Papalia crime family

Papalia crime family
Founded1940s
FoundersCanada:
Antonio Papalia
Italy:
Papalia brothers: Domenico (Micu), Antonio and Rocco
Founding locationCanada:
Hamilton, Ontario
Italy:
Platì, Calabria[1]
Years active1940s–present
TerritoryCanada:
Southern Ontario
Italy:
Delianuova and Platì in Calabria, and Buccinasco in Milan
Australia:
New South Wales
EthnicityCanada:
Italians as "made men" and other ethnicities as associates
Italy:
Calabrians
ActivitiesRacketeering, loan sharking, money laundering, gambling, drug trafficking, extortion, fraud and prostitution
AlliesBarbaro 'ndrina
Agresta 'ndrina
Molluso 'ndrina
Buffalo crime family
Marando 'ndrina
RivalsMusitano crime family and various gangs in Hamilton

The Papalia crime family (Italian: [papaˈliːa]) also known as Papalia 'ndrina, is a 'Ndrangheta organized crime family[2] based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, as well as Platì in Southern Italy and Buccinasco in Northern Italy. Another branch of the family is based in Griffith, New South Wales, Australia.

Antonio Papalia founded the Papalia family in Canada in the 1940s, and is one of three centralized Mafia organizations in Hamilton, with the other two being the Musitano crime family and the Luppino crime family.[3] The Papalias had strong connections with the Buffalo crime family of Buffalo, New York under long-reigning boss Johnny Papalia, who was often called "Pops" or "The Enforcer". The killings of Johnny and his lieutenant Carmen Barillaro in 1997, ordered by the Musitanos, had effectively wiped out the family's remaining leaders in Canada.[4] One news report stated that the events of 1997 "decapitated the Papalia family".[5] One leader remained, Johnny's brother Frank, who died in 2014 and retired years before his death.[6]

In Italy, the Papalia family is a sort of branch within the Barbaro 'ndrina, operating in Lombardy, and having its stronghold in the city of Buccinasco. The branch was founded and headed by the children of Giuseppe Papalia and Serafina Barbaro.[7]

  1. ^ Gratteri, Fratelli di Sangue, pp.122
  2. ^ Humphreys 1999, p. 160.
  3. ^ "Unease as mobsters set free". National Post. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  4. ^ "Hamilton mobster changed Niagara's underworld". The Standard. 26 April 2019. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  5. ^ "Reputed mobster Pat Musitano fights for life after shooting". Toronto Sun. 30 April 2019. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Frank Papalia was 'the rock' of Hamilton mafia family". CBC News. 18 April 2014. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  7. ^ Milano, Redazione (2021-11-10). "Buccinasco, il sindaco antimafia Pruiti: "Sono saltati gli equilibri tra le famiglie, temo una guerra tra clan"". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-10-11.