The tentacles of the Montreal Mafia can reach well beyond prison walls, say Italian police, who have arrested at least a dozen people in a large-scale money-laundering operation based in Italy and alleged to have been orchestrated by Vito Rizzuto, reputed head of the Montreal crime organization.

Rizzuto, 61, is among those alleged to be involved in an attempt to launder more than $600 million in drug money. He is serving a 10-year sentence in a Colorado penitentiary for participating in the 1981 murders of three men.

His father, Nicolo Rizzuto, 83, is also among those wanted by Italian authorities.

The elder Rizzuto is being held at the Montreal detention centre awaiting a possible trial on charges of extortion, bookmaking, drug smuggling and drug exportation.

He was arrested in Project Colisée, the joint police investigation that resulted in the roundup of more than 90 people in Quebec in November 2006.

"From prison they pulled the strings of their Italian colonies," Colonel Paolo La Forgia, of the Direzione Investigativa Antimafia, the Italian anti-Mafia police, told the Associated Press in Rome.

Italian police also executed 40 search warrants yesterday and seized or froze assets estimated to be worth more than 150 million euros - at least $205 million.

Police in Canada, France and Switzerland assisted in the operation. Bankers, businessmen and stockbrokers were among those arrested.

Among the 19 people who were arrested or are reported to be named in warrants in Italy are Montrealers Paolo Renda, 68; Francesco Arcadi, 54; and Rocco Sollecito, 59.

The three men, alleged to be senior leaders of the Montreal Mafia, are behind bars and awaiting a possible trial on the same charges as Nicolo Rizzuto.

The RCMP assisted in the Italian police operation, said Cpl. Élaine Lavergne of the Mounties' Montreal based C-division. She would not comment further.

Those arrested in Italy yesterday are expected to be charged with Mafia association, money laundering, insider trading, bond manipulation and stock-market fraud. The charges stem from an investigation that began in 2005.

More than 250 police officers took part in the operation, which stretched across Italy.

According to Italian police, among those arrested in Italy was Felice Italiano, 61, a LaSalle businessman who was once linked to one of the biggest drug seizures in Canada.

In 1994, Italiano was arrested, along with brothers Gerry and Richard Matticks - both reputed to be influential members of the West End Gang - after more than 26 tons of hashish were seized in Canada. The charges against Italiano and the others were dismissed after a judge ruled the Sûreté du Québec fabricated evidence in the case.

Beniamino Zappia, an Italian citizen with close ties to the Rizzuto organization, was also among those arrested in Italy. Zappia was seen visiting alleged Mafia members in Montreal as recently as May 2005. According to the book The Sixth Family - The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto, by Lee Lamothe and Adrian Humphreys, Zappia's name came up when Swiss authorities investigated members of the Rizzuto family for money laundering during the 1990s.

Another person arrested in the operation was Italian businessman Mariano Turrisi, president and founder of Made in Italy Inc. In a recent interview, Turrisi described the company as a promotional vehicle for small- and medium-size Italian companies wanting to expand to international markets.

According to the company's website, Turrisi "has been working in all the markets of the world for 30 years." The site describes Made in Italy as a company based in Rome with offices all over the world.

But a man whose Ontario company is listed as the Canadian representative of Made in Italy distanced himself from Turrisi.

"I'll tell you the truth: I don't know why (Turrisi) put me on (the website)," said the man, who owns a consulting group based in Thornhill, Ont., a suburb of Toronto. "The last time I met him was four or five years ago in Toronto. But I have no dealings with him whatsoever."

According to police sources, the latest arrests stemmed from an Italian investigation that resulted in charges being filed against Vito Rizzuto and four other men alleged to have created a front to bid on the construction of a $7-billion bridge that would link Sicily to mainland Italy.

Antonio Nicaso, a Toronto author of several books on organized crime, said the latest investigation is further evidence of the international reach of the Rizzuto organization.

"This shows the transnational nature of its organization. It's a local organization with global ambition and global capability."

TENTACLES OF CRIME

BUSTED Large-scale money-laundering operation based in Italy had Montreal links, authorities say.

MARIANO TURRISI

An Italian businessman described on a company website as the president and founder of Made in Italy Inc. In a recent interview, he described the company as a promotional vehicle for Italian companies looking to expand into international markets.

FELICE ITALIANO

Arrested in 1994 in the infamous drug seizure that turned into the Matticks Affair. Charges laid after one of the biggest drug seizures in Canada were later dismissed. Italiano is a LaSalle resident and businessman.

BENIAMINO ZAPPIA

An Italian man described by police as a close associate of the Montreal Mafia. Zappia has been seen in Mont-real meeting with alleged Mafia members, and his name came up during a 1990s money- laundering investigation by Swiss police.

ALLEGED MONTREAL MAFIA MEMBERS

VITO RIZZUTO

Described by the Canadian government in the past as the "Godfather" of the Montreal Mafia. He is currently behind bars in the U.S., serving a 10-year sentence he received this year after admitting to participating in the 1981 murders of three mobsters in Brooklyn.

NICOLO RIZZUTO

The father of Vito Rizzuto. He is currently being detained at the Montreal detention centre awaiting a possible trial on charges of bookmaking, extortion plus drug smuggling and exportation. He served time in prison in Venezuela for possession of cocaine.

FRANCESCO ARCADI

Currently behind bars and awaiting a possible trial on the same charges as Nicolo Rizzuto. He is alleged to have taken over the Montreal operations of the Rizzuto family after Vito Rizzuto was arrested and extradited to the U.S.

ROCCO SOLLECITO

Known as "Sauce" to his associates. Possibly the least known of the men alleged to be the senior leaders in the Montreal Mafia. He is also behind bars and awaiting trial in Project Colisée.

PAOLO RENDA

Paolo Renda Vito Rizzuto's brother-in-law and his partner in illegitimate businesses in the past. Renda, who is married to Rizzuto's sister Maria, is facing the same charges as the other alleged senior leaders of the Montreal Mafia who are awaiting a possible trial in Project Colisée.