Deported killer wants to return
A suspected adviser to the Rizzuto crime family, who agreed to be deported to Italy, has done an about-face and now wants a Federal Court judge to approve his return to Canada.
Moreno Gallo, a convicted murderer and popular baker in Montreal's Little Italy neighbourhood, filed the motion days after his expulsion on Jan. 4.
The Canada Border Services Agency says Gallo has an "active implication in organized crime."
The 66-year-old had said through his lawyer that he'd rather live in Europe than face assassination amid an ongoing purge of top Rizzuto figures.
But in court documents filed in Winnipeg, Gallo says he is known as an upstanding citizen in Montreal, where he immigrated when he was nine years old.
"Our bakery employs 15 people, including members of my family," he wrote to the court. "My family and I provide donations through charities. We provide pizza to poor children and give to local campaigns. Personally I help the poor and homeless of the community. They know they can always find food and comfort in our bakery."
Gallo, from Italy's southern Calabria region, worked with the Rizzutos after an earlier affiliation with the Cotroni clan, sources tell QMI Agency. He had been under lifetime parole conditions for the 1973 murder of a drug dealer, a crime for which he served 10 years in prison.
Despite the convictions, Gallo says Canada was wrong to revoke his permanent residency.
"Authorities knew about Mr. Gallo's permanent residency since 1970 and did not act, allowing him to settle down, raise a family, (start a) business, etc," defence lawyer Marie-Helene Giroux said.
Gallo says he considers himself to be Canadian after spending 57 years in the country.
"Canada has been my home since my arrival," he argues in court documents. "I was nine when I arrived in Canada. I have no recollection of Italy."
Gallo would be subject to strict conditions if he's ever allowed to return to Canada.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2012/01/25/19294266.html
Moreno Gallo, a convicted murderer and popular baker in Montreal's Little Italy neighbourhood, filed the motion days after his expulsion on Jan. 4.
The Canada Border Services Agency says Gallo has an "active implication in organized crime."
The 66-year-old had said through his lawyer that he'd rather live in Europe than face assassination amid an ongoing purge of top Rizzuto figures.
But in court documents filed in Winnipeg, Gallo says he is known as an upstanding citizen in Montreal, where he immigrated when he was nine years old.
"Our bakery employs 15 people, including members of my family," he wrote to the court. "My family and I provide donations through charities. We provide pizza to poor children and give to local campaigns. Personally I help the poor and homeless of the community. They know they can always find food and comfort in our bakery."
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Despite the convictions, Gallo says Canada was wrong to revoke his permanent residency.
"Authorities knew about Mr. Gallo's permanent residency since 1970 and did not act, allowing him to settle down, raise a family, (start a) business, etc," defence lawyer Marie-Helene Giroux said.
Gallo says he considers himself to be Canadian after spending 57 years in the country.
"Canada has been my home since my arrival," he argues in court documents. "I was nine when I arrived in Canada. I have no recollection of Italy."
Gallo would be subject to strict conditions if he's ever allowed to return to Canada.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2012/01/25/19294266.html
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