When will the cops learn
It looked like a fabulous end for investigators hitting one of the most powerful Mafia
organizations in Canada; a leading clan of the 'Ndrangheta, under the gun and under arrest, their
Ferrari sports cars towed away, their money frozen, houses seized, gambling dents closed
All in the summer of 2019. Even their outrageously pricey booze was snatched from their shelves
What a difference 18 months has made. As of now, the prosecution has been halted, all charges stayed
Their cars and houses and luxury goods returned. The Mob Reporter here with news of an embarrassing
debacle by police, after a multi-million dollar probe codename Project Sindacato, that was all for
nothing — because investigators improperly monitored communications between suspects and their lawyers
Which in Canada, like many countries, is a violation the prosecution couldn't recover from
Let me tell you about it. July 18, 2019, was a day of celebration for York Regional Police
just north of Toronto. It was the end of a hugely ambitious investigation that stretched over 18
months targeting what police called the Figliomeni crime group, named after the man police said
was the boss: Angelo Filiomini. He was the longtime head of what they described as a
clan of the 'Ndrangheta, the Mafia that formed in Italy's region of Calabria. It was show and
tell time. Officers had seized 27 homes, 23 high-end cars worth three and a half million dollars, about
a million dollars in cash, along with luxury goods — including boxes and boxes of Rolex watches and
booze, including a six thousand dollar bottle of Scotch and a four thousand dollar bottle of cognac
Outside Figliomeni's house in Vaughan, officers corralled two Ferraris and towed them away
And then they seized his house. Figliomeni, 56 at the time, was charged with directing a criminal
organization, possession of the proceeds of crime, laundering the proceeds of crime
and other charges. He was also charged federally with tax evasion by the Canada Revenue Agency
Seizing the moment, the tax department compared it to the fall of the most notorious of
America's Prohibition-era gangsters — "Like Al Capone thought he didn't have to report his
taxes," the revenue agent told me at the time, "he was wrong," he said. For 14 months of their
probe, York police had wiretaps up and running on various targets and while this was a boost
to their investigation, it is also the source of the trouble that pushed it all over a cliff
You see, in Canada, and, in fact, many jurisdictions around the world, what a client talks about with
his lawyer should remain confidential. In Canada it is considered a principle of fundamental justice
And yet that rule was ignored time and time again, court heard. Not only were phone calls with lawyers
listened in on and recorded and assessed during the probe, but emails with lawyers found on phones
and computers that were seized in the raids were also used, court heard. Lawyers for the accused call
it, quote, "a flagrant disregard," unquote, for the rule of law. "Shocking," said one, "problematic," said another
Worse still, lawyers argued the cops and the prosecutors tried to hide what they did
making the damage even worse. So much of the entire investigation and prosecution against
all nine of those charged was tainted beyond repair it's all thrown out of court
Project Sindacato was the first project of a new anti-mob task force and this was
meant as its coming-out party. For mob watchers like me, it seemed a remarkable achievement
Ambitious, bold, going after the leadership as well as the money. The 'Ndrangheta, you must
understand, is one of the world's richest and most powerful crime groups. While police attention was
focused on its better known cousins, Sicily's Cosa Nostra and the American La Cosa Nostra
the 'Ndrangheta was blossoming everywhere. From its base in the small cities and towns of Calabria
it spread its tentacles around the world, finding fertile territory in the United States
Canada, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Argentina and many many others. It is notoriously hard to
penetrate because the clans are built on family ties — this is the real family, blood and marriage
The connections between the branches around the world remain tight the 'Ndrangheta families
originally from in and around Siderno have the upper hand in Canada. These close-knit clans are
collectively known as the Siderno Group and they stand as a formidable underworld power block. This
was seen again during the Sindacato probe. During it, two alleged mobsters from Italy — Vincenzo Muia
and Giuseppe Gregoraci — came to Toronto to meet with men Canadian police were watching. Police in
both countries cooperated as well. Italian police tracked and tapped the cell phones carried by
their citizens while Canadian police had wiretaps running on its suspects in Canada. Muia said he
came to Canada for one reason, to talk to Angelo Figliomeni and his brother, Cosimo, both originally
from Siderno, who he considered bosses within the constellation of the connected 'Ndrangheta clans
When police made their move in Canada with raids and arrests
officers in Italy acted simultaneously, rounding up dozens of alleged mobsters
in a parallel probe, with Canadian and Italian cops sharing information
I don't know what impact the falling apart of the case in Canada may have on the Italian charges
If anything. Italy has different rules of evidence and police were investigating a different set of
crimes in different circumstances. But there was overlap, especially since wiretaps from Canada
were submitted as evidence in court in Italy as part of the prosecution and many of those
charged in Italy with Mafia association live in Canada, including Angelo and Cosimo Figliomeni
Figliomeni's lawyer, Michael Lacy told me his client always maintained his innocence
Quote, "it is our position that the crown's case was
premised on innuendo suspicion and unsubstantiated allegations," he said
York police said the force is extremely disappointed by the decision of the government
to stop the prosecution. What makes the downfall of project Sindacato so mind-boggling
is that this isn't new law or an original tactic or legal complaint
Police in Canada have a history of stumbling over solicitor-client privilege rules when they're
trying to tackle the mob. The mistakes are well known. They're legendary in organized crime circles
Just a year before the Sindacato operation wrapped up Leonardo Rizzuto, the son of the
boss of the Mafia in Montreal, along with a co-accused, Stefano Soleccito, were acquitted
of gangsterism and conspiracy charges in Quebec for a similar breach by police. In 1990
Leonardo's father, the Montreal Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto himself was acquitted in a large drug
smuggling case on the east coast, after police recorded conversations between his lawyers
by bugging their table in a hotel restaurant where they ate dinner after the day's court
hearings. It's bewildering why they would do that. Vito Rizzuto's good fortune in that case had
potentially significant consequences. The charges came when he was starting to emerge as a crime
boss of serious international status. A conviction then could have hampered his growth significantly
Beating the charges, on the other hand, only left him free to keep building one of the most
impressive criminal enterprises on the continent. More than that, though, it enhanced his reputation
in the same way that beating charges gave New York Mafia boss John Gotti an aura of invincibility
It led to both Gotti and Rizzuto being referred to as "Teflon Dons" because charges against them
didn't stick. After Rizzuto was freed because of the illegal wiretaps, Rizzuto gave what has become
one of the classic underworld quotes in Canada. He said "one word can mean so much, especially when
that word is acquittal." I suspect Angelo Figliomeni feels much the same way. Thanks for watching