November 6, 2025 • 31 mins
In this episode of Mobstercast Chronicles, we journey into the shadowy rise of Nicolo Rizzuto — the Sicilian-born mastermind who built Canada’s most powerful Mafia family. From his humble beginnings in Sicily to ruling the Montreal underworld with cunning and charisma, Rizzuto reshaped organized crime north of the border. Discover the loyalty, betrayal, and tragedy behind the man who became known as The Godfather of Montreal.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Okay, So when most of us, you know, try to
picture the mafia, our minds usually jumped straight to the movies.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Yeah. Absolutely, you think smoky back rooms in Brooklyn, maybe
the streets of Chicago, maybe a little Italy somewhere south
of the border.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Exactly. We're totally conditioned, I think, to connect organized crime
with like New York's Five Families or al Capone's outfit.
It feels very American, almost exclusively, and.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Well that usual picture. Yeah, it completely misses one of
the most powerful, really sophisticated, and you could argue one
of the most tragic crime empires in North American history. Okay,
and this one it flourished in naturally crashed not in
New York but up north yea, in Montreal, Canada.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Montreal. Okay, let's definitely unpack this because the sources we've
pulled together, they paint this picture of just wow, extraordinary ambition.
So today we're doing a deep dive into the life,
the times, everything about Nicola Risuto. People knew him as
Nick or sometimes you know the bit more way down
Rezut that's.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
The one the Sicilian patriarch came over to Canada, didn't
just like join the club. He built his own dynasty
from basically nothing, and he dominated Montreal for decades, achieved
this almost mythical status in the underworld.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
So our mission today for you listening is to trace
Rizzuto's whole story from his roots in Sicily poverty.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
There all the way through migrations, his ruthless ambition, the strategies.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
And then well the brutal tragedy that really shadowed his
life and eventually just tore his family structure apart.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Yeah, basically, this deep dive, it's your shortcut to understanding
this guy a really pivotal figure honestly in North American
crime history, someone who for a long time held more
sway in Canadian organized crime than well anyone else.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Now, let's just flag a few key themes right up front,
because it's a complex story spans generations. We're definitely tracking
a major power shift violent too.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Oh yeah, the established collaborating control, how it got pushed
out by this newer, more let's say, centralized Sicilian structure
Zzuto brought in.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
And crucially we need to dig into the strategic differences
between the father and son. Nicolo the old guard.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Right, cautious, very Sicilian in his.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Way versus his son Veto, who was more like the
modern diplomat, light global view.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Exactly understanding that dynamic, that tension may be synergy. It's
key to figuring out how the Rezuda's got so successful.
Maybe why fill apart?
Speaker 1 (02:26):
And then finally, yeah, we have to dissect the violence
at the end, it was.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Shocking, brutal.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
The Risuto story really shows how even the most carefully
built empires, you know, ones based on decades of loyalty, cunning,
they can still just crumble. Ambition, power, vacuums, betrayal. It's
all in that.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
It's a potent mix.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
So to really get how a man could build orchestrate
this massive criminal operation, you got to start at the beginning.
His foundation, his origins. Mikoelo Rizzuto born February eighteen, nineteen
twenty four, Katulka, Ericlea. That's a town in Ogridgento, in Sicily.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
In that place, Hydrigento. It's important it wasn't Palermo or
some big city. It was rural, agrarian. So like a
lot of Sicilians back then, especially born before World War Two,
Rizzuto grew up kind of steeped in this duality. On
one hand grinding poverty. On the other the mafia its
quiet presence.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
So the sources they make it pretty clear that these
men of honor, they weren't just distant figures. They were
like woven into the local fabric, right part of the
social order. How does that kind of environment shape a
young guy like Nicolo?
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Fundamentally, it just ingrains a specific code, you know, omertas silence,
absolute loyalty, respect for the hierarchy, and discretion maybe above
all else In that world, the mafia was almost like
a shadow government. It offered protection, maybe a form of
justice where the official state often well didn't. So Nicola
learned really early that real power didn't come from being
(03:53):
loud or flashy. It came from quiet, consistent authority, and
that code that became his operating manual later on.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Okay, so World War two hits, Europe's wrecked Southern Italy,
especially jobs forget about it, hope pretty scarce too, Yeah,
tough time. So young Nicolo faces this choice stay in
Sicily and basically farm poverty, or look overseas, try his
luck somewhere else, which brings us to the first big move,
(04:19):
the first migration nineteen fifty four, and.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
The choice he makes here is well strategically fascinating, I
think because he doesn't head straight for North America, which
was the more common route for Italians. Then way did
he owe Venezuela.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Venezuela Okay, I wouldn't have guessed that, right.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
It was part of this maybe less documented wave of
Italian immigration into South America in the fifties.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
So when he gets to Caracas, is he just trying
to lay low find work or is he already like
plugging into the underworld network. What were his early moves like.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Well, he was definitely a strategist even then. Laying groundwork publicly, Yeah,
he worked in construction trade seemed normal enough to suggest
these were probably cover jobs because Venezuela, like some other
South American countries, already had this established community of Italian
expats Sicilians specifically, So for Rizuto, Venezuela was like a
(05:14):
training ground, a crucible. He was forging connections there, learning
how international movement work. He wasn't just learning cash, he
was vetting people, figuring out logistics across borders, building the
reputation he'd need for the next, much bigger step.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Okay, So four years in Venezuela, building contacts, learning the ropes.
Then comes the really defining move nineteen fifty eight. He
relocates destination Montreal, Canada. Why Montreal? What was the poll?
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Well, Montreal was booming then huge post war expansion, and
it was becoming a massive hub for Italian immigrants. So
it offered both anentity you know, you could blend in,
but also tremendous economic opportunity, both legit and not so legit.
The city was basically fertile ground waiting for someone like him.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
This move, crucially, he brings his family. This wasn't just
him scouting, This was planting roots exactly.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
That lays the entire foundation. He brought his wife, Libertina
Mono and his young son Vito, who becomes incredibly important later.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Yeah, we'll get to Vito.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
So the family's rival in Montreal. It gives him immediate
access to that growing Italian community, especially in the San
Lordard neighborhood that became his power base, his turf. Pretty much.
This relocation let him start building his own thing, separate
from the old country's politics maybe, but still totally plugged
into that powerful Sicilian code he'd already mastered. He'd found
(06:34):
his city.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
So Rizzuto lands in Montreal in fifty eight. But the
city's underworld. It wasn't exactly an empty playground, was it.
He walked into a situation where power was already established territorial.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Oh, absolutely not empty. He was stepping into a pretty
dangerous environment. Actually, yeah, and it was dominated by the
Calabrian mafia.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Okay, Callabrian not Sicilian. That's a cute distinction, vigal.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
The Calabrian mafia is known as the Entering and back
then Montreal was firmly controlled by the Katroni crime family
led by Vincenzo Cotroni known as Vic and his powerful
lieutenant was Palovioli. They've been running things for decades, iron grip.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
So here comes Nicola rizzutto the Sicilian into a city
run by Calabrians. That just screams conflict waiting to happen.
But let's pause on that. You mentioned the difference Cosinostri
Sicilian versus Endringetta Calabrian. What's the core philosophical clash there.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Yeah, that's one of the really key insights from the sources.
Nicoloa Rizzuto brought the philosophy of the Sicilian cosonostera literally
our thing right and that structure. Generally, it's based on
a more formalized hierarchy, families, controlling territories, maybe a central
commission in theory at least more structure.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
And the Calabrians than in druing Getta.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Historically, the Enduring Data is often seen as structured more
around blood ties, kinship, tightly knit clans, or alding Green
often very localized. Okay, so when Nicola showed up bringing
that Sicilian mindset, he just wasn't wired to be a
soldier under a Calabrian boss. The Sicilian code demanded respect, sovereignty,
his own space. He probably saw the Calabrian setup as powerful, sure,
(08:10):
but maybe less centralized, less efficient than the Ghost and
Doster model he envisioned.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
So he doesn't just roll in and start shooting. The
sources emphasize this approach was incredibly patient, a quiet build
that must have driven the Katronis nuts eventually.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Oh absolutely, Patience was maybe his greatest weapon early on
discretion too, Yeah, he understood the power of shared identity.
He didn't directly challenge the Katranis for like almost a.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Decade, wow, a decade.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Yeah, Instead, he worked quietly within the Saint Leonard neighborhood,
connecting with all the new Sicilian immigrants flooding in. He
used those shared roots, the language, that code of loyalty
to build his own parallel network, reliable people, and that
network that became the foundation of the Rizzuto family structure,
(08:57):
growing right under the noses of the Kaleirian bosses.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
So this quiet pressure cooker it finally boils over in
the nineteen seventies the Montreal mafia war kicks off, and
the immediate spark was it basically the arrogance of the
old guard, the Katronis.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Pretty much as Nikolo's influence his wealth started to grow,
the Cotronian leadership, especially Paulo Violi, saw him as a threat,
someone who needed to be put back in his place,
which meant, you know, being subservient to them. Violi clearly
massively misjudged Risuto, misjudged his ambition, the strength of his network,
and the war that followed it was brutal, bloody, an
(09:32):
internal fight to decide which culture Sicilian or Collabrian, and
which family Risuto or Cotroni would rule organized crime in Canada.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
And what's really striking is the method Rizuto side used.
It wasn't just chaotic violence. It was calculated, surgical almost.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Yeah, it totally reflects that Sicilian philosophy. Cut off the head,
the body dies. They waited picked their moments. Fioli, trying
to assert dominance just made him the most visible target.
So the Risuto faction focused on decapitation, taking out the leadership.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Let's get specific. Palavioli's assassination in nineteen seventy eight, that's
the turning point.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
That's the moment Rizzuto goes from being a threat to
being the new power. Violi was gunned down just like that,
while drinking espresso in his favorite cafe, a place he
probably felt totally safe, and the location matters. It showed
the Rezuto factions reached their confidence. It wasn't some messy
back alley hit. It was precise, calculated, designed to send
(10:27):
a terrifying message. We can get you anywhere, anytime, No
place is safe.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
And the ruthlessness didn't stop with Violi. It was a
systematic cleanup, wasn't it.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Oh? Absolutely systematic. The sources detail how Violi's brothers were
targeted soon after met similar ends. This wasn't just revengo
with strategy eliminate anyone in the leadership capable of fighting back,
of rallying the Calabrian forces, so.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Taking out the top command key lieutenants one after another
in quick succession.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Exactly by doing that, Nicola Rizzuto effectively dismantled the Coatroni
Empire and installed his Zone Sicilian regime.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
So by the early nineteen eighties, the war is over,
the Calabrian dominance is broken, and the Sicilian Razuto family
is in charge. Quietly but totally.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
The transformation was complete. They didn't just win, they fundamentally
changed how things operated. Montreal's underworld shifted from that more
localized kinship based Calabrium model to this more hierarchical, centralized
operation folcus on efficiency, international connections, pure cosin nostra style,
Rezutto style.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Okay, so the Calabrians are out of the picture. The
Zzuto family steps into the void, and this kicks off
what law enforcement later called their golden age, Nicolo's consolidated power.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Now the organization starts operating on a really different level, right, sophisticated, Yeah, multinational.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Yeah, this is where they really take off structurally. They
became this kind of international bridge. The Zutos were now
the undisputed and highly respected Canadian arm of the Sicilian mafia.
So direct lines back to Sicily, direct formalized working connections
to powerful clans back in Palermo Corleoni, real heavy hitters, and.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
That distinction being like an extension of the Sicilian mafia,
not just an ally, that must have been a massive
strategic advantage. How did that connection actually play out in
their day to day criminal business? It was the engine,
absolutely the engine of their wealth. That transatlantic link let
them bridge North America, South America and Europe. Primarily for
their main business, drug trafficking. They specialized in moving huge
(12:28):
quantities of heroin cocaine, and they heavily utilized what became
known as the Pizza Connection routes very notorious.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
We hear that named Pizza Connection a lot, but for listeners,
what exactly was it? What made it so infamous?
Speaker 2 (12:41):
It was about the scale really and the seamless logistics.
The Pizza Connection wasn't just a catchy name. It described
as incredibly complex, multi billion dollar operation. Mostly in the
seventies and eighties, Okay, heroin was sourced in Asia traffic
through Sicily, often involving allies like the Contrari Karwana clan,
who were huge players and then channeled into North America.
(13:02):
New York and Montreal were key entry points. Then the
drug money had to be laundered sent back.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Clean through front businesses, pizza parlor's being a.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Favorite exactly hence the name. It sounds almost cliche, but
it worked. The Rizutos were absolutely crucial facilitators on the
Canadian end of this global pipeline, moving product, moving money.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Okay, so narcotics are the big international game, but what
about locally? What was the everyday bread and butter keeping
the cash flowing in Montreal?
Speaker 2 (13:30):
They ran sophisticated rackets right there at home. Illegal gambling
rings were huge, strategically placed in Montreal's Italian neighborhoods, generated constant,
reliable cash. H Then you had financial crimes, large scale
loan sharking, shylocking, and complex money laundering schemes. They needed
ways to constantly wash that massive drug money feeded into
(13:53):
legitimate businesses to hide where it really came from.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
And they were smart enough to weave themselves into the
legal economy too, right, not just street construction unions.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
That's where their influence became really systemic. By getting control
over key union leaders influencing government contract bids, they could
steer lucrative construction projects to companies they controlled, or companies
that paid them.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Kickback, creating a self feeding loop.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Exactly. The legitimate and illegitimate just blurred together perfectly, made
it incredibly hard for law enforcement to untangle it all
and target the core operation. Nikola was basically running a
shadow economy alongside the real one.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
We also absolutely have to talk about the American connection,
the alliance with the Banano crime family in New York
that really elevated the Rezutas, put them in the major
leagues internationally.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Yeah, that was the necessary step to cement their global prestige.
You could say the Bananos recognized how strategically important the
Razutos were controlling the Canadian border, that unique pipeline back
to Sicily. Okay, this alliance made them a major player
on the world stage. But this is huge looking back,
It instantly brought massive risk. It put them directly in
(15:04):
the crosshairs of US federal agencies, and that scrutiny well,
it would eventually be their undoing.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Which leads us perfectly into this fascinating father son dynamic.
It seems core to their success and maybe their fall.
Niccolo the father, He's the traditionalist, right, the old guard.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Niccolo was the bedrock, the foundation. He was discreet, always cautious,
deeply rooted in those Sicilian customs he brought over. His
focus was mainly on keeping order stability within Montreal local
affairs okay. His leadership was built on respect earned over
decades of patient, quiet strategy. He was the absolute authority,
(15:41):
but quiet about it, making sure the rules were followed,
the money floats smoothly.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
And then there's Veto the son, the indispensable other half
of the equations.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Vidau was the modern face, the diplomat educated, multilingual, very
business savvy. He wasn't bound by the same old world
traditions as his father. Vito was the guy comfortable operating
across continents. He could schmooze with drug cartels down in Venezuela,
coordinate logistics with the New York families, negotiate with connections
in Europe. While Niccolo managed the local ship, Vito was
(16:11):
like the international CEO, expanding the brand.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
And that combined approach it transformed the Rezudo organization into
something really unique, didn't it? Something law enforcement definitely noticed.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Oh absolutely, They weren't seen as just another local gang.
Law enforcement informally dubbed them the sixth Family. Wow, Yeah,
basically recognizing that their strategic reach, their centralized power, was
on par with New York's traditional Five Families. Their success
was totally built on that combination, the father's old world
caution the son's modern global ambition. It worked for a
(16:45):
long time, so.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
For like two decades they operate with this dual sophistication,
Niccolo holding down Montreal, Vito expanding globally. It probably seemed
like they were untouchable for a while. Yeah, but Empires
built on crimes, especially the drug trade. They eventually attracted
serious heat right and the early two thousands that seems
to be when the focus really shifted. Law enforcement got
much more aggressive.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
The whole game was changing. Then international cooperation between agencies
like the FBI and the US and the RCMP up
in Canada, it really ramped up. They started specifically targeting
the Rizzuto's cross border drug networks, especially those vital links
to the Bonano family. That alliance became a vulnerability, and.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
This leads us right to the event that really triggered
the whole downfall. The catalyst Vito Rizzuto's extradition in two
thousand and four.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Yeah, that was a tipping point.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
And get this, he was extradited for a crime that
happened way back in nineteen eighty one, twenty three years earlier.
That shows you how seriously the US authorities viewed him
going back that far.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
It really underscores the reach the long memory of American justice,
doesn't it. Vito was wanted for his alleged part in
the murders of three Banano captains back in eighty one
Alfunts Sunny Red Indlocado, Philip Philly, Lucky Giacconi and Dominic
Big Trinchera.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
The three captains hit infamous.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Yeah, a huge event during the Banano internal war in
New York. The fact that Veto, operating seemingly safely up
in Canada was implicated in these internal New York mafia
politics and then extradited years later, it proves his role
wasn't minor. He wasn't just some Canadian. Ally, the US
saw him as a key player, even an executioner, in
major American mob business.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
So Veto gets shipped off to the US, even if
it was potentially temporary. His absence created this immediate, devastating
power vacuum back in Montreal. The sources suggest that whole,
carefully built structure just started to crumble almost instantly.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Yeah, the organization was built on that synergy. You know,
Nicolo's old school authority plus Veto's modern global reach. Take
Veto out of the equation, even just physically removing him
to a US prison. That balance is gone shattered, and.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
The wolves started circling pretty much immediately.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Old rivals, maybe guys who'd been nursing grudges against Niccolo
for years they saw their chance, Ambitious guys within the organization,
maybe feeling they deserved a bigger piece of the pie.
They sensed weakness at the top. The whole thing started
to splinter, factions formed, It just descended into chaos, slowly
at first, then faster.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
And what came next was just this brutal series of hits,
calculated blows aimed right at the heart of the Rizzuto clan.
Between roughly two thousand and six and twenty ten. This
wasn't just business anymore. This felt personal, designed to destroy
them psychologically.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Oh, the campaign against the Rizutos during those years was
utterly relentless, and you're right, it was calculated to inflate
maximum pain, maximum dishonor the absolute worst blow psychologically, the
one that really proved nobody.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Was safe his grandson.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Yeah, the murder of Niccolo Rizzuto Junior, Nicolo's grandson, Vito's
own son in December two thousand and nine, shot dead
in broad daylight on the street God killing the grandson,
the presumed air apparent in public like that. Yeah, it
was an explicit declaration of war, a massive sign of
disrespect aimed directly at the old patriarch, Niccolo and the
(19:58):
imprisoned Veto.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
And it was wasn't just the direct Risuto bloodline being
targeted key allies, the guys who held the whole structure
together financially and operationally. They started disappearing.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Too, exactly figures who were essential cogs in the machine. Paulorinda,
Nicolo's sen in law, basically the family concili Air handled
the money. Uh. He vanished in twenty ten, presumed murdered
body never found. Agostino Contrera, another powerful old school guy
with deep Sicilian ties, a major player, also executed around
(20:28):
the same time. Montreal just turned back into this dangerous,
fragmented battleground, kind of ironically mirroring the violence Niccolo himself
used decades earlier to take power shootings, bombings. They became
common again as different factions scrambled for control in the
vacuum veto last.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
And office chaos is swirling around the old Don Niccolo.
He's in his late eighties by now, watching his empire crumble,
his family decimated, desperately trying to hold it together.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
It's just tragic, isn't it. Niccolo Risuto the Untouchable Dawn,
famous for his caution, but he wasn't totally immune to
the law himself over the years. Yeah, it's worth mentioning.
You know, he actually did a short prison stint back
in the eighties in Venezuela. Interestingly enough, what cocaine trafficking,
which just highlights again those deep South American connections he
built way back.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
But the story that really speaks volumes about his old
world caution and just the sheer scale of the cash
he was handling. It's that police raid in the early
two thousands, right, Oh.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Yeah, that raid is a fantastic detail. Really brings the
sources to life. When the Canadian police searched his mansion.
They weren't just finding cash in a safe, you know,
they seized over a million dollars in Canadian currency, meticulously
hidden inside the walls and the ceiling tiles of his house.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Wow, inside the walls.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Yeah, that's not just keeping some emergency cash on hand.
That's deep old school paranoia, total distrust of banks, a
need to have massive liquid assets physically secured within the
foundations of his own home. Even this guy, operating like
a CEO, still stuck to those old ways of hiding wealth.
But despite all that caution, the violence was closing in.
(22:02):
He couldn't hide from.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
That, which brings us to the final unthinkable blow, the
symbolic end. November tenth, twenty ten, Nicola or Zuto is
eighty six years old, still the patriarch, still that quiet
authority figure, but clearly his authority wasn't what it used
to be.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Yeah. The details of his assassination are just chilling because
the sheer audacity, the clinical precision of it. It happened
around five point forty PM in his own Montreal mansion,
a place he must have thought was his fortress. He
was standing in his kitchen and a sniper hidden somewhere outside,
maybe in the woods behind the house, fired one shot,
just one through a window, possibly double pine glass, unbelievable,
(22:41):
struck him in the neck, killed him instantly.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
And the personal dimension here, it's horrific. It was deliberate.
He was killed right there in front of his wife, Libertina.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Yeah, that was an accidental killing him in his own home,
in his kitchen, in front of his wife. It was
more than just an assassination. It was a profound act
of humiliation, a statement that all the old rules, the
respect for the dawn in his own home, none of
that applied anymore. Total violations.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
So the symbolism is huge. What's the analysis there.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Well, the method itself, that cold calculated sniper shot, it's
been incredibly symbolic. This wasn't a messy street hit like
some desperate gang warshooting. This was professional, clinical. It communicated
one stark message to everyone, especially to Vito locked up
in the US. The Nicola Rizzuto era is over officially violently.
The power vacuum wasn't just there, it was now sealed
(23:31):
in blood.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
And even today, who actually ordered that hit. It's still
one of the biggest mysteries in Canadian crime history, right,
what are the main theories?
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Speculation pretty much breaks down into two main camps. First,
you've got the external rivals, Okay, maybe remnants of the
Collabrian and drawing Getta finally getting revenge, or maybe newer
ambitious groups could be various ethnicities finally feeling strong enough
to take out the Sicilian anchor and grab Montreal's lucrative
drug trade, construction and rackets. Everything makes sense.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
What's the other camp?
Speaker 2 (24:02):
Inside betrayal, which is maybe even more tragic. The theory
that former trusted allies, maybe even captains within the Zuto
organization itself, turned on the family once Vito was out
of the picture, seeing a chance to take over that
clean professional sniper hit suggests really good intelligence planning. Someone
knew his routine, the lay of the house, the security
(24:23):
weaknesses points towards someone with significant inside knowledge, maybe a
major internal power player making their move. We still don't
know for sure.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
So nik Lo is assassinated. The stage is set for
Vito Rizuto's return from US prison in twenty twelve, but
he comes back to what a kingdom in ruins.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
Totally devastated. His father murdered, his son, murdered, his key,
allies gone, his organization frashured and bleeding money, his own
finances probably severely hit. He walked back into a disaster zone.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
If anyone thought Vito would just you know, come back,
mourn and fade away quietly.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
The fundamentally misunderstood the man, and they fundamentally misunderstood the
Sicilian code of honor and vengeance. Vita Risuto came back angry,
and he launched this incredibly targeted, bloody and remarkably swift
campaign of.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Revenge, designed to do what just kill people.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Designed to restore the family's authority through absolute fear, to
reclaim the Risuto name's power.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
Can we talk about the scope of that revenge. The
sources make it sound like it was brutally fast and effective.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
Oh, absolutely ruthless. Within a pretty short timeframe after he
got back, a chilling number of people suspected of either
betrayed the family or just taking advantage of the chaos
while he was gone, they started turning up dead methodically,
very methodically. These weren't random hits. They were surgical strikes
against former associates, rivals who got too bold. Even reports
of hits against mobsters linked to the Bananos back in
(25:47):
New York, who Veto might have suspected, okayed the attacks
on his family, or at least didn't stop them. Wow.
His message was crystal clear. I'm back. The Rizzuto name
means something again. Get back in line, or you're next.
He had to restore the family's honor at their honor,
and in that world often that means spilling blood.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
But even a successful revenge tour can't last forever. The
final chapter of the Zzuto dynasty itself closes really abruptly,
doesn't it. Vita Risuto dies not by the gun, but.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Yeah, natural causes, reportedly lung cancer. December twenty three, twenty thirteen.
He was sixty seven.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
The irony there is just stagger.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
It's deeply profound, isn't it. The patriarch Nicolo survives decades
of mafia war's plots, builds this empire through caution, gets
taken out by a sniper's bullet in his kitchen. The
crown Prince Veto launches this bloody revenge campaign, stares down
death constantly, and then dies relatively peacefully in a hospital bed.
(26:45):
His death really closed the book. The reign of the
King and the Crown Prince. It was over leaving the
Montreal underworld once again in a state of flux of chaos.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
So when we wrap this up Nicola Rizzuto's life, it
is this mass of contradiction, isn't it. He's this fiercely
loyal family patriarch, apparently loved his family deeply, But he
was also the architect of this huge criminal machine built
on silence, fear, cunning. What's the lasting legacy of Don Niccolo.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Well, to really get why he was successful for so long,
you have to go back to that core identity, that
Sicilian mafia code he lived by. His whole method was
the complete opposite of the flashy gangster stereotype we often see.
It was all about respect, strict hierarchy, and above all discretion,
all maritime. He mastered that art of quiet, almost invisible control.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
The sources mentioned he rarely even raised his voice, preferred
handling problems privately. That fits with that old Sicilian idea
words first, bullet second, avoid escalation if you can.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
That's the absolute essence of Nicola's leadership style. He valued
stability over chaos. Why because stability meant predictable, steady income.
His method was so effective. He really perfected that mafia
art of being feared without being hated, at least by
those who played by his rules. Okay, he commanded respect
(28:00):
because he was cautious, he was consistent, he was predictable.
If you operated within his boundaries, paid your dues, you
were generally safe. If you crossed him, well, the consequences
might be slow in coming, but they were inevitably lethal.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
And his impact on Montreal itself, it was transformative, wasn't it.
He didn't just take over, He basically re engineered the
entire criminal structure of the city.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Oh completely. He took Montreal's underworld from that often chaotic,
fragmented Calabrian battleground of the Cotroni days and turned it
into this structured, highly centralized Sicilian style organization. That transformation
brought decades of frankly immense wealth and relative underworld stability. Anyway,
(28:40):
under his quiet command, he created this operational template that
others definitely tried to copy, but few ever matched his
level of international reach and quiet control.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
And even now, years after his death, years after Vito's death,
the Rizzuto name itself it still casts a long shadow
over Montreal, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (28:57):
It definitely does. The power structure he built is gone.
I wind it now much weaker, but the legacy, the name,
it endures. You go to Montreal's little Italy today, Salle
in Art, where the family's roots were deepest. Whispers of
Donic Low still linger, and the cafe is the social clubs.
The name still commands this historical weight, respect, fear, maybe
a bit of both. He achieved that kind of mythical
(29:17):
status partly because he just ruled for so long and
with such unwavering quiet.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Authority and law enforcement they clearly saw him as different too,
not just another mob boss. They recognized his almost unique
ability to stay out of prison for most of his life.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
Yeah, they spent decades trying to build a solid case
trying to dismantle his operation. Their view, ultimately was that
Nicola Rizzuto was kind of the ultimate untouchable dawn. They
saw him as this ghost, someone who managed to run
his empire with the precision of a CEO managing a
global company, but combined with the extreme caution of a
(29:53):
grand master chess player, always thinking several moves ahead of
the cops and of his rivals.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
He knew how to survive until well until the game
changed so drastically when Veto was taken out of the picture,
forcing him back into a type of bloody chaotic war.
He was probably too old and maybe too cautious to
win anymore.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
Yeah, the Rezudo story, it really serves as this profound
historical marker. The mafia structure keeps evolving, sure, and fragments
of that network are still out there operating today. But
that Golden Age, the era defined by Nikolo's quiet, commanding,
old world style of leadership, that's gone forever. His story
is just a defining chapter in Canada's crime history. It
(30:30):
symbolizes the absolute peak and then the incredibly tragic fall
of this ambitious dynasty that ultimately couldn't survive the handover
to the next generation under immense pressure.
Speaker 3 (30:39):
So the saga of Niccolo Rizzuto, it really is a
classic tragedy, isn't it played out across continents. A life
built on fierce loyalty, incredible caution, strategic cunning, only to
be completely destroyed by the very forces he manipulated for decades.
Betrayal from within, unchecked ambition from rivals, and maybe just
the changing nature of a modern globalized criminal underworld that
(31:01):
his son embraced more.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
Than he did. And that really raises a fascinating question,
I think for you the listener to mull over after
hearing all this, how much of Nicola Rizuto's incredible, decades
long success was completely dependent on sticking rigidly to that
old world Sicilian code, the discretion, the caution, keeping things
relatively localized and under wraps right. And conversely, did his son,
(31:23):
Vito's more modern, more global approach, his need to expand,
to deal directly with the Americans, to become more visible.
Did that ultimately make the family too exposed? Did Veto's
ambition in a way accelerate their destruction? Maybe that old
quiet way was the only way to sustain that kind
of power secretly for so long.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
A fascinating thought. Did the father's caution build it only
for the son's ambition to inadvertently help tear it down?
Something to definitely think about.
Okay, So when most of us, you know, try to
picture the mafia, our minds usually jumped straight to the movies.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Yeah. Absolutely, you think smoky back rooms in Brooklyn, maybe
the streets of Chicago, maybe a little Italy somewhere south
of the border.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Exactly. We're totally conditioned, I think, to connect organized crime
with like New York's Five Families or al Capone's outfit.
It feels very American, almost exclusively, and.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Well that usual picture. Yeah, it completely misses one of
the most powerful, really sophisticated, and you could argue one
of the most tragic crime empires in North American history. Okay,
and this one it flourished in naturally crashed not in
New York but up north yea, in Montreal, Canada.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Montreal. Okay, let's definitely unpack this because the sources we've
pulled together, they paint this picture of just wow, extraordinary ambition.
So today we're doing a deep dive into the life,
the times, everything about Nicola Risuto. People knew him as
Nick or sometimes you know the bit more way down
Rezut that's.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
The one the Sicilian patriarch came over to Canada, didn't
just like join the club. He built his own dynasty
from basically nothing, and he dominated Montreal for decades, achieved
this almost mythical status in the underworld.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
So our mission today for you listening is to trace
Rizzuto's whole story from his roots in Sicily poverty.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
There all the way through migrations, his ruthless ambition, the strategies.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
And then well the brutal tragedy that really shadowed his
life and eventually just tore his family structure apart.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Yeah, basically, this deep dive, it's your shortcut to understanding
this guy a really pivotal figure honestly in North American
crime history, someone who for a long time held more
sway in Canadian organized crime than well anyone else.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Now, let's just flag a few key themes right up front,
because it's a complex story spans generations. We're definitely tracking
a major power shift violent too.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Oh yeah, the established collaborating control, how it got pushed
out by this newer, more let's say, centralized Sicilian structure
Zzuto brought in.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
And crucially we need to dig into the strategic differences
between the father and son. Nicolo the old guard.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Right, cautious, very Sicilian in his.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Way versus his son Veto, who was more like the
modern diplomat, light global view.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Exactly understanding that dynamic, that tension may be synergy. It's
key to figuring out how the Rezuda's got so successful.
Maybe why fill apart?
Speaker 1 (02:26):
And then finally, yeah, we have to dissect the violence
at the end, it was.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Shocking, brutal.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
The Risuto story really shows how even the most carefully
built empires, you know, ones based on decades of loyalty, cunning,
they can still just crumble. Ambition, power, vacuums, betrayal. It's
all in that.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
It's a potent mix.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
So to really get how a man could build orchestrate
this massive criminal operation, you got to start at the beginning.
His foundation, his origins. Mikoelo Rizzuto born February eighteen, nineteen
twenty four, Katulka, Ericlea. That's a town in Ogridgento, in Sicily.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
In that place, Hydrigento. It's important it wasn't Palermo or
some big city. It was rural, agrarian. So like a
lot of Sicilians back then, especially born before World War Two,
Rizzuto grew up kind of steeped in this duality. On
one hand grinding poverty. On the other the mafia its
quiet presence.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
So the sources they make it pretty clear that these
men of honor, they weren't just distant figures. They were
like woven into the local fabric, right part of the
social order. How does that kind of environment shape a
young guy like Nicolo?
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Fundamentally, it just ingrains a specific code, you know, omertas silence,
absolute loyalty, respect for the hierarchy, and discretion maybe above
all else In that world, the mafia was almost like
a shadow government. It offered protection, maybe a form of
justice where the official state often well didn't. So Nicola
learned really early that real power didn't come from being
(03:53):
loud or flashy. It came from quiet, consistent authority, and
that code that became his operating manual later on.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Okay, so World War two hits, Europe's wrecked Southern Italy,
especially jobs forget about it, hope pretty scarce too, Yeah,
tough time. So young Nicolo faces this choice stay in
Sicily and basically farm poverty, or look overseas, try his
luck somewhere else, which brings us to the first big move,
(04:19):
the first migration nineteen fifty four, and.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
The choice he makes here is well strategically fascinating, I
think because he doesn't head straight for North America, which
was the more common route for Italians. Then way did
he owe Venezuela.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Venezuela Okay, I wouldn't have guessed that, right.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
It was part of this maybe less documented wave of
Italian immigration into South America in the fifties.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
So when he gets to Caracas, is he just trying
to lay low find work or is he already like
plugging into the underworld network. What were his early moves like.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Well, he was definitely a strategist even then. Laying groundwork publicly, Yeah,
he worked in construction trade seemed normal enough to suggest
these were probably cover jobs because Venezuela, like some other
South American countries, already had this established community of Italian
expats Sicilians specifically, So for Rizuto, Venezuela was like a
(05:14):
training ground, a crucible. He was forging connections there, learning
how international movement work. He wasn't just learning cash, he
was vetting people, figuring out logistics across borders, building the
reputation he'd need for the next, much bigger step.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Okay, So four years in Venezuela, building contacts, learning the ropes.
Then comes the really defining move nineteen fifty eight. He
relocates destination Montreal, Canada. Why Montreal? What was the poll?
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Well, Montreal was booming then huge post war expansion, and
it was becoming a massive hub for Italian immigrants. So
it offered both anentity you know, you could blend in,
but also tremendous economic opportunity, both legit and not so legit.
The city was basically fertile ground waiting for someone like him.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
This move, crucially, he brings his family. This wasn't just
him scouting, This was planting roots exactly.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
That lays the entire foundation. He brought his wife, Libertina
Mono and his young son Vito, who becomes incredibly important later.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Yeah, we'll get to Vito.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
So the family's rival in Montreal. It gives him immediate
access to that growing Italian community, especially in the San
Lordard neighborhood that became his power base, his turf. Pretty much.
This relocation let him start building his own thing, separate
from the old country's politics maybe, but still totally plugged
into that powerful Sicilian code he'd already mastered. He'd found
(06:34):
his city.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
So Rizzuto lands in Montreal in fifty eight. But the
city's underworld. It wasn't exactly an empty playground, was it.
He walked into a situation where power was already established territorial.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Oh, absolutely not empty. He was stepping into a pretty
dangerous environment. Actually, yeah, and it was dominated by the
Calabrian mafia.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Okay, Callabrian not Sicilian. That's a cute distinction, vigal.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
The Calabrian mafia is known as the Entering and back
then Montreal was firmly controlled by the Katroni crime family
led by Vincenzo Cotroni known as Vic and his powerful
lieutenant was Palovioli. They've been running things for decades, iron grip.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
So here comes Nicola rizzutto the Sicilian into a city
run by Calabrians. That just screams conflict waiting to happen.
But let's pause on that. You mentioned the difference Cosinostri
Sicilian versus Endringetta Calabrian. What's the core philosophical clash there.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Yeah, that's one of the really key insights from the sources.
Nicoloa Rizzuto brought the philosophy of the Sicilian cosonostera literally
our thing right and that structure. Generally, it's based on
a more formalized hierarchy, families, controlling territories, maybe a central
commission in theory at least more structure.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
And the Calabrians than in druing Getta.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Historically, the Enduring Data is often seen as structured more
around blood ties, kinship, tightly knit clans, or alding Green
often very localized. Okay, so when Nicola showed up bringing
that Sicilian mindset, he just wasn't wired to be a
soldier under a Calabrian boss. The Sicilian code demanded respect, sovereignty,
his own space. He probably saw the Calabrian setup as powerful, sure,
(08:10):
but maybe less centralized, less efficient than the Ghost and
Doster model he envisioned.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
So he doesn't just roll in and start shooting. The
sources emphasize this approach was incredibly patient, a quiet build
that must have driven the Katronis nuts eventually.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Oh absolutely, Patience was maybe his greatest weapon early on
discretion too, Yeah, he understood the power of shared identity.
He didn't directly challenge the Katranis for like almost a.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Decade, wow, a decade.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Yeah, Instead, he worked quietly within the Saint Leonard neighborhood,
connecting with all the new Sicilian immigrants flooding in. He
used those shared roots, the language, that code of loyalty
to build his own parallel network, reliable people, and that
network that became the foundation of the Rizzuto family structure,
(08:57):
growing right under the noses of the Kaleirian bosses.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
So this quiet pressure cooker it finally boils over in
the nineteen seventies the Montreal mafia war kicks off, and
the immediate spark was it basically the arrogance of the
old guard, the Katronis.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Pretty much as Nikolo's influence his wealth started to grow,
the Cotronian leadership, especially Paulo Violi, saw him as a threat,
someone who needed to be put back in his place,
which meant, you know, being subservient to them. Violi clearly
massively misjudged Risuto, misjudged his ambition, the strength of his network,
and the war that followed it was brutal, bloody, an
(09:32):
internal fight to decide which culture Sicilian or Collabrian, and
which family Risuto or Cotroni would rule organized crime in Canada.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
And what's really striking is the method Rizuto side used.
It wasn't just chaotic violence. It was calculated, surgical almost.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Yeah, it totally reflects that Sicilian philosophy. Cut off the head,
the body dies. They waited picked their moments. Fioli, trying
to assert dominance just made him the most visible target.
So the Risuto faction focused on decapitation, taking out the leadership.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Let's get specific. Palavioli's assassination in nineteen seventy eight, that's
the turning point.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
That's the moment Rizzuto goes from being a threat to
being the new power. Violi was gunned down just like that,
while drinking espresso in his favorite cafe, a place he
probably felt totally safe, and the location matters. It showed
the Rezuto factions reached their confidence. It wasn't some messy
back alley hit. It was precise, calculated, designed to send
(10:27):
a terrifying message. We can get you anywhere, anytime, No
place is safe.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
And the ruthlessness didn't stop with Violi. It was a
systematic cleanup, wasn't it.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Oh? Absolutely systematic. The sources detail how Violi's brothers were
targeted soon after met similar ends. This wasn't just revengo
with strategy eliminate anyone in the leadership capable of fighting back,
of rallying the Calabrian forces, so.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Taking out the top command key lieutenants one after another
in quick succession.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Exactly by doing that, Nicola Rizzuto effectively dismantled the Coatroni
Empire and installed his Zone Sicilian regime.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
So by the early nineteen eighties, the war is over,
the Calabrian dominance is broken, and the Sicilian Razuto family
is in charge. Quietly but totally.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
The transformation was complete. They didn't just win, they fundamentally
changed how things operated. Montreal's underworld shifted from that more
localized kinship based Calabrium model to this more hierarchical, centralized
operation folcus on efficiency, international connections, pure cosin nostra style,
Rezutto style.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Okay, so the Calabrians are out of the picture. The
Zzuto family steps into the void, and this kicks off
what law enforcement later called their golden age, Nicolo's consolidated power.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Now the organization starts operating on a really different level, right, sophisticated, Yeah, multinational.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Yeah, this is where they really take off structurally. They
became this kind of international bridge. The Zutos were now
the undisputed and highly respected Canadian arm of the Sicilian mafia.
So direct lines back to Sicily, direct formalized working connections
to powerful clans back in Palermo Corleoni, real heavy hitters, and.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
That distinction being like an extension of the Sicilian mafia,
not just an ally, that must have been a massive
strategic advantage. How did that connection actually play out in
their day to day criminal business? It was the engine,
absolutely the engine of their wealth. That transatlantic link let
them bridge North America, South America and Europe. Primarily for
their main business, drug trafficking. They specialized in moving huge
(12:28):
quantities of heroin cocaine, and they heavily utilized what became
known as the Pizza Connection routes very notorious.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
We hear that named Pizza Connection a lot, but for listeners,
what exactly was it? What made it so infamous?
Speaker 2 (12:41):
It was about the scale really and the seamless logistics.
The Pizza Connection wasn't just a catchy name. It described
as incredibly complex, multi billion dollar operation. Mostly in the
seventies and eighties, Okay, heroin was sourced in Asia traffic
through Sicily, often involving allies like the Contrari Karwana clan,
who were huge players and then channeled into North America.
(13:02):
New York and Montreal were key entry points. Then the
drug money had to be laundered sent back.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Clean through front businesses, pizza parlor's being a.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Favorite exactly hence the name. It sounds almost cliche, but
it worked. The Rizutos were absolutely crucial facilitators on the
Canadian end of this global pipeline, moving product, moving money.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Okay, so narcotics are the big international game, but what
about locally? What was the everyday bread and butter keeping
the cash flowing in Montreal?
Speaker 2 (13:30):
They ran sophisticated rackets right there at home. Illegal gambling
rings were huge, strategically placed in Montreal's Italian neighborhoods, generated constant,
reliable cash. H Then you had financial crimes, large scale
loan sharking, shylocking, and complex money laundering schemes. They needed
ways to constantly wash that massive drug money feeded into
(13:53):
legitimate businesses to hide where it really came from.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
And they were smart enough to weave themselves into the
legal economy too, right, not just street construction unions.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
That's where their influence became really systemic. By getting control
over key union leaders influencing government contract bids, they could
steer lucrative construction projects to companies they controlled, or companies
that paid them.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Kickback, creating a self feeding loop.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Exactly. The legitimate and illegitimate just blurred together perfectly, made
it incredibly hard for law enforcement to untangle it all
and target the core operation. Nikola was basically running a
shadow economy alongside the real one.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
We also absolutely have to talk about the American connection,
the alliance with the Banano crime family in New York
that really elevated the Rezutas, put them in the major
leagues internationally.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Yeah, that was the necessary step to cement their global prestige.
You could say the Bananos recognized how strategically important the
Razutos were controlling the Canadian border, that unique pipeline back
to Sicily. Okay, this alliance made them a major player
on the world stage. But this is huge looking back,
It instantly brought massive risk. It put them directly in
(15:04):
the crosshairs of US federal agencies, and that scrutiny well,
it would eventually be their undoing.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Which leads us perfectly into this fascinating father son dynamic.
It seems core to their success and maybe their fall.
Niccolo the father, He's the traditionalist, right, the old guard.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Niccolo was the bedrock, the foundation. He was discreet, always cautious,
deeply rooted in those Sicilian customs he brought over. His
focus was mainly on keeping order stability within Montreal local
affairs okay. His leadership was built on respect earned over
decades of patient, quiet strategy. He was the absolute authority,
(15:41):
but quiet about it, making sure the rules were followed,
the money floats smoothly.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
And then there's Veto the son, the indispensable other half
of the equations.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Vidau was the modern face, the diplomat educated, multilingual, very
business savvy. He wasn't bound by the same old world
traditions as his father. Vito was the guy comfortable operating
across continents. He could schmooze with drug cartels down in Venezuela,
coordinate logistics with the New York families, negotiate with connections
in Europe. While Niccolo managed the local ship, Vito was
(16:11):
like the international CEO, expanding the brand.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
And that combined approach it transformed the Rezudo organization into
something really unique, didn't it? Something law enforcement definitely noticed.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Oh absolutely, They weren't seen as just another local gang.
Law enforcement informally dubbed them the sixth Family. Wow, Yeah,
basically recognizing that their strategic reach, their centralized power, was
on par with New York's traditional Five Families. Their success
was totally built on that combination, the father's old world
caution the son's modern global ambition. It worked for a
(16:45):
long time, so.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
For like two decades they operate with this dual sophistication,
Niccolo holding down Montreal, Vito expanding globally. It probably seemed
like they were untouchable for a while. Yeah, but Empires
built on crimes, especially the drug trade. They eventually attracted
serious heat right and the early two thousands that seems
to be when the focus really shifted. Law enforcement got
much more aggressive.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
The whole game was changing. Then international cooperation between agencies
like the FBI and the US and the RCMP up
in Canada, it really ramped up. They started specifically targeting
the Rizzuto's cross border drug networks, especially those vital links
to the Bonano family. That alliance became a vulnerability, and.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
This leads us right to the event that really triggered
the whole downfall. The catalyst Vito Rizzuto's extradition in two
thousand and four.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Yeah, that was a tipping point.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
And get this, he was extradited for a crime that
happened way back in nineteen eighty one, twenty three years earlier.
That shows you how seriously the US authorities viewed him
going back that far.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
It really underscores the reach the long memory of American justice,
doesn't it. Vito was wanted for his alleged part in
the murders of three Banano captains back in eighty one
Alfunts Sunny Red Indlocado, Philip Philly, Lucky Giacconi and Dominic
Big Trinchera.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
The three captains hit infamous.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Yeah, a huge event during the Banano internal war in
New York. The fact that Veto, operating seemingly safely up
in Canada was implicated in these internal New York mafia
politics and then extradited years later, it proves his role
wasn't minor. He wasn't just some Canadian. Ally, the US
saw him as a key player, even an executioner, in
major American mob business.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
So Veto gets shipped off to the US, even if
it was potentially temporary. His absence created this immediate, devastating
power vacuum back in Montreal. The sources suggest that whole,
carefully built structure just started to crumble almost instantly.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Yeah, the organization was built on that synergy. You know,
Nicolo's old school authority plus Veto's modern global reach. Take
Veto out of the equation, even just physically removing him
to a US prison. That balance is gone shattered, and.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
The wolves started circling pretty much immediately.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Old rivals, maybe guys who'd been nursing grudges against Niccolo
for years they saw their chance, Ambitious guys within the organization,
maybe feeling they deserved a bigger piece of the pie.
They sensed weakness at the top. The whole thing started
to splinter, factions formed, It just descended into chaos, slowly
at first, then faster.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
And what came next was just this brutal series of hits,
calculated blows aimed right at the heart of the Rizzuto clan.
Between roughly two thousand and six and twenty ten. This
wasn't just business anymore. This felt personal, designed to destroy
them psychologically.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Oh, the campaign against the Rizutos during those years was
utterly relentless, and you're right, it was calculated to inflate
maximum pain, maximum dishonor the absolute worst blow psychologically, the
one that really proved nobody.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Was safe his grandson.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Yeah, the murder of Niccolo Rizzuto Junior, Nicolo's grandson, Vito's
own son in December two thousand and nine, shot dead
in broad daylight on the street God killing the grandson,
the presumed air apparent in public like that. Yeah, it
was an explicit declaration of war, a massive sign of
disrespect aimed directly at the old patriarch, Niccolo and the
(19:58):
imprisoned Veto.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
And it was wasn't just the direct Risuto bloodline being
targeted key allies, the guys who held the whole structure
together financially and operationally. They started disappearing.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Too, exactly figures who were essential cogs in the machine. Paulorinda,
Nicolo's sen in law, basically the family concili Air handled
the money. Uh. He vanished in twenty ten, presumed murdered
body never found. Agostino Contrera, another powerful old school guy
with deep Sicilian ties, a major player, also executed around
(20:28):
the same time. Montreal just turned back into this dangerous,
fragmented battleground, kind of ironically mirroring the violence Niccolo himself
used decades earlier to take power shootings, bombings. They became
common again as different factions scrambled for control in the
vacuum veto last.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
And office chaos is swirling around the old Don Niccolo.
He's in his late eighties by now, watching his empire crumble,
his family decimated, desperately trying to hold it together.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
It's just tragic, isn't it. Niccolo Risuto the Untouchable Dawn,
famous for his caution, but he wasn't totally immune to
the law himself over the years. Yeah, it's worth mentioning.
You know, he actually did a short prison stint back
in the eighties in Venezuela. Interestingly enough, what cocaine trafficking,
which just highlights again those deep South American connections he
built way back.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
But the story that really speaks volumes about his old
world caution and just the sheer scale of the cash
he was handling. It's that police raid in the early
two thousands, right, Oh.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Yeah, that raid is a fantastic detail. Really brings the
sources to life. When the Canadian police searched his mansion.
They weren't just finding cash in a safe, you know,
they seized over a million dollars in Canadian currency, meticulously
hidden inside the walls and the ceiling tiles of his house.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Wow, inside the walls.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Yeah, that's not just keeping some emergency cash on hand.
That's deep old school paranoia, total distrust of banks, a
need to have massive liquid assets physically secured within the
foundations of his own home. Even this guy, operating like
a CEO, still stuck to those old ways of hiding wealth.
But despite all that caution, the violence was closing in.
(22:02):
He couldn't hide from.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
That, which brings us to the final unthinkable blow, the
symbolic end. November tenth, twenty ten, Nicola or Zuto is
eighty six years old, still the patriarch, still that quiet
authority figure, but clearly his authority wasn't what it used
to be.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Yeah. The details of his assassination are just chilling because
the sheer audacity, the clinical precision of it. It happened
around five point forty PM in his own Montreal mansion,
a place he must have thought was his fortress. He
was standing in his kitchen and a sniper hidden somewhere outside,
maybe in the woods behind the house, fired one shot,
just one through a window, possibly double pine glass, unbelievable,
(22:41):
struck him in the neck, killed him instantly.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
And the personal dimension here, it's horrific. It was deliberate.
He was killed right there in front of his wife, Libertina.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Yeah, that was an accidental killing him in his own home,
in his kitchen, in front of his wife. It was
more than just an assassination. It was a profound act
of humiliation, a statement that all the old rules, the
respect for the dawn in his own home, none of
that applied anymore. Total violations.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
So the symbolism is huge. What's the analysis there.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Well, the method itself, that cold calculated sniper shot, it's
been incredibly symbolic. This wasn't a messy street hit like
some desperate gang warshooting. This was professional, clinical. It communicated
one stark message to everyone, especially to Vito locked up
in the US. The Nicola Rizzuto era is over officially violently.
The power vacuum wasn't just there, it was now sealed
(23:31):
in blood.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
And even today, who actually ordered that hit. It's still
one of the biggest mysteries in Canadian crime history, right,
what are the main theories?
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Speculation pretty much breaks down into two main camps. First,
you've got the external rivals, Okay, maybe remnants of the
Collabrian and drawing Getta finally getting revenge, or maybe newer
ambitious groups could be various ethnicities finally feeling strong enough
to take out the Sicilian anchor and grab Montreal's lucrative
drug trade, construction and rackets. Everything makes sense.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
What's the other camp?
Speaker 2 (24:02):
Inside betrayal, which is maybe even more tragic. The theory
that former trusted allies, maybe even captains within the Zuto
organization itself, turned on the family once Vito was out
of the picture, seeing a chance to take over that
clean professional sniper hit suggests really good intelligence planning. Someone
knew his routine, the lay of the house, the security
(24:23):
weaknesses points towards someone with significant inside knowledge, maybe a
major internal power player making their move. We still don't
know for sure.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
So nik Lo is assassinated. The stage is set for
Vito Rizuto's return from US prison in twenty twelve, but
he comes back to what a kingdom in ruins.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
Totally devastated. His father murdered, his son, murdered, his key,
allies gone, his organization frashured and bleeding money, his own
finances probably severely hit. He walked back into a disaster zone.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
If anyone thought Vito would just you know, come back,
mourn and fade away quietly.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
The fundamentally misunderstood the man, and they fundamentally misunderstood the
Sicilian code of honor and vengeance. Vita Risuto came back angry,
and he launched this incredibly targeted, bloody and remarkably swift
campaign of.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Revenge, designed to do what just kill people.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Designed to restore the family's authority through absolute fear, to
reclaim the Risuto name's power.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
Can we talk about the scope of that revenge. The
sources make it sound like it was brutally fast and effective.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
Oh, absolutely ruthless. Within a pretty short timeframe after he
got back, a chilling number of people suspected of either
betrayed the family or just taking advantage of the chaos
while he was gone, they started turning up dead methodically,
very methodically. These weren't random hits. They were surgical strikes
against former associates, rivals who got too bold. Even reports
of hits against mobsters linked to the Bananos back in
(25:47):
New York, who Veto might have suspected, okayed the attacks
on his family, or at least didn't stop them. Wow.
His message was crystal clear. I'm back. The Rizzuto name
means something again. Get back in line, or you're next.
He had to restore the family's honor at their honor,
and in that world often that means spilling blood.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
But even a successful revenge tour can't last forever. The
final chapter of the Zzuto dynasty itself closes really abruptly,
doesn't it. Vita Risuto dies not by the gun, but.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Yeah, natural causes, reportedly lung cancer. December twenty three, twenty thirteen.
He was sixty seven.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
The irony there is just stagger.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
It's deeply profound, isn't it. The patriarch Nicolo survives decades
of mafia war's plots, builds this empire through caution, gets
taken out by a sniper's bullet in his kitchen. The
crown Prince Veto launches this bloody revenge campaign, stares down
death constantly, and then dies relatively peacefully in a hospital bed.
(26:45):
His death really closed the book. The reign of the
King and the Crown Prince. It was over leaving the
Montreal underworld once again in a state of flux of chaos.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
So when we wrap this up Nicola Rizzuto's life, it
is this mass of contradiction, isn't it. He's this fiercely
loyal family patriarch, apparently loved his family deeply, But he
was also the architect of this huge criminal machine built
on silence, fear, cunning. What's the lasting legacy of Don Niccolo.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Well, to really get why he was successful for so long,
you have to go back to that core identity, that
Sicilian mafia code he lived by. His whole method was
the complete opposite of the flashy gangster stereotype we often see.
It was all about respect, strict hierarchy, and above all discretion,
all maritime. He mastered that art of quiet, almost invisible control.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
The sources mentioned he rarely even raised his voice, preferred
handling problems privately. That fits with that old Sicilian idea
words first, bullet second, avoid escalation if you can.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
That's the absolute essence of Nicola's leadership style. He valued
stability over chaos. Why because stability meant predictable, steady income.
His method was so effective. He really perfected that mafia
art of being feared without being hated, at least by
those who played by his rules. Okay, he commanded respect
(28:00):
because he was cautious, he was consistent, he was predictable.
If you operated within his boundaries, paid your dues, you
were generally safe. If you crossed him, well, the consequences
might be slow in coming, but they were inevitably lethal.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
And his impact on Montreal itself, it was transformative, wasn't it.
He didn't just take over, He basically re engineered the
entire criminal structure of the city.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Oh completely. He took Montreal's underworld from that often chaotic,
fragmented Calabrian battleground of the Cotroni days and turned it
into this structured, highly centralized Sicilian style organization. That transformation
brought decades of frankly immense wealth and relative underworld stability. Anyway,
(28:40):
under his quiet command, he created this operational template that
others definitely tried to copy, but few ever matched his
level of international reach and quiet control.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
And even now, years after his death, years after Vito's death,
the Rizzuto name itself it still casts a long shadow
over Montreal, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (28:57):
It definitely does. The power structure he built is gone.
I wind it now much weaker, but the legacy, the name,
it endures. You go to Montreal's little Italy today, Salle
in Art, where the family's roots were deepest. Whispers of
Donic Low still linger, and the cafe is the social clubs.
The name still commands this historical weight, respect, fear, maybe
a bit of both. He achieved that kind of mythical
(29:17):
status partly because he just ruled for so long and
with such unwavering quiet.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Authority and law enforcement they clearly saw him as different too,
not just another mob boss. They recognized his almost unique
ability to stay out of prison for most of his life.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
Yeah, they spent decades trying to build a solid case
trying to dismantle his operation. Their view, ultimately was that
Nicola Rizzuto was kind of the ultimate untouchable dawn. They
saw him as this ghost, someone who managed to run
his empire with the precision of a CEO managing a
global company, but combined with the extreme caution of a
(29:53):
grand master chess player, always thinking several moves ahead of
the cops and of his rivals.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
He knew how to survive until well until the game
changed so drastically when Veto was taken out of the picture,
forcing him back into a type of bloody chaotic war.
He was probably too old and maybe too cautious to
win anymore.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
Yeah, the Rezudo story, it really serves as this profound
historical marker. The mafia structure keeps evolving, sure, and fragments
of that network are still out there operating today. But
that Golden Age, the era defined by Nikolo's quiet, commanding,
old world style of leadership, that's gone forever. His story
is just a defining chapter in Canada's crime history. It
(30:30):
symbolizes the absolute peak and then the incredibly tragic fall
of this ambitious dynasty that ultimately couldn't survive the handover
to the next generation under immense pressure.
Speaker 3 (30:39):
So the saga of Niccolo Rizzuto, it really is a
classic tragedy, isn't it played out across continents. A life
built on fierce loyalty, incredible caution, strategic cunning, only to
be completely destroyed by the very forces he manipulated for decades.
Betrayal from within, unchecked ambition from rivals, and maybe just
the changing nature of a modern globalized criminal underworld that
(31:01):
his son embraced more.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
Than he did. And that really raises a fascinating question,
I think for you the listener to mull over after
hearing all this, how much of Nicola Rizuto's incredible, decades
long success was completely dependent on sticking rigidly to that
old world Sicilian code, the discretion, the caution, keeping things
relatively localized and under wraps right. And conversely, did his son,
(31:23):
Vito's more modern, more global approach, his need to expand,
to deal directly with the Americans, to become more visible.
Did that ultimately make the family too exposed? Did Veto's
ambition in a way accelerate their destruction? Maybe that old
quiet way was the only way to sustain that kind
of power secretly for so long.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
A fascinating thought. Did the father's caution build it only
for the son's ambition to inadvertently help tear it down?
Something to definitely think about.
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