[2] Magaddino informed Papalia that he was not to replace the older leaders in Ontario, but rather to work with them. [103], In 1972, Papalia was summoned to a meeting in Toronto by Michele Racco to discuss the situation with his son Domenic who was facing three counts of attempted murder after he lost his temper and impulsively shot three men whom he felt had insulted him. [132] The journalists Peter Edwards and Antonio Nicaso, in their 1993 book Deadly Silence, accused Papalia of being the one responsible for Volpe's murder. Box 7200, Leesburg, VA 20177 You may be in during the glory with the boss, but when the boss goes, you disappear with him", according to Joe Fotia, a retired OPP Detective Staff Sergeant. [34] The fact that Bynoe had paid Papalia $100 in exchange for being allowed to have sex with Ryce left him open to the charge of soliciting prostitution, which had had been very embarrassing for him, especially if he was holding a position of power. [53] In October 1958, Papalia made contact with Vinnie Mauro and Frank Caruso of the Genovese family, saying he wanted to smuggle heroin into the United States and needed someone to sell the heroin. [25] It is believed Antonio and Johnny Papalia, along with Stefano Magaddino of the Buffalo crime family, played a role in Perri's disappearance in 1944 after Perri left members of his Mafia crew "slighted", though the case remains unsolved. [22], Johnny was extradited to the United States for trial in 1962 for his role in the French Connection heroin smuggling ring, found guilty and sentenced to 10 years. [131] The police did not charge Papalia for his role in the Greektown case out of the fear that he might be acquitted, which would add to the already almost legendary mystique that he had by the 1980s. Johnny Papalia was the Buffalo crime family capo in charge of all Southern Ontario operations and Johnny . "[138], Several times, the police were able to pressure criminals to wear wires while visiting Papalia at his office on Railroad Street, but he never said anything that would had allowed the police to lay charges. The elite Nomad chapter of the Hells Angels based in Montreal purchased their cocaine from the Rizzuto family, and in return sold the cocaine to the other Hells Angels chapters. To John, it would have been the fact that he was taken for a fool, which he couldn't handle; that he had trusted somebody that he couldn't. [20] Papalia then began to expand his enterprise with his son Johnny who had some relationship with the Buffalo crime family. [156], Amid controversy, Papalia was refused a full Funeral Mass by the Diocese of Hamilton due to having been a career criminal. [10], In 1940, Papalia's father was arrested and sent to internment at Camp Petawawa as part of the Italian Canadian internment, as potentially dangerous enemy aliens with alleged connections to Benito Mussolini's fascist regime, causing his son to have a grudge against the Canadian government. "[37] Papalia's fondness for the wives and girlfriends of other men led him to engage in a succession of fights with the cuckolded men. "[122] About his reputation for violence, Papalia said he had "a short fuse" and added, "Hey, we all lose our temper sometime, don't we? [5] One leader remained, Johnny's brother Frank, who died in 2014 and retired years before his death. Another branch of the family is based in Griffith in the Australian state of New South Wales. [120] Papalia refused to be interviewed, exploding in rage and swearing at a CBC television crew that tried to interview him on the streets, believing that this would render the footage un-airable. [11] However, Papalia was suspected in playing a role in the murder of Perri's wife Bessie Starkman in 1930. [47], On July 10, 2008, in the Cerberus operation of the Guardia di Finanza, several people were arrested including Barbaro 'ndrina members and Antonio Papalia's son Pasquale, who received orders from the bosses in prison, Domenico, Rocco and Antonio Papalia who were said to have controlled the construction sector in Buccinasco, Corsico and Pogliano Milanese. I was standing there talking with John and this old Italian guy was walking by and the old guy bows his head to John and says, 'Ah comapare [an Italian expression meaning "godfather]'. [21] The Papalia family were still angry with Perri for his refusal to support the Italiano family and made an alliance with Stefano Magaddino against him. The Papalia crime family ( Italian: [papalia]) also known as Papalia 'ndrina, is a 'Ndrangheta organized crime family [2] based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, as well as Plat in Southern Italy and Buccinasco in Northern Italy. [104] Papalia took this duty seriously, attempting to serve as a surrogate father to Domenic Racco and tried to discourage him, albeit unsuccessfully, from abusing drugs. [116] After his release from prison, Papalia went to his cottage at Lake Temagami in northern Ontario. [47], Domenico Papalia, was involved in at least five kidnappings and convicted for the 1976 murder of the emerging boss Antonio D'Agostino, outside a restaurant. Just Paw-fect - new police puppies put through their . [92] In 1975, Papalia founded the Gold Key Club nightclub in Hamilton. [114] Justice Peter Wright said of the three men convicted, "The evidence in his case is grim and appalling. [82] Had he been granted a new trial, Papalia then planned to ask to have the charges dismissed under the grounds that his guilty plea and the resultant negative publicity made it impossible to find an impartial jury to hear his case. It's widely believed by Mafia insiders that Magaddino and Papalia wanted to move in on Perri's territory in Ontario. The Musitanos were one of three Italian mafia families that emerged in the Hamilton area. In the 1960s, he played a role in the French Connection drug smuggling operation, for which he was extradited to the United States and served five years of a 10-year prison sentence. [163][164], Papalia's brother Frank, the former underboss of the family, who would have been the heir to the operation, decided not to retaliate; instead, he retired and lived inconspicuously. Frank was born into a crime family that built a notorious empire on Hamilton's Railway Street. "[92], On June 4, 1970, a NDP MPP, Morton Shulman, gave a speech at Queen's Park, that detailed the close friendship between Papalia and a locally prominent Oakville businessman with a long criminal record, Clinton Duke as well as with the commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police Eric Silk. "[115] The fact that Cotroni had threatened to kill Papalia if he went to prison caused him much alarm, and it came as a considerable relief to him in May 1977 when Violi and Cotroni were acquitted on most of the charges on an appeal. [30] Frank did refuse, fined $150, his licence suspended for three months and his car taken to impound, where it was worked on by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. John was the type of guy-even back then-that if he sensed fear in you, he tried to prey on it. Three kids, now without their parents, and . He later claimed that his reputation for violence dated back to the war years when he was the subject of anti-Italian bullying and insults, leading Papalia to engage in violence for self-defense. [135] Papalia always had his meetings with his men on the street, talked vaguely in words that were always open to interpretation while engaging in hand gestures to convey his real meaning. [144] Barillaro was considered to be the more important of the two as the geographical proximity of the Niagara peninsula to the U.S. border was better situated for drugs to be smuggled into Canada. ", "Parole of convicted mob killer notorious for his explosive temper tested by road raging motorist", "Kenny Murdock, mob-boss Papalia's killer, gets new identity", "Notorious mobster Pat Musitano believed to be targeted in Hamilton house shooting", "Musitano, 29, was arrested Wednesday for violating terms of his parole, which prohibited him from associating with known criminals", "Frank Papalia was 'the rock' of Hamilton mafia family", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Johnny_Papalia&oldid=1142139522, Canadian people convicted of drug offences, People murdered by Canadian organized crime, People extradited from Canada to the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox person with multiple parents, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 18:49. [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". [125] In July 1983, Ral Simard moved to Ontario from Montreal where he met with Papalia in Hamilton on behalf of Frank Cotroni. [11] In 1986, Papalia stated that his biggest regret in life was never attending high school, saying of his life, "It's been an interesting one. It exposes a world of big money grabbed and held by the exercise of brute power. The Papalia crime family is a 'Ndrangheta organized crime family based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, as well as Plat in Southern Italy and Buccinasco in N. [edit | edit source]We welcome community groups or organizations who would like to use the Center for their family history classes or activities [edit | edit . [5][73] After his sentence for the Bluestein assault was commuted on March 15, 1962, he was finally extradited. [145] One Toronto businessman, Donald Pressey, paid Papalia $10,000 after "Pennybender" threatened him and said he was working on behalf on the Montreal underground. [171] One police officer, Shawn Clarkson, of the Niagara Falls Police Department, stated: "There was nobody to stand up to the Hells Angels the way Barillaro or Papalia would have. He was killed. [121] By the 1980s, Papalia's firms were the largest suppliers of beer dispensers for bars in Ontario while leasing out at least 2,000 vending and pinball machines. They're taking me somewhere I don't want to go! "[37], By the early 1960s, he earned his reputation from the "French Connection", which had then been responsible for supplying over 80 percent of America's heroin market between the 1960s and 1970s. [155] The hitman Kenneth Murdock claimed that he had been ordered to kill Papalia by Angelo and Pat Musitano of the Musitano crime family who owed $250,000 in bookmaking debts to Papalia. [119] In 1977, Papalia was featured in the CBC television documentary, Connections, about Mafia influence on the Canadian economy. John would have had me hit. [2], The Papalia family, like many 'ndranghetist families, has the habit of marrying its members with other important 'Ndrangheta families of Plat, such as the Marando, Agresta, Perre, Sergi, Trimboli, Musitano, and Molluso. [122] Papalia said about his occupation, "I go into a bar and I tell them my name and I intimidate people into taking our equipment. He's hard, hard, hard. The Papalia crime family also known as Papalia 'ndrina, is a 'Ndrangheta organized crime family[2] based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, as well as Plat in Southern Italy and Buccinasco in Northern Italy. [92] As Papalia grew more wealthy and powerful, he came to display a sultanistic attitude alongside his megalomania. [130] Papalia is reported to have told Cotroni, "Put a leash on Melo or I'll kill him. [122] Papalia told Moon that he had stopped taking vacations in Mexico because there was "too much crime" in that nation, and now preferred the West Indies. [50], Another branch of the 'ndrina moved to Griffith, New South Wales. [42] Papalia also had influence into northern Ontario with his power extending into North Bay. "[75] Papalia's behaviour was such that he was refused admission to the airplane, and instead the RCMP were forced to drive him to the U.S. border at Fort Erie with Papalia vomiting in the backseat to be handed over to the agents of the federal Bureau of Narcotics. He used our name. [168] Rizzuto appointed Musitano as one of his Ontario lieutenants to work under the authority of Panepinto. [51] On July 15, 1977, Donald MacKay, a Griffith politician who had long been opposed to the activities of the 'ndrina in his hometown disappeared after going to meet a man who promised him information about the Papalia family. "[11] As a teenager, Papalia was a member of a gang that staged burglaries in Hamilton, with the icehouse at the corner of Railway and Mulberry streets serving as their base. [16] The refusal of Perri and Starkman to financially support the Italiano family during his imprisonment caused much resentment in the Papalia family with police reports from the time noting that Tony Papalia was unhappy with the breach of the Mafia code. It is typical of what happens when a syndicate tries to take over and organize crime. [68] Monarch Vending was a profitable concern, making a daily profit of $12,000. "[118], In 1982, after Bader had moved south to Miami, he was sprayed with bullets when answering his front door. [104] The meeting was held in Italian, a language that Papalia could speak competently, albeit he was "not fluent in the delicacies of the language. [38], By the mid-1950s, Papalia was called back to Ontario by Magaddino and inducted as a made man into the Canadian arm of the Buffalo crime family and to be boss of the Papalia family in Ontario. But he got on everybody's nerves. [100][99] Papalia remained close to American gangsters whom he often met in the resort towns of Turkey Point and Port Rowan on the shores of Lake Erie. Police. [35] Both Galante and Cotroni served as mentors for Papalia, whom modelled himself after them. [92] Detective Sergeant John Gordon Harris of the Hamilton police said, "There wasn't actually any gold key. [10] Antonio became associated with Calabrian compatriot and notorious bootlegger Rocco Perri, and later Guelph mobster Tony Sylvestro, working as a bootlegger who operated speakeasies. The CBC television documentary, Connections, about mafia influence on the Canadian economy actually any Gold Club. Told Cotroni, `` There was n't actually any Gold Key 42 ] Papalia reported... 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