AL IAVARONE 50, KILLED IN ALLEGED MOB HIT IN HAMILTON, ONTARIO

Early today reports were coming out in Canada about an alleged mob hit that took place outside Hamilton, Ontario in a small area called Ancaster.  The victim Al Iavarone, 50, was ambushed in a drive by shooting outside of his home in the early hours of Thursday.

Officials are claiming that Iavarone is a "mafia boss," but it's misinformation, at least at this point.  Al Iavarone, was a real estate broker who allegedly had many ties and associations to organized crime in the Hamilton area.  It's widely speculated at this point that his murder was very much in retaliation for the murder of Musitano Crime family boss Angelo Musitano who was gunned down outside his home in a very similar fashion in May of 2017.

There are three mafia families which have a strangle hold in Hamilton, those being the Papalia crime family, the Musitano crime family, and the Luppino crime family.   All three clans have been warring for a bit of time now, and it looks like the dam is finally starting to give in a bit.

The Musitano crime family, is N'drangheta(Calabrian)is the smallest of the three mafia families. It's worth noting in 1997 that the Musitano crime family allegedly ordered the death of Johnny Papalia, allegedly because the Musitano's owed Papalia's second in command Carmen Barillaro.   Johnny was also the boss of the Papalia crime family.

The Papalia crime family, also N'drangheta(Calabrian) is a bigger family then the Musitano's, and there power base goes back to Italy, in relation to Barbaro n'drina.  They have or had very very strong connections to the Buffalo crime family, in Buffalo, New York.  Johnny Papalia would be shot and killed at age 73, outside a shop by Kenneth Murdoch, who was a hitman for the Musitano crime family, and the direct order was given by Angelo and Pat Musitano.   So you see the connection here between to the two factions.

The Luppino crime family, also N'drangheta(Calabrian) also has connections with the Buffalo crime family.  The Luppino's in recent years have seen setback after setback as many indictments, have semi-decimated the family. The Violi brothers(Dom and Joe) who were the grandsons of Giacomo Luppino came back to Hamilton after their father Paolo Voili was killed in Montreal in 1978.  They officially became associated.

In 2017 the Violi brothers were indicted and arrested on 75 charges, such as narcotics trafficking, conspiracy to import a controlled substance, possession with the intent to distribute, trafficking tobacco, trafficking firearms, and more.  The same week the Violi bothers were arrested, the FBI in New York City arrested several members, with several charges. 

Now to the meat...

What does all this have to do with yesterdays hit?  Very simply, retribution.  I can specifically state that Iavarone was indeed in on the Angelo Musitano hit, but it's going to be interesting to see if Iavarone was indeed with the Papalia crime family.  If so, this would make absolute sense from the perspective of eye for an eye.  It was the Musitano's who whacked the boss of the Papalia's, and it would only make certain sense if the Paplia's whacked Musitano.  How Iavarone fits in this can be one of several factors.

I don't believe Iavarone to be a mob boss.  I think the RCMP were overstepping here. However Iavarone was a real estate agent and one could imagine how in depth he might have been with the mafia.  Real estate guys are often fronts in many ways for the mob, and what I do agree with is that the shooting of Iavarone is simply collateral damage.  

This is will travel back to one main point.  Is this a beef between the Paplia's and Musitano's?  I would be shocked to find out that Iavarone was tied in with the Luppino's.   What else makes sense is one again we see three factions fighting over turf.  The Rizzuto's who for decades were the toughest and most adept and controlling everything from the border and into Europe have really take a back seat to the Calabrian factions.  It's not the say the Rizzuto's are finished, but every other criminal syndicate in Canada is moving in, and fighting over the narcotics trade, the tobacco trade and more.  The border is the key area, and long been fought over.  The Hells Angels, and other groups are just as much in the trenches at this point, and where this goes, is questionable.

What I can tell you is this.  I don't believe Iavarone to be a boss. I don't know if this is speculation on the RCMP'S part, or maybe Iavarone is assumed to be a boss.  I do know that that's more than three upper echelon "bosses" that have been whacked in about a year in Canada.  The main fighting point is tobacco and narcotics.  Whomever controls the borders, controls the game.  That's the way it's been, and now with biker gangs, three mafia families plus more warring over turf and miles, I don't see this bloodshed ending anytime soon.  Canada is much like Europe.  There isn't one mafia family that runs supreme, but multiple families all fighting for control.  Some have made comparisons to the 1960's, but I think it's more like 1980's in Philadelphia then anything.    

As more information becomes available we will definitely discuss it, but as for now, consider this a story developing.