Pubdate: Sun, 24 Feb 2008
Source: Telegram, The (CN NF)
Copyright: 2008 The Telegram
Contact:  http://www.thetelegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/303
Author: Everton McLean

BEYOND IRELAND'S EYE

Book Examines How They Finally Nailed Druglord Vito Rizzuto

When alleged Montreal crime boss Vito Rizzuto stood  before a New York
court in May 2007, entering a guilty  plea for his involvment in a
1981 murder of three  mobsters, he was a different man than the one
that  walked away from the Supreme Court in St. John's in  1990. Free
of serious drug smuggling charges, he gave  one of his few, pithy
quotes to the media.

"One word can mean so much," he said. "Especially when  that word is
acquittal."

In New York, Rizzuto was sentenced to 10 years in jail  (although
he'll likely be out by 2012). But, in 1990,  he was free as a bird
after being the subject of a  bungled investigation into $225-million
worth of  hashish found on a small Newfoundland coastal island,
Ireland's Eye.

Largest drug seizure

At the time, it was the largest drug seizure in Eastern  Canadian
history

A newly revised book by National Post reporter Adrian  Humphreys and
journalist Lee Lamothe details the rise  and fall of Rizzuto, whom
Humpreys has referred to as  the Godfather of the Mafia in Canada. The
book, "The  Sixth Family", published by John Wiley and Sons Canada,
looks into the pivotal moments in 1990 when  Newfoundland was the
centre of attention for Canadian  crime.

Humphreys said the Newfoundland operation was a huge  one for the
Rizzuto family of Montreal, whom he  describes as on par in power with
the Five Families of  New York.

The operation, which took place in the 1980s and was  disrupted by
police in 1987, saw millions of dollars  worth of hashish and other
drugs routinely coming into  the enclosed harbour in Trinity Bay.
Allegedly,  Newfoundland fishermen were among those who took part  in
the trafficking, said Humphreys.

"The specialty of Montreal (drug smuggling) was taking  drugs from
Asia, South America and Europe, depending on  what the drug was, was
getting it through Canada,  through Montreal, and into New York," said
Humphreys.

"What they found (in Newfoundland) was a  picture-perfect entry
vehicle. They had this largely  remote coast, the rugged coastline
that was poorly  policed, poorly watched."

He said it wasn't particularly difficult to get locals  involved,
which likely made the area an ideal place for  the crime family.

"Largely because of the poor economics of the area they  found it
fairly easy to corrupt the captains of the  boats," he said. Those
captains would bring hashish in  and out of Ireland's Eye.

Made thousands

The book notes the labourers on the ships would have  made between
$17,000 and $20,000 a day. Meanwhile, he  said the boat owners would
have made much more.

He knows of one reported case where a captain allegedly  was paid with
$1-million worth of hashish.

"It was an absolutely perfect opportunity for them to  move drugs into
the (United) States from Newfoundland,"  he said.

But things started to look dim for the Rizzuto  operation when police
got a tip that led them to  uncover the drugs at Ireland's Eye.

Arrested

Rizzuto, along with his alleged Newfoundland pointman,  Gerald
Hiscock, and several others, were arrested and  an investigation
began, leading to a subsequent trial.

The events that would follow in downtown St. John's  would see Rizzuto
called the Teflon Don of Canada.

The lawyers for Rizzuto and company had the habit of  meeting in the
Radisson Plaza Hotel, now the Delta,  preparing for the court dates.
According to the book,  they would consistently supper at table six in
the  restaurant, discussing their clients' case.

Hotel bugged

As Humphreys and Lee say, the discussions did not go  unnoticed by
RCMP, who had the table, as well as other  discussion areas in the
hotel, bugged.

But one day, a man with a similar name to one of the  lawyers, a
businessman from New Brunswick, came to the  restaurant and was
mistakenly seated at table six.

The lawyers' party, which came later, happily took  their place at
table three.

According to the book, the hotel manager, who was aware  of the
bugging, was alarmed by the mistaken seating. He  asked busboy Greg
Chafe to switch the lamps on the  tables, where the bugs were hidden.
The worker thought  the request peculiar, but did it anyway without
much  notice.

The next day the lawyers were seated at their usual  table six. But,
to the manager's horror, the lamps had  not been changed back. Again,
he got Chafe to switch  back the lamps.

Wrote note

By this time the busboy's suspicion had been piqued,  and when he
placed the lamp on the lawyers desk, he did  so along with a hand
written note. The note told the  lawyers to be careful; they may be
bugged.

It was that information that led Justice Leo Barry to  throw out the
case due to illegal bugging. And it led  to Vito Rizzuto becoming a
Canadian crime legend.

Humphreys said the events of that trial could have come  from a
Hollywood script.

"It's unbelievable in that sense. When the Americans  read the book,
they were saying, 'That didn't really  happen like that did it? You
were taking artistic  licence.' And I said, 'Nah, I wish I was.'"

But, he said, that sort of slickness and luck seemed  part of
Rizzuto's life. The fact that before the  Newfoundland trial Rizzuto
was acquitted based on lack  of evidence in a similar Canadian seizure
out of Quebec  only added to his reputation.

Not likely to have visited

Humprheys said Rizzuto was a master of keeping himself  distant from
his alleged crimes. As important as  Newfoundland was to Canada's
Teflon Don, he said he  doubts the man ever stepped foot on the island
during  the trafficking.

"It's not because he had anything against Newfoundland,  but because
he had everything against being caught," he  said.

It is ironic then that Rizzuto finally went to prison  for common
thuggrey related to the New York murders,  Humphreys said.

But he doubts the alleged crime boss is surprised. He  was too close
to the action in that case.

"At the end of the day, I don't think he's at all  surprised that what
he finally went down for is that  nasty bit of business in New York."

Since Rizzuto's arrest and sentence, many members of  the crime
family, including his father, have been  arrested and are facing
charges related to the drug  business.
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