Nick Rizzuto gunned down

[Lukester]

.
Vito Rizzuto's son, Nick, gunned down in gangland-style killing:
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MONTREAL - The scion of Canada's most powerful Mafia family was gunned down Monday in a bold, violent strike that had experts predicting bitter reprisals and a potential Mob war.


Nick Rizzuto was shot in broad daylight beside a Mercedes sedan and he collapsed into the freshly falling snow as terrified onlookers watched the gunman flee.


He was the son of Vito Rizzuto, the so-called godfather of the country's dominant Mafia clan.


When reached at the hospital, a lawyer for the family declined to comment. Lawyer Loris Cavaliere told The Canadian Press there would be no immediate statement from the family.


An expert on the Italian Mafia called it a historic attempt to wrest control from the Sicilian family. He said there had been no such move since the Rizzutos themselves rose to prominence in the 1970s.


"It's a tsunami," said Antonio Nicaso, the author of several books on the Mafia.


"This is an unprecedented challenge to the Rizzuto crime family. . . Since (the 1970s) they were in charge of criminal activity in Montreal - without any challenge to their authority."


Nicaso says the move was made possible after a series of police operations wiped out a layer of the family's management, with Vito Rizzuto himself currently in a U.S. jail.


He says rivals sought to strike the Rizzutos when they were at their weakest.


Nicaso and other crime experts are now warning of an escalation in gangland violence.


"There will be, for sure, a retaliation," Nicaso said.


"The son - the eldest son - of Vito Rizzuto was killed. This is not just an ordinary member of the family."


Nicaso says the killing may be related to a string of recent firebombings of Italian coffee shops in Montreal, and could have been the work of street gangs.


He says the Rizzutos' decision to align themselves with some street gangs was a controversial one - not only within the Italian Mafia, but it also created enemies among the city's Haitian street gangs.


Police have charged a Haitian man in connection with the recent coffee-shop firebombings. And several witnesses Monday described the gunman as a young black man, wearing blue jeans and a hooded jacket.


Another expert on the Mob says he's not drawing any conclusions yet of a turf war pitting street gangs against the Italian Mafia.


"It's not because someone's black that a street gang was necessarily involved," said former RCMP investigator Pierre de Champlain.

"That means nothing. The person who ordered the killing could have been anyone."

Nicaso agrees. If the killing was ordered by someone closer to the Sicilian clan, he says, that person could easily have taken steps to camouflage his identity.

Monday's shooting happened over the lunch hour, with numerous witnesses watching in astonishment.

It occurred in one of the grittier parts of the city's NDG district, near an Italian restaurant, a convenience store, and the offices of a construction company reportedly linked to Rizzuto.

The 42-year-old victim was standing next to a black Mercedes SLK 320 when at least one gunman approached and fired several shots.

Witnesses say the victim crumpled into the fresh snow. Police arrived within minutes to pick him up and take him to hospital.

He was pronounced dead and became the city's 31st homicide victim this year.

Vito Rizzuto is in a medium-security prison in Colorado, serving a 10-year sentence for racketeering, relating to three underworld murders in Brooklyn in 1981.

A number of other family members were swept up in police operations in recent years.

One of those arrested - and since released - was another Nicolo (Nick) Rizzuto, the grandfather and namesake of Monday's victim.

[Lukester]

I expect a couple more dozen in reprisal back and forth.

[BLBisinnocent]

man, that "jersey shore" show is really pissing people off......

[Bozzie]

canadian mafia? wtf?

[iggs111]

wow, only 31 homicides in a whole year??? We get that many in a weekend

[Deck]

Originally Posted by iggs111

wow, only 31 homicides in a whole year??? We get that many in a weekend

lol. excellent point. did you know in some places in canada people leave their doors unlocked. meet me at the border and lets make some loot up there.

[cuse_man]

Originally Posted by Deck

lol. excellent point. did you know in some places in canada people leave their doors unlocked. meet me at the border and lets make some loot up there.

yes.. lotsa break ins in the park

[Deck]

Originally Posted by cuse_man

yes.. lotsa break ins in the park

choo choo mfer. welch on anything lately?

[Gobbler's Knob]

Originally Posted by bozzie

canadian mafia? wtf?

Be afraid

[revnecro1273]

Originally Posted by Deck

lol. excellent point. did you know in some places in canada people leave their doors unlocked. meet me at the border and lets make some loot up there.

read a survey a few years back that the majority of canadians leave the doors unlocked

[Bozzie]

Originally Posted by revnecro1273

read a survey a few years back that the majority of canadians leave the doors unlocked

Rev lets steal spookshows couch.

[Ron Mexico]

Who?

[Bozzie]

Originally Posted by Ron Mexico

Who?

The canadian guy with the nasty cum stained couch... classic post.

[revnecro1273]

Originally Posted by bozzie

Rev lets steal spookshows couch.

that might be why they leave them unlocked...they only have shit that they want to be taken

[Gobbler's Knob]

Originally Posted by revnecro1273

read a survey a few years back that the majority of canadians leave the doors unlocked

Never during the day, sometimes forget at night and I've forgotten many times when we've gone out...........no big deal.