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MONTREAL
- A suspected Mafia hit man wanted in Italy
for his alleged role in the murder of a
high-ranking police officer has been
arrested in Montreal.
Gaetano Amodeo, 48, believed to be part of a
large international Mafia clan, was
reportedly living in Montreal's east end
with his wife and two children. According to
a source familiar with the police operation,
Mr. Amodeo was apprehended on Tuesday by
specially trained RCMP officers. The
Mounties would not confirm the arrest, but
it is believed they were aided by two
Italian police officers. An Immigration and
Refugee Board adjudicator is expected to
determine today whether Mr. Amodeo will
remain in custody until a tribunal decides
whether he will be deported. Mr. Amodeo is
also wanted in Germany for a murder in 1981.
A warrant was issued for his arrest on that
charge on Nov. 13 last year. The Italian
warrant for his arrest was issued on Jan.
12, 1999, during a preliminary hearing in
Palermo, Italy, into the 1992 murder of a
member of the Carabinieri police in
Agrigento, Sicily, said Canadian author
Antonio Nicaso, an expert on the Italian
Mafia. Giuliano Guazzelli, a police
inspector, was shot in the face and back on
April 4, 1992, by gunmen who ambushed his
car. Mr. Amodeo is believed to be part of
the large Sicilian-based Cuntrera-Caruana
clan, which has deep ties in Montreal and
Toronto. According to Italy's ANSA news
agency, police authorities tracked Mr.
Amodeo to Canada after he left a trail in
Venezuela, where several members of the
Cuntrera-Caruana clan live. ANSA also
reported Mr. Amodeo has business links to a
jewellery store in east end Montreal.
Montreal police could not confirm the
report, and an official registry of the
business does not include his name. The
reputed Canadian leaders of the
Cuntrera-Caruana family are currently in
prison. The three brothers -- Alfonso and
Pasquale Caruana, both of Toronto, and
Gerlando, of Montreal -- all pleaded guilty
last year in an Ontario court to charges
related to a large shipment of cocaine they
were conspiring to smuggle into Canada. |
