuto crime family
Italian-Canadian crime family / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Rizzuto crime family (Italian: [ritˈtsuːto]) is an organized crime family based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, whose criminal activity covers most of southern Quebec and Ontario.[4] The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) considers the family a faction of the Bonanno crime family,[4] while Canadian and most other international law enforcement agencies recognize it as an independent crime family. The Rizzuto family is sometimes referred to as the Sixth Family.[4]
This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience. (November 2023) |
Founded | 1970s |
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Founded by | Nicolo Rizzuto |
Founding location | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
Years active | 1970s–present |
Territory | Greater Montreal and the province of Quebec and Ontario, Venezuela, United States |
Ethnicity | People of Italian descent as "made men", and other ethnicities as "associates" |
Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, illegal gambling, murder, loan sharking, extortion, racketeering, weapons trafficking |
Allies | Bonanno crime family(formerly)[1][2] Cuntrera-Caruana Mafia clan Independent Soldiers[3] West End Gang Hells Angels Musitano crime family |
Rivals | Bonanno crime family[1][2] Siderno Group Cotroni crime family Commisso 'ndrina |
Nicolo Rizzuto, a Sicilian immigrant from Cattolica Eraclea, established the organization in the 1970s as part of the Sicilian faction of the Montreal Cotroni crime family. An internal war broke out by the late 1970s which resulted in the death of acting captain Paolo Violi and his brothers, allowing the Rizzutos to overtake the Cotronis as the preeminent crime family in Montreal. Nicolo quickly rose through the ranks of organized crime in Montreal, earning the nickname 'The Canadian Godfather' and 'boss of the Mafia in Canada' from international organized crime expert Antonio Nicaso.[5]
Nicolo's son Vito Rizzuto was indicted in 2004 and imprisoned from 2007 until 2012 for murders in which he participated in 1981, causing a power struggle among criminals in Montreal. During Vito's imprisonment, his son Nicolo Jr. was killed in 2009, and Nicolo Sr. was shot by a sniper while in his home in 2010. Upon Vito's release, several people were killed in what was suspected to be retaliation for the murders of his family. Vito died of natural causes in 2013, and the head of the Mafia in Montreal is now assumed to be his son Leonardo.[6]