Shooting victim had Montreal Mafia connections

MONTREAL — A 38-year-old man, shot dead in Montreal Thursday evening near a known Mob hangout, had a colourful and extensive history with the Mafia.

Giuseppe (Closure) Colapelle entered the Montreal Mafia's bad books in 2005 — "tarnishing everyone," according to a Mob leader's assessment recorded by police — when a serious conflict arose between the Rizzuto organization and an organized-crime group based in Granby, Que., and known for smuggling marijuana.

According to evidence that surfaced during the Project Colisee Mob-surveillance investigation conducted by police during that period, that conflict degenerated to the point where one man was kidnapped and another man's car was set afire in Granby before the dispute was resolved.

In court documents, Colapelle was revealed to be at the very heart of the conflict.

Mafia leaders were, at one point, recorded by police discussing the possibility of having the man they referred to as Closure brought to the basement of a cafe in Montreal for a beating.

The recordings suggested Colapelle was a partner of Giuseppe (Ponytail) Devito for a brief period — but that their relationship soured because of the conflict with the people based in Granby.

In October 2004, Mafia leader Francesco (Compare Frank) Arcadi was recorded discussing the matter inside the Cafe Consenza.

At one point, Arcadi complained that Colapelle was "tarnishing everyone" in the Mafia because of how he was handling the aftermath of a large-scale marijuana deal that had gone bad.

Full Story(Vancouver Sun)