Crime clans invade burbs

Mar 3, 2005

Martin Derbyshire, Vaughan Citizens

York Region is an attractive place to raise a family, even if it's a crime family.
The area's vibrant neighbourhoods, diverse population and quality investment prospects, combined with Canada's rarely used anti-gang legislation and lax money laundering laws, make it a desirable destination for criminal organizations, say police and organized crime experts.
"There is a big organized crime presence in York Region," said Det. David Stilo of the York Regional Police intelligence bureau, who has spent the past 13 years tracking organized crime operations in the region.
"They're into everything from street crimes to more serious crimes: drugs, loan sharking, gambling, extortion, a wide variety of offences from simple assaults to homicides."
Some of the things that are attractive for hundreds of thousands of law-abiding residents to York are exactly what's bringing organized crime, Det. Stilo said.
"York Region is a beautiful place to live and they seem to like living here, just like anybody else," he said. "It's a great place to live, they enjoy it. Organized crime figures have families, too and they enjoy raising their families in York Region."
The Italian mafia, outlaw biker gangs such as Hells Angels, Asian gangs such as the triads and yakuza and Eastern European and Russian mobsters all have a foothold in York Region.
But the average resident wouldn't recognize a member of a criminal organization walking down the street, since local mobsters rarely look and act the part, Det. Stilo said.
"Usually the younger members of the organization like to play that Hollywood type role, the upper level members like to keep a low profile. They don't want to attract attention to themselves," Det. Stilo said. "People see an Italian guy driving an Escalade or dressed in a nice suit and they figure he's in the mafia. It's just like with bikers. They see a heavy set guy with a goatee on a Harley and people assume he's a member of an outlaw biker gang. That's not always the case. It all depends on their role in organization. If they're doing collections, or if they're the muscle, if they want to intimidate, they'll be more visible. Those at the upper level, they want to keep things at arm's length."

Antonio Nicaso, who has written close to a dozen books on organized crime, says York Region is a major area of investment for criminal organizations.
"There is room for investment in York Region. It is a good place to invest money, legitimate money," he said.
The criminal groups invest money made outside the region in legitimate businesses here, Mr. Nicaso said.
"They use front men you would never suspect to be running a business for criminals," he said.
Like any business person, they are attracted by relatively low taxes and developable land.
"Sometimes, someone gets too greedy or someone makes a mistake and they are shot dead, but that's a business decision. Sometimes murder is a business necessity from a criminal perspective," Mr. Nicaso said.
The face of organized crime has changed, says the retiring head of the RCMP's organized crime unit, Chief-Supt. Ben Soave.
These days, ethnic boundaries no longer divide organized crime groups. Instead, larger criminal organizations are forged with different criminal groups lending expertise to one another.
"There's no longer turf wars. These criminal organizations don't operate in isolation. You've got Russians, Italians, Asians and bikers all working together," he said.
York Region's ethnic diversity is particularly attractive to this new breed of criminal organization, Det. Stilo said.
"You have traditional organized crime primarily in Vaughan and Asian organized crime based in Markham where they are geographically so close to one another that they can work together to obtain their goals," Det. Stilo said.
"Each group seems to be involved more heavily in certain offences, like Asian organized crime is more involved in marijuana grow houses, but we're finding as time goes by, more and more of them are working together here."
The common language and desire to build bigger bank rolls brings ethnically diverse groups together in York Region, Mr. Nicaso said.
"A lot of these criminal organizations share the same characteristics, the problem was always the language.
"If they find a language to communicate, they can work together as shareholders and each one can bring a different know-how, a different expertise." Here in Canada, in York Region, they've found that language.
"English is now the language of organized crime," he said. "I consider York Region a criminal microcosm because you can see all people of different backgrounds operating here in these new criminal organizations."
Criminals from Eastern Europe bring expertise in managing new technology, Internet crime, credit card and debit card fraud, while the mafia is more involved in money laundering and helping invest the proceeds of crime, Mr. Nicaso said.
Criminals consider Canada an attractive destination because law enforcement doesn't have the tools to go after them, Det. Stilo said.
"Organized crime figures have indicated to me one of the reasons they've come to Canada is it is known for lighter jail sentences and lighter penalties than other countries," Det. Stilo said. "In the past, organized crime figures have also indicated to me that they felt there wasn't as rigorous law enforcement on their activities, but I think that has changed."
Lawmakers have come along way toward fixing the problems, Chief-Supt. Soave said, but perhaps not far enough.
"We have money laundering legislation. We have criminal organization or anti-gang legislation, it has not been totally applied as effectively as it could or should be, but we have that here. We have changed our way in policing and how we take on organized crime," he said.
But Mr. Nicaso likens the situation to the Fyodor Dostoevsky novel Crime and Punishment.
"We live in Canada in a time of crime without punishment. Crime pays in this country," he said.
"We have anti-gang legislation, but it is barely used. We don't go after the proceeds of crime. When we can prove someone is a member of a criminal organization, the next step should be to go after his criminal assets. Otherwise, why do we need anti-gang legislation?" he said.
"If what we're looking to do is make the life of criminals more difficult, then why are we still saying it with words instead of making the changes?"