Believed to have been shot by an assassin hiding on his property
Nicolo Rizzuto Sr., widely regarded by police to be the Godfather of Canada’s Mafia, was shot dead in his Montreal home Wednesday. It’s the latest in a string of murders over the last 15 months that have included the assassination of Rizzuto’s grandson, Nick Jr., and the man expected to become the next head of the Sicilian clan, Agostino Cuntrera. Police say the 86-year-old was looking out his window toward a wooded area in his backyard when a hidden gunman fired the fatal shot. The street where Rizzuto lived, Antoine Berthelet Ave., is often called “Mafia Row,” and is also home to Rizzuto’s son Vito, currently in a U.S. prison, and his son-in-law Paolo Renda, who is thought to have been kidnapped from the same area earlier this year. “He’s 86 years old. You figure he’s out of the situation,” one of Rizzuto’s neighbours, who asked not to be identified, told the CBC. “I don’t know why they’ve gone to the extent of going after the old fella.”