Vito Rizzuto summoned to Quebec corruption inquiry
Reputed Mafia don will testify at the Charbonneau commission
CBC News
Posted: Nov 24, 2012 12:03 PM ET
Last Updated: Nov 26, 2012 8:59 AM ET
Reputed Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto has been summoned to testify at Quebec's corruption inquiry.
Quebec Police served Rizzuto with a subpoena on Nov. 19 in Montreal.
Rizzuto is widely believed to be the head of the Sicilian Mafia in Canada and was once the most powerful figure in Montreal's underworld.
"He was met – I can confirm that," provincial police Sgt. Claude Denis told The Canadian Press. "But that's all I can say."
The sight of a prominent underworld figure answering questions on a live TV broadcast would only be the latest twist in an inquiry that has shocked Quebecers, and the country.
The corruption inquiry is looking into collusion in Quebec's construction industry.
Rizzuto named by witnesses
This is not the first time that Rizzuto's name has come up in the corruption inquiry. Once known as Montreal's Teflon Don, for his success at dodging the law, he has been described as charming and an entertaining travel companion by witnesses.
The inquiry has heard testimony about how construction executives colluded to decide ahead of time who would win the bidding on public contracts and at what price — and how they would pay a 2.5 per cent cut of the proceeds to the Rizzuto clan.
Former construction firm vice-president Lino Zambito testified that Rizzuto once mediated a conflict between himself and construction magnate Tony Accurso over a contract for Transport Québec.
RCMP surveillance videos played at the hearings showed executives handing over stacks of cash to Rizzuto's father, who has since been slain. Wiretaps caught everything from threats over unpaid debts to mundane chatter about a gift for a retiring businessman.
Nearly four decades ago members of the Cotroni-Violi family, whom the Rizzutos violently supplanted, were called as witnesses to the last Quebec inquiry into organized-crime corruption.
At the time, the witnesses were uncooperative.
"I don't refuse to testify," crime boss Paolo Violi told the 1974 inquiry, in an account described in a book about the Rizzutos, "The Sixth Family."
"I have a lot of respect for the court but I don't have anything to say," he said.
Violi was slapped with a one-year jail sentence for contempt of court.
Friends and family of reputed mob boss killed
Rizzuto flew back to Canada in October after serving an eight-year sentence in a U.S. prison for his role in the 1981 murders of three Mafia lieutenants in New York.
During his years behind bars, the Rizzuto family faced a violent putsch. Many of Rizzuto's friends and family disappeared or were killed, including his father and a son who were both gunned down.
Police now believe people loyal to Rizzuto may be behind several retaliatory acts since he was released.
With files from The Canadian PressShare Tools
Latest Montreal News Headlines
- Quebec Charter of Values could breed intolerance, warn Liberals
- Quebec's citizenship minister today said the province is long overdue in dealing with the issue of accommodations to religious communities. more »
- Quebec private daycare owners hold 1-day walkout
- Thousands of owners of private subsidized daycares marched in Montreal to denounce Quebec's plans to cut $15M from their budgets. more »
- Woman injured after falling on Montreal metro tracks
- Witnesses said she fell onto the tracks after stepping between two metro cars of a train that was stopped in the station. more »
- Schools, hospitals react swiftly to boil water advisory
- Today's widespread boil water advisory has had many Montrealers scrambling, including employees and administrators at schools and hospitals around the city. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Harper 'not consulted' about Duffy Senate expense repayment
- Prime Minister Stephen Harper says that not only did he not know about his chief of staff's "gift" to repay Senator Mike Duffy's expenses before the story broke in the media, he was not consulted and did not sign off on Nigel Wright's decision to write a personal cheque. more »
- 2 infants confirmed among dead of Oklahoma tornado
- Rescue workers raced to complete the search for survivors and the dead in the Oklahoma City suburb where a mammoth tornado destroyed countless homes, cleared lots down to bare red earth and claimed 24 lives, including those of 10 children. more »
- 'You will see him again in heaven,' Sharlene Bosma tells daughter
- Sharlene Bosma told more than 1,000 people at the public memorial service for her slain husband, Tim Bosma, about the love they shared. more »
- Mayor Ford stays silent while his brother defends him
- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford continues to stonewall the media over allegations that he was recorded on video smoking what appears to be crack cocaine, but his brother Coun. Doug Ford told reporters Wednesday that the story is untrue. more »
Most Viewed/Commented
- 1.3 million Montrealers face boil water advisory
- 'Lightly felt' earthquake west of Montreal
- Taking a look at graffiti tagging hotspots in Montreal
- Molotov cocktail targets St. Léonard business for 2nd time
- CBC's Top Tweets: How are you dealing with the boil water advisory?
- Quebec private daycare owners hold 1-day walkout
- Woman injured after falling on Montreal metro tracks
- Service restored on Montreal metro lines
- Crucifix to stay in National Assembly: Drainville
