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| Founded | 1970s |
|---|---|
| Founded by | Nicolo Rizzuto |
| Founding location | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Years active | 1970s–present |
| Territory | Greater Montreal and the province of Quebec and Ontario, Venezuela, United States |
| Ethnicity | People of Italian descent as "made men", and other ethnicities as "associates" |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, illegal gambling, murder, loan sharking, extortion, racketeering, weapons trafficking |
| Allies | Bonanno crime family(formerly)[1][2] Cuntrera-Caruana Mafia clan Independent Soldiers[3] West End Gang Hells Angels Musitano crime family |
| Rivals | Bonanno crime family[1][2] Siderno Group Cotroni crime family Commisso 'ndrina |
The Rizzuto crime family (Italian: [ritˈtsuːto]) is an Italian-Canadian organized crime family based in Montreal, Quebec, whose activity covers most of southern Quebec and Ontario.[4] The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States considers the family a faction of the Bonanno crime family of New York City,[4] while Canadian and most other international law enforcement agencies recognize it as an independent family. The Rizzuto family is sometimes referred to as the Sixth Family.[4]
Nicolo Rizzuto, a Sicilian immigrant from Cattolica Eraclea, established the organization in the 1970s as part of the Sicilian faction of the Montreal-based Cotroni crime family. An internal war within the Cotroni family broke out by the late 1970s which resulted in the death of acting captain Paolo Violi and his brothers, allowing the Rizzutos to overtake the Cotronis as the city's preeminent crime family. Nicolo subsequently earned the monikers the 'Canadian Godfather' and 'boss of the Mafia in Canada' from international organized crime expert Antonio Nicaso.[5]
Nicolo's son Vito was imprisoned between 2007 and 2012 for murders in which he participated in 1981, causing a power struggle among criminals in Montreal. During his imprisonment, his son Nicolo Jr. was killed in 2009 and Nicolo Sr. was shot by a sniper while in his home in 2010. Upon Vito's release, several people were killed in what was suspected to be retaliation for the murders of his family. Vito died of natural causes in 2013, and the head of the Rizzuto family is now assumed to be his son Leonardo.[6]
- ^ a b "Shot down in a 'sloppy' hit, another Montreal mobster dies". The Globe and Mail. November 24, 2011. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
- ^ a b Enos, Elysha (March 30, 2016). "7 accused in Salvatore Montagna killing strike plea bargain". CBC News. Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
- ^ Edwards & Nájera 2021, p. 90.
- ^ a b c Lee Lamothe; Adrian Humphreys (2008). The Sixth Family: The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto (Revised ed.). Toronto: John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd. p. 308. ISBN 978-0-470-15445-8. Archived from the original on May 11, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
- ^ "MobWatcher". www.nicaso.com. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ "Rizzuto, l'ascension et la chute d'un parrain". editionaucarre.com. Archived from the original on November 12, 2010. Retrieved April 17, 2020.