The mafia's war of independence
Ontario's second high-profile mob killing this summer severs the ties between Canada and La Cosa Nostra, writes Adrian Humphreys.

The bloody murder of an underworld lieutenant allied with
slain mob boss Johnny Papalia severs the last control powerful U.S.
crime families exert over the Canadian Mafia.
A top mob expert says a bloody war of independence draws a straight
line linking Wednesday's slaying of Carmen Barillaro in Niagara
Falls and the shooting death of Johnny (Pops) Papalia in Hamilton
two months ago.
"The murders of John Papalia and Carmen Barillaro are probably two
chapters of the same story,'' says Antonio Nicaso, author of nine
books on Mafia activity and an internationally known organized crime
expert.
Police say Mr. Barillaro, top mob boss in Niagara Falls, was gunned
down at his home Wednesday night. The victim had been talking on the
phone to a friend when there was a knock at the door, a neighbour
said. The victim told the person on the other end of the phone to
wait. The sound of a gunshot was heard over the line and the victim
never returned to the phone. Yesterday would have been Mr.
Barillaro's 53rd birthday.
Inspector Ben Soave of the RCMP's intelligence unit said Mr.
Barillaro was well known in organized crime circles.
"The number of Mafia-style murders in the last couple of years is
an indication organized crime in this region is alive and doing
well,'' he said. "I am concerned for the near future. What's in
store for us?''
At stake in this apparent feud is control of Ontario's lucrative
drug trade and profits from illegal and legitimate businesses run by
crime groups.
Mr. Barillaro ran a criminal organization in Niagara Falls, and in
mob hierarchy was underneath Mr. Papalia -- the top mob man in
Ontario until he was gunned down on May 31 outside his vending
machine business on Railway Street in Hamilton.
Mr. Nicaso said Mr. Barillaro ran organized crime in the Niagara
Peninsula, but like a dozen other Ontario crime bosses, answered to
Mr. Papalia. "Barillaro's murder is proof the murder of Papalia was
part of a bigger plan which is changing the face of the mob in
Ontario.''
Mr. Nicaso says the killing shows the Papalia murder was unlikely
the work of a lone crackpot, as some theorized after the slaying.
The shooting of Mr. Barillaro was no surprise to some
organized-crime watchers. It was predicted by Mr. Nicaso two months
ago.
"People from Montral and Ontario want to take away the power La
Cosa Nostra (the U.S. Mafia) has in southern Ontario. That power
came through John Papalia and Carmen Barillaro.
"When I pictured the geography of the underworld, the last man
alive with links to the U.S. was Carmen Barillaro.''
Canadian Mafia organizations used to answer very smartly to their
larger and more powerful U.S. counterparts.
But an independence bid started in Montreal in 1978 when Mr.
Papalia's old associate Paolo Violi -- a former Hamilton resident --
was murdered.
That severed the Montral group's ties with New York's Bonanno
family.
But Ontario -- under Mr. Papalia's firm grip -- stayed in the
American fold, answering to the Magaddino family in Buffalo, even
after the top boss, Stefano Magaddino, died in 1974.
In the 1980s, Mr. Barillaro and a number of others were charged
with trying to extort Greek-run gaming houses in Toronto. Police
believed Mr. Papalia was the man behind that scheme, although the
Hamilton mobster was not charged.
"Yeah, I know the people charged, they're friends of mine,'' Mr.
Papalia said at the time. "But that doesn't mean I was involved. I
wasn't because I wouldn't have anything to do with the Greeks. I
don't like them, I don't like their restaurants, I don't like their
food.''
Mr. Barillaro's links to Mr. Papalia were further detailed by an
RCMP expert in organized crime during pre-trial testimony in 1988
when Mr. Barillaro was charged with conspiring to murder an outlaw
biker who owed him a drug debt.
Cpl. Reginald King testified that Mr. Papalia was the top organized
crime figure in Ontario.
"We're looking at approximately 275 organized crime subjects that
we monitor into about 15 different groups in the province of
Ontario, and we have Mr. Barillaro as the head of one of these
groups based in Niagara Falls under the sphere of John Papalia.''
It was Mr. Barillaro's strong links to the Magaddino family that
helped put him in a position of influence in the Ontario underworld,
and could well be the reason his body now lies in Hamilton General
Hospital where it was sent for autopsy.
Mr. Barillaro was last known to have been in Hamilton was to pay
respects to his slain boss at Mr. Papalia's funeral. His presence at
a funeral that attracted few high-profile mobsters likely signalled
his ongoing allegiance with the Buffalo organization. Mob experts
will now be watching who shows up at Mr. Barillaro's funeral,
expected next week. An entourage from Buffalo could signal that
organization is not prepared to yield its Canadian turf.
But mob watchers say the power and prominence of the Buffalo
mobsters have been waning in recent years.
"They're not scared of them any more,'' Mr. Nicaso says of
Canadian mobsters' feelings about the Buffalo leaders.
He expects Mr. Barillaro's murder may bring "stability.'' The
Buffalo crime organization is not likely powerful enough to
effectively challenge the emerging Canadian crime bosses.
"It's the last murder, for now, because the situation is clear.''
Mr. Nicaso equates the killings to a war of independence by the mob
in Canada.
The slaying of Mr. Violi was the opening round, the shooting of Mr.
Papalia the pivotal battle and Wednesday night's killing the closing
volley.
Independence means fewer fingers in the pie and not having to send
a portion of profits south of the border.
Says Mr. Nicaso: "There are many sources and many rumours telling
me the mob from Montral and the mob from Toronto is getting together
to take over power in southern Ontario and to be independent.''
In fact, representatives from mob groups in both provinces had a
meeting shortly before Mr. Papalia's murder.
"It is my hypothesis they decided there and then on the murder of
Papalia and Barillaro.''
But that's not the only hypothesis being floated around.
A police source said one of the first names bandied about among
investigators on the day of the Papalia shooting was that of a
Niagara Falls criminal who served as "muscle'' for Mr. Barillaro.
Apparently he fit the description of the Papalia suspect.
That leads some to suspect the Barillaro killing was payback by Mr.
Papalia's people for a possible role in the Papalia hit. They
speculate that Mr. Barillaro could have been making a move for his
boss' turf.
Hamilton-Wentworth police refused to comment on these specific
allegations, but investigators are interested in any information
stemming from Mr. Barillaro's killing for possible use in the
Papalia probe.
Insp. Dave Bowen says it is reasonable to think the deaths may be
linked.
"We are actively talking to Niagara police to try to look for any
connections.''
Hamilton investigators want to compare notes with Niagara police
this week. And they're not alone.
Niagara police Sergeant Mark Carter said the force has been in
contact with RCMP and the OPP intelligence units regarding the
murder, and RCMP officers visited the scene of the slaying.
Niagara police Sgt. Mark Carter said Barillaro appears to have been
killed by a handgun, but wouldn't say where he was shot, how many
times or whether there were other signs of violence.
But when paramedics arrived at Mr. Barillaro's home, they
immediately decided there was no chance of resuscitating him.
Insp. Bowen says there hasn't been any concern expressed over the
safety of Mr. Papalia's relatives and police aren't expecting a wave
of mob violence in the city.
Police say Hamilton has long been home to three prominent Mafia
organizations -- the Papalias, the Luppinos and the Musitanos.
The Luppinos and the Papalias generally have their own separate
spheres of interest, with others filling the void of Johnny Pops'
death as best they can.
Police and other sources says the remaining members of Mr.
Papalia's organization in Hamilton are keeping a low profile since
their boss' killing.
The Musitano organization, which was run by Dominic Musitano, who
died of a heart attack in 1995, was a notch below the other groups,
police say.

July 25, 1997 / Ottawa Citizens / Hamilton Spectator