- Cotroni family
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The Cotroni crime family is a Mafia organization based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The territory controlled by the family once covered most of southern Quebec and Ontario, until the Rizzuto family supplanted them.[1] The FBI considers the family a branch of the Bonanno crime family;[1] however, Canadian law enforcement considers it a separate criminal organization.[citation needed]
Leaders of the Cotroni family included Vic Cotroni and Paolo Violi. The organization led by the Sicilian Nicolo Rizzuto eclipsed the Controni family in the late 1970s.[2][3]
History of Cotroni family
The family was created by Vic Cotroni in the 1940s and by the 1950s the family evolved into an important branch of the Bonanno crime family and was involved in the French Connection. The family has kept ties with Mafia families in Italy and throughout the US and Canada. A internal war broke out between Sicilian and Calabrian factions in the 1970s.[4] This led to a violent mafia war in Montreal leading to the deaths of Paolo Violi (who was acting capo for Vic Cotroni) and others in the late 1970s. The war ended when Vic Cotroni the Calabrian leader had to let go the Sicilian faction led by Nicolo Rizzuto.
The Calabrian faction continued to operate after the late 1970s with Vic Cotroni as the boss until he died leaving his youngest brother Frank Cotroni as the boss.[5] The faction would lose more power in Quebec and operated in the shadow of the Sicilian faction led by Nicolo Rizzuto. Their leader Frank Cotroni died of cancer in August 2004 leaving the Rizzuto Sicilian faction as the most powerful crime family in Canada.[6]
See also
- Bonanno crime family
- Rizzuto crime family
References
- ^ a b Lamothe & Humphreys, The Sixth Family, p.308
- ^ "Canada's alleged Godfather pleads guilty", Montreal Gazette, September 18, 2008
- ^ "Mob takes a hit", Montreal Gazette, November 23, 2006
- ^ Organized Crime in The Canadian Encyclopedia
- ^ FBI linked Montreal mobster to alleged U.S. assassination plot, CanWest News Service, July 10, 2007
- ^ Alleged crime boss Cotroni buried in Montreal, CTV News, August 22, 2004
- Lamothe, Lee and Adrian Humphreys (2008). The Sixth Family: The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto, Toronto: John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd., ISBN 0-470-15445-4 (revised edition)
Organized crime groups in Canada Province of Quebec - Italian organized crime: Rizzuto crime family · Cotroni crime family
- Outlaw motorcycle clubs: Rock Machine · Rockers MC
- Irish Mob: West End Gang
Province of British Columbia Province of Manitoba Foreign groups - Outlaw motorcycle clubs: Hells Angels · Bandidos · Outlaws
- Italian organized crime groups: Cuntrera-Caruana Mafia clan · 'Ndrangheta
- Chinese Triad groups: Big Circle Boys · 14K Triad · Wah Ching
- American gangs: Crips · Bloods · Mara Salvatrucha
Categories:- Organized crime groups
- Organized crime in Canada
- Organized crime in Montreal
- Canada stubs
- Ontario stubs
- Quebec stubs
- Montreal stubs
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