Concrete-encased body may be Renda's

There is widespread speculation that a concrete-encased body drawn May 23 from Toronto's harbor on Lake Ontario was that of Montreal Mafioso Paolo Renda, missing since last week, according to a story published the Montreal Gazette.

    Police in Montreal have contacted Toronto authorities about the remains, which were found within concrete contained in a steel oil drum. However, neither police agency would publicly comment on any connection to Renda's disappearance. Toronto Detective Justin Vander Heyden told reporters that police have "a good idea" whose body it is. He said identification by the coroner's office would take at least two to three days.
    Renda has been a high-ranking member of the Rizzuto Mafia in Montreal. He is the brother-in-law of reputed Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto, now imprisoned in the U.S. Montreal authorities believe the Rizzuto underworld clan has been under siege since the shooting death of Vito Rizzuto's son Nick last December.
    Released from prison in mid-February, Renda was last seen at 3:15 p.m. on May 20. His wife reported him missing at 6 p.m. Police found his automobile, with the windows down and the keys in the ignition, not far from his home.

Canadian authorities search for Renda

While they wonder aloud if other members of the Rizzuto family of Montreal may be in danger, Canadian authorities are searching for Paolo Renda, missing since Thursday afternoon. Renda (left), 70, is described as 5-foot-8 and 170 pounds. He has gray hair and brown eyes. When last seen, he was wearing navy blue pants and a striped shirt. Renda's car was found parked on Gouin Boulevard West near Albert Prevost Avenue, a short distance from his home on Antoine Berthelet Avenue in Montreal's Cartierville District. Authorities suspect that Renda, an in-law of the Rizzuto family and reputed consigliere of the Rizzuto Mafia organization, was abducted by a rival underworld group. They ask that anyone with information about his disappearance contact Info-Crime: 514-393-1133.

Montreal Mafia leader Renda apparently kidnapped

Paolo Renda, 70, brother-in-law of imprisoned Montreal Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto and reputed consigliere of the underworld organization, disappeared on May 20, according to stories by Paul Cherry of the Montreal Gazette and Adrian Humphries of the National Post. Renda was last seen at 3:15 p.m. His wife Maria reported him missing at 6 p.m. Authorities suspect he has been abducted and fear he may have been killed.

    The Mafia of Montreal appears to be under siege by a rival underworld organization. Nick Rizzuto, son of boss Vito Rizzuto, was shot to death Dec. 28, 2009. Authorities suspect that a Calabrian gang may have been responsible. Two men were killed in a March 18 shooting that police suspected was a retaliatory move by the Sicilian Rizzuto clan. The Rizzuto family reportedly came to power in Montreal in the 1970s, after having local Calabrian underworld boss Paolo Violi killed.
    Renda (right), jailed in October 2008 for possessing the proceeds of crime, was released from prison in mid-February. Fearing that he would become involved in a gang war, authorities placed restrictions on his release. 
    Investigating the disappearance, police found Renda's Infinity automobile near Albert-Prevost Avenue not far from his Cartierville home. The windows were open, and the keys were in the ignition. 
    The Renda and Rizzuto families have been close for many years. They share a common background in Cattolica Eraclea, in southern Sicily between Sciacca and Agrigento. Renda's wife is the sister of Vito Rizzuto, now imprisoned in the U.S. He served as godfather to Rizzuto's son Nick, who was killed in December. Renda is considered Rizzuto's right-hand man and is believed to have handled the finances of the Montreal Mafia. He was among the dozens arrested in Operation Colisee in 2006. 
    Rizzuto's father, Nicolo, was scheduled to appear in court May 21 on a five-year-old impaired driving charge. That appearance was postponed after his attorney argued that it would be too dangerous for the 86-year-old to be seen in public. Nicolo was fined in February for evading taxes on millions of dollars held in Swiss bank accounts.


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Read more about the Mafia of Montreal:
The Sixth Family: The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto 
by Adrian Humphreys and Lee Lamothe

Kidnapping shows breakdown in Mafia authority

Italian officials believe the recent kidnapping of a rich Sicilian landowner is a signal that the prestige of old line Mafia bosses is in decline, according to a story by Malcolm Moore of the UK Telegraph.

Pietro Licari, 68, was abducted last weekend near his home outside Palermo, in a blatant violation of a Mafia ban on kidnappings that dates back to the 1960s. The relatively small amount of money demanded for Licari's release and other factors have caused investigators to blame the crime on a non-Mafia gang.

According to the story, Cinisi crime boss Gaetano Badalamenti outlawed kidnappings in the late 60s. Badalamenti was later jailed in the United States for heroin trafficking. The ban was violated just once, in 1976, when a youth gang outside of the Mafia abducted a woman. The Sicilian underworld was able to persuade the gang to release the woman.