Pubdate: Thu, 22 Feb 2001
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2001 Southam Inc.
Contact:  300 - 1450 Don Mills Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3R5
Fax: (416) 442-2209
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Forum: http://forums.canada.com/~nationalpost
Author: Robert Benzie, Adrian Humphreys

ANTI-MAFIA LAW 'FRIGHTENS ME' SAYS FORMER BOSS'S WIFE

Would Apply To Suspects: 'Where Does Innocent Until Proven Guilty Come In?' 
She Asks

TORONTO - The wife of a retired Mafia boss says she is more scared of the 
Ontario government's proposed legislation to empower police to seize the 
assets of suspected mobsters than of her husband's former associates.

Judy MacDonald -- who is married to one-time mafioso Anthony "Tony" 
Musitano, jailed for a string of extortion bombings in Hamilton between 
1976 and 1980 -- made a startling appearance yesterday before the justice 
committee at Queen's Park.

"What frightens me is the power that the police department has. That's what 
I'm afraid of," she said, referring to a provincial bill that would enable 
police to confiscate the proceeds of unlawful activity without criminal 
charges being laid. Under existing federal law, police can seize assets 
after a criminal conviction.

Ms. MacDonald, owner of a thriving dry-cleaning business in Hamilton, said 
she attended the hearings on Bill 155, the Remedies for Organized Crime and 
Other Unlawful Activities Act, because she fears its extraordinary powers.

"I serve to gain nothing from coming to you here today. I am a citizen and 
I have no protection from being victimized by this legislation," she said.

"Hearsay equals the assumption of guilt [in the bill]. Where does the 
concept of Canadian law, innocent till proven guilty, come into the process?"

In 1983, Mr. Musitano, who ran a bakery, was found guilty of conspiracy to 
possess explosives with intent to cause explosions after the court showed 
he hired three bikers to instill fear and collect money.

While serving the first year of his sentence for the bombings, he plotted 
the murder of Domenic Racco, a prominent Toronto mobster, from his prison cell.

Mr. Musitano so upset authorities in Hamilton that, in 1988, the police 
chief -- backed by a unanimous vote from city council -- asked the National 
Parole Board to deny him early release.

But he was granted full parole in 1990 and has lived quietly since. His 
brother, Dominic, was a powerful Mafia don until his death in 1995 and his 
nephews, Patrick and Angelo Musitano, pleaded guilty last year to hiring a 
hit man to kill a rival mobster from Niagara Falls. Both are currently in 
prison.

Ms. MacDonald, who married Mr. Musitano five years ago, said she is not 
guilty by association but has found her civil liberties infringed upon 
because of her marriage.

For example, she spent three years and $7,000 to obtain a firearms 
acquisition certificate to purchase a gun for sporting purposes. She 
worries that Bill 155 is another attack on innocent people such as herself.

"I am told that I am a Mafia wife and that the business I laboriously 
worked and toiled to build over the last 15 years is owned by organized 
crime," said Ms. MacDonald.

"It is also apparent that my choice of mate has jeopardized my privilege to 
be judged and respected in a normal way. My husband's past is his past. 
He's paid his debt to society."

Speaking to reporters after her deputation, Ms. MacDonald said, unlike the 
underworld portrayed in The Sopranos or on the big screen, it is possible 
to retire from the Mob.

"This is not Hollywood. If you choose not be a criminal, that's your choice."

David Young, Ontario's Attorney-General, said Bill 155 strikes a reasonable 
balance and sought to allay her concerns.

"Nothing will be seized, nothing will be frozen, nothing be forfeited 
unless and until a judge thinks it's reasonable to do so," he said, 
emphasizing innocent relatives of criminals "have nothing to fear."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens