GANGLAND GODFATHER

Bruno Diquinzio, 42, was named yesterday as remaining at large following arrests in Project Croisière, a joint police investigation into a cocaine trafficking ring that stretched from Vancouver to Montreal.Diquinzio, a Montrealer, played an enforcer for a mafioso in Omertà, a popular fictional account of the Montreal Mafia that aired on Radio Canada during the late 1990s. The series title was borrowed from the Sicilian expression for the Mafia's code of silence.Besides charges filed against him in Montreal court yesterday, Diquinzio is being sought since June 1 on drug trafficking charges filed in Vancouver.In 2000, he was sentenced to a 3-year prison term after police in Montreal linked him to a large stash of drugs, cash and weapons uncovered in the St. Michel district. Police initially linked him to the Montreal Mafia, but during a Dec. 2000 parole hearing, his classification was modified to a "large-scale drug trafficker" with extensive contacts in the drug milieu.At ...

Francesco Del Balso and five other men who pleaded guilty Thursday to a series of criminal charges, are alleged by the RCMP to be top kingpins in the organization of Montreal Mafia Godfather Vito Rizzuto.Mr. Rizzuto was arrested in January of 2004 and extradited to the United States where he is serving a 10-year sentence for racketeering.Police wiretaps filed in court reveal that, in his absence, his underlings were increasingly under threat from other criminal groups.Mr. Del Balso and another gang captain, Lorenzo Giordano, come across as short-tempered men who scuffle and get into gunfights on the slightest provocation from bikers or street gangs.And despite their fierce reputation, the Montreal Mafia captains met their match in a dispute with an little-known group from small-town Granby, Que. Police wiretaps document a money feud where the D'Amico family of Granby, in alliance with francophone bikers, rattled the Montreal kingpins over a $900,000 debt owed to the D'Amicos.Se...

Six men alleged to be leaders of the Montreal Mafia have decided to proceed with a trial on several charges laid after Project Colisée. All six, including Nicolo Rizzuto, the octogenarian father of reputed mob boss Vito Rizzuto, appeared before Superior Court Justice James Brunton yesterday via video linkups between the Montreal courthouse and detention centres. Lawyers representing all six said they are ready to proceed with a trial in Quebec Court before a judge alone. Prosecutor Yvan Poulin said the Crown did not object with the request.Nicolo Rizzuto is taken into police custody in Nov. 2006 in Montreal. He appeared before Superior Court Justice James Brunton on Tuesday through a video linkup. Lawyers representing all six said they are ready to proceed with a trial in Quebec Court before a judge alone. Prosecutor Yvan Poulin said the Crown did not object to the request. Two weeks in September have been set aside for both sides to argue pre-trial motions. The case is scheduled to be...