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Powerful Mafia leaders from
across Canada held an unprecedented meeting
last month to discuss concerns they could
lose ground to aggressively expanding
motorcycle gangs, sources say.
The meeting, held at the end of January in
north Toronto, was an apparent attempt to
forge an alliance among quarrelling Mafia
clans from Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia
and possibly New York state. The aim is to
present a united front to two
internationally linked motorcycle gangs in
Canada, according to underworld and police
sources. "The Hells Angels are now in
Ontario forming a unity with the Hells
Angels in Montreal. Is that a threat to
them? I'd say so," said a Toronto police
officer who investigates organized crime.
"It seems it's time for the Italians to put
their differences aside and if they perceive
the bikers as a threat, then they have
incentive," he said of the Mafia clans. Many
Ontario motorcycle gangs recently unified
under the Hells Angels banner, while their
rivals, the Rock Machine, joined the
Texas-based Bandidos. The two gangs are more
powerful and prominent than ever, and Mafia
leaders eye them with suspicion. Police
believe the Toronto meeting was chaired by
Vito Rizzuto, the reputed Mafia chief from
Montreal whom law enforcement officials said
has recently grown in influence to become
the most powerful boss in Canada. Police
said Mr. Rizzuto, 55, has been visiting
Toronto regularly. "He comes here at a
minimum every two weeks," a Toronto police
officer said. "He has been trying to get the
families together from around the Golden
Horseshoe [in southern Ontario], on both
sides of the border," the officer said.
Officers requested their names not be
published for fear of jeopardizing
investigations. The underworld has been
buzzing about the meeting for weeks, said a
man who has worked extensively with the
Mafia in Toronto and requested anonymity. An
RCMP officer based in Quebec said officers
were hoping to secretly watch the meeting to
see who was friendly to whom -- but the
leaders appear to have dodged the
surveillance efforts. Large underworld
encounters are rare, usually reserved for
weddings and funerals of other mafiosi. They
can offer clues to the current hierarchy and
alliances of the Mafia. It is rare for so
many Mafia leaders, some of whom do not get
along, to meet. Antonio Nicaso, a prominent
organized-crime specialist and author, said
the Mafia are carefully watching the rapidly
expanding biker gangs. "The Mafia have
considerable concern about this new presence
in Ontario with the Hells Angels, especially
because the motorcycle gang is starting to
muscle in on their territory," said Mr.
Nicaso. "The old guard wanted to send a
message that they are in charge and that the
motorcycle gangs have to acknowledge their
leadership and presence; others said they
should not be tough on them, that they
should work with them. "In the end, I think,
they decided just to wait, to monitor them
and see if they continue to become a menace,
a threat to them," Mr. Nicaso said.
Motorcycle gangs and the Mafia have
peacefully coexisted for decades in Canada,
but traditionally the bikers have been
respectful of the mobsters' seniority in the
underworld. Often the Mafia was responsible
for importing large quantities of drugs and
the bikers would distribute and sell the
drugs on the streets. There is also evidence
that mobsters, bikers and leaders of another
major gang in Montreal regularly meet to
iron out differences and agree on drug
prices. Since the Hells Angels have moved
into Ontario, "They appear to take advantage
of the less visibility of traditional
organized crime," said Mr. Nicaso, referring
to the Mafia. A Toronto police officer said
the mafiosi attitudes toward bikers split
along generational lines. "The older guys
have never liked bikers. They are too
unreliable, too violent, too hot-headed. Why
hang around with a bunch of guys who wear a
patch on their back telling everyone they're
bad guys?" the officer said. "For the
younger generation, it is a different
story." |
