Montreal Mafioso is victim of daylight hit

Agostino Cuntrera, 66, leading member of the Montreal Mafia, was murdered Tuesday in a daylight shooting at his east-end Montreal restaurant, according to a report by CTV of Canada. Also killed in the attack was Cuntrera's 48-year-old bodyguard.
    A black Chevrolet Impala was observed fleeing the scene. Police arrested two men in a similar automobile. One of the them was released.
    Authorities say Cuntrera took over command of the Sicilian criminal society in Montreal following the U.S. jailing of boss Vito Rizzuto for racketeering murders in Brooklyn. In December, Rizzuto's son Nick was shot to death in a daylight hit in Montreal's Notre Dame de Grace District. Paolo Renda, 70, a Rizzuto in-law who considered a top adviser to the Rizzuto organization, disappeared in May.
    A Calabrian underworld organization is widely believed responsible for the attacks on the Sicilian Rizzuto organization. The Rizzutos reportedly came to power in Montreal by eliminating a local Calabrian boss.
    Cuntrera was born in Sicily in 1944 and settled in Canada by 1965. He aided the Rizzuto clan as it established itself in Montreal. Cuntrera served five years in prison after being convicted of conspiring in the 1978 murder of Calabrian gang boss Paolo Violi.

Lake Ontario victim was not Renda

Montreal Mafioso Paolo Renda remains missing. A body pulled Sunday from Lake Ontario was identified today as Quang Li, 47, a Thornhill, Ontario, resident who has been missing since 2007, according to a story by Katherine Wilson of the Montreal Gazette. Renda, a top man in the Rizzuto Mafia and a brother-in-law of reputed boss Vito Rizzuto, was reported missing on Thursday. His car was found near his home, its windows down and its key still in the ignition. Rizzuto is imprisoned in the U.S. Rizzuto's son Nick was shot to death in December. Canadian officials believe the Rizzuto organization is under siege by another underworld organization. The body of Quang Li was found encased in concrete within a rusty steel oil drum.

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

Canada adds conditions to Renda release

As 70-year-old Montreal Mafioso Paolo Renda was paroled in mid-February, authorities added conditions to his release, according to a story by Paul Cherry of the Montreal Gazette. Renda, who was jailed in October 2008 for possession of the proceeds of crime, will be closely watched due to the recent murder of his nephew and godson Nicolo "Nick" Rizzuto.

An official report states, "Unfortunate events took place on Dec. 28, 2009, during which your godson was killed, and Correctional Service of Canada fears reprisals on the part of Italian organized crime. A tighter framework is recommended to assure public safety."

Renda is married to the sister of reputed Montreal Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto, 63. The murdered Nick Rizzuto was Vito Rizzuto's son. Nick was shot to death in Notre Dame de Grace on Dec. 28. The killing is unsolved.

Nicolo Rizzuto, 5 others, plead guilty in Canada

Six alleged leaders of the Montreal Mafia pleaded guilty today to racketeering-related offenses, according to stories by the Globe and Mail and the Montreal Gazette. One of the six defendants was Nicolo Rizzuto, 84-year-old father of reputed Montreal Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto.

The other defendants pleading guilty were Rocco Sollecito, Paolo Renda (a Rizzuto in-law), Francesco Arcadi, Francesco DelBalso and Lorenzo Giordano. Prosecutors say the six men supervised the activities of the Montreal Mafia since 2004, when Vito Rizzuto was imprisoned. The six will be sentenced next month.

Nicolo Rizzuto and Paolo Renda, 69, pleaded guilty to possession of the proceeds of crime and to possession of the proceeds of crime for the benefit of, the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization. Arcadi, 54, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, overseeing drug smuggling and trafficking, bookmaking and illegal gambling. DelBalso, 38, and Giordano, 45, pleaded to the same charge as Arcadi, plus extortion.

The men were arrested as part of Project Colisée, a four-year drug trafficking investigation which resulted in more than 70 arrests in November 2006.