Man shot in St. Léonard had Mob related past
A 38-year-old man shot dead in St. Léonard at the supper hour Thursday, near a known Mob hangout, had a colourful and extensive history with the Montreal Mafia.
Giuseppe "Closure" Colapelle had gotten into the Montreal Mafia’s bad books in 2005 – “tarnishing everyone,” according to a Mob leader's assessment recorded by police – when a serious conflict arose between the Rizzuto organization and an organized-crime group based in Granby and known for smuggling marijuana.
According to evidence that surfaced during the Project Colisée Mob-surveillance coup conducted by police during that period, that conflict degenerated to the point where one man was kidnapped and another man’s car was set afire in Granby before the dispute was resolved.
In court documents, Colapelle was revealed to be at the very heart of the conflict.
Mafia leaders were, at one point, recorded by police discussing the possibility of having the man they referred to as Closure brought to the basement of a café in Montreal for a beating.
The recordings suggested Colapelle was a partner of Giuseppe "Ponytail" Devito for a brief period – but that their relationship soured because of the conflict with the people based in Granby.
In October 2004, Mafia leader Francesco "Compare Frank" Arcadi was recorded discussing the matter inside the Café Consenza, during that era the Mafia’s headquarters in St. Léonard.
At one point, Arcadi complained that Colapelle was “tarnishing everyone” in the Mafia because of how he was handling the aftermath a large-scale marijuana deal that had gone bad.
Devito was recently convicted in Montreal court for being part of a large cocaine-smuggling effort in which he was involved along with members of the Mafia.
About 6 p.m. Thursday, Colapelle was shot in a parking lot outside a strip mall on Langelier Blvd., near Lavoisier Blvd., where the Beaches Club is located.
He was in or near a vehicle when he was hit.
Constable Anie Lemieux of Montreal police said the homicide victim was struck by at least one bullet.
"It's not clear," she added, "if he was getting into the vehicle or getting out of the vehicle when it happened."
Taken to hospital, Colapelle was declared dead shortly after arrival.
Lemieux said no arrests have been made.
There no descriptions of a suspect or suspects, she added, nor of any getaway vehicle.
This was the fourth homicide reported for Montreal Island thus far in 2012.
At the same point last year, there had been three.
The Beaches had been damaged by fire Oct. 17, 2008, one of a large number of Montreal cafés targetted during a lengthy series of firebombings apparently linked to an ongoing turf war involving the Montreal Mafia.
Identified during court hearings related to Colisée as a well-known Mafia hangout, court documents showed that in 2006 the Beaches was run by Allessandro Sucapane, a St. Laurent resident in his 40s.
About that time, Sucapane pleaded guilty to extortion and gangsterism in a case related to Colisée.
He was fined $50,000 and sentenced to a 16-month prison term.
Colapelle, the man killed Thursday evening, had also been arrested and charged in connection with an illegal gaming house that operated out of an office building in St. Léonard.
It was revealed last year that the clandestine mini-casino had been opened with support from Nick "The Ritz" Rizzuto, the late son of reputed mob boss Vito Rizzuto.
At Colapelle's death, that case had been pending at the Montreal courthouse, with its next court date set for March 22.
Three other men charged in the same case – including two who are direct relatives of convicted Mafia leaders – have yet to go to trial in it.
Last year, Nicola Di Marco, 42, was sentenced to 18 months and a $54,000 fine for his role in the gaming house.
Nick Rizzuto, murdered in late 2009 in a gangland-style slaying that bore a marked similarity to the fresh hit on Colapelle, had purchased security cameras, tinted windows and other equipment for the office space used as the mini-casino, in a building on Jean Talon St. E.
The younger Rizzuto was not arrested in the gaming case, another offshoot of the Colisée probe.
Police had no evidence tying him to what happened in the mini-casino after it began operating.
Giuseppe "Closure" Colapelle had gotten into the Montreal Mafia’s bad books in 2005 – “tarnishing everyone,” according to a Mob leader's assessment recorded by police – when a serious conflict arose between the Rizzuto organization and an organized-crime group based in Granby and known for smuggling marijuana.
According to evidence that surfaced during the Project Colisée Mob-surveillance coup conducted by police during that period, that conflict degenerated to the point where one man was kidnapped and another man’s car was set afire in Granby before the dispute was resolved.
In court documents, Colapelle was revealed to be at the very heart of the conflict.
Mafia leaders were, at one point, recorded by police discussing the possibility of having the man they referred to as Closure brought to the basement of a café in Montreal for a beating.
The recordings suggested Colapelle was a partner of Giuseppe "Ponytail" Devito for a brief period – but that their relationship soured because of the conflict with the people based in Granby.
In October 2004, Mafia leader Francesco "Compare Frank" Arcadi was recorded discussing the matter inside the Café Consenza, during that era the Mafia’s headquarters in St. Léonard.
At one point, Arcadi complained that Colapelle was “tarnishing everyone” in the Mafia because of how he was handling the aftermath a large-scale marijuana deal that had gone bad.
Devito was recently convicted in Montreal court for being part of a large cocaine-smuggling effort in which he was involved along with members of the Mafia.
About 6 p.m. Thursday, Colapelle was shot in a parking lot outside a strip mall on Langelier Blvd., near Lavoisier Blvd., where the Beaches Club is located.
He was in or near a vehicle when he was hit.
Constable Anie Lemieux of Montreal police said the homicide victim was struck by at least one bullet.
"It's not clear," she added, "if he was getting into the vehicle or getting out of the vehicle when it happened."
Taken to hospital, Colapelle was declared dead shortly after arrival.
Lemieux said no arrests have been made.
There no descriptions of a suspect or suspects, she added, nor of any getaway vehicle.
This was the fourth homicide reported for Montreal Island thus far in 2012.
At the same point last year, there had been three.
The Beaches had been damaged by fire Oct. 17, 2008, one of a large number of Montreal cafés targetted during a lengthy series of firebombings apparently linked to an ongoing turf war involving the Montreal Mafia.
Identified during court hearings related to Colisée as a well-known Mafia hangout, court documents showed that in 2006 the Beaches was run by Allessandro Sucapane, a St. Laurent resident in his 40s.
About that time, Sucapane pleaded guilty to extortion and gangsterism in a case related to Colisée.
He was fined $50,000 and sentenced to a 16-month prison term.
Colapelle, the man killed Thursday evening, had also been arrested and charged in connection with an illegal gaming house that operated out of an office building in St. Léonard.
It was revealed last year that the clandestine mini-casino had been opened with support from Nick "The Ritz" Rizzuto, the late son of reputed mob boss Vito Rizzuto.
At Colapelle's death, that case had been pending at the Montreal courthouse, with its next court date set for March 22.
Three other men charged in the same case – including two who are direct relatives of convicted Mafia leaders – have yet to go to trial in it.
Last year, Nicola Di Marco, 42, was sentenced to 18 months and a $54,000 fine for his role in the gaming house.
Nick Rizzuto, murdered in late 2009 in a gangland-style slaying that bore a marked similarity to the fresh hit on Colapelle, had purchased security cameras, tinted windows and other equipment for the office space used as the mini-casino, in a building on Jean Talon St. E.
The younger Rizzuto was not arrested in the gaming case, another offshoot of the Colisée probe.
Police had no evidence tying him to what happened in the mini-casino after it began operating.
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