MONTREAL — An 86-year- old alleged Mafia patriarch was gunned down as he sat gazing out of the solarium of his Montreal home, authorities said, the latest blow to a once- formidable Canadian criminal organization.
Nicolo Rizzuto was shot at least once about 5:40 p.m. EST Wednesday, according to police, and was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after he arrived. The family and its associates have been targeted in a series of slayings that observers say is an attempt to end its hold on power. Nick Rizzuto Jr., Nicolo’s grandson, was shot to death outside his Montreal home last winter.
Montreal police spokesman Raphael Bergeron told The Associated Press on Thursday that Rizzuto was shot by a lone gunman hiding in the woods outside Rizzuto’s residence.
Bergeron said Rizzuto was in his solarium — adorned with a statue of the Virgin Mary, her arms outstretched — looking out to a view of the backyard bushes when the bullet blasted through a window.
Bergeron said two women were at the residence at the time, who were treated for shock. He said he believed it was Rizzuto’s wife and daughter but could not immediately confirm that.
Montreal police Cmdr. Denis Mainville said it was difficult to say just how much clout the elder Rizzuto still had within the family, but he was a symbolic and revered figure.
“We know that Mr. Rizzuto was an important member of the Italian Mafia, but new players have surfaced in recent months,” Mainville said.
Nicolo Rizzuto’s son, Vito, is currently in prison in Colorado for racketeering related to three Mafia murders. Police said late Wednesday that they would be open to meeting with Vito Rizzuto about a series of attacks against his family.
The Rizzutos came to prominence in Montreal with a violent coup against the Cotroni family, their Calabrian rivals, in the 1970s. They had tentacles reaching into untold businesses considered legitimate, including bars, restaurants and construction companies.
The clan was brought to its knees in a massive 2006 police dragnet in which scores of alleged mobsters were arrested.
