Slain gangster had ‘found God’
Member of Bible study group
HAMILTON, ON T. • The day after news of the targeted murder of Angelo Musitano, the son of a notorious Mafia boss and a well-known gangster in his own right, a small, close-knit group of his friends gathered behind closed doors, and there, where no prying ears could hear, they spoke — they prayed for Musitano, for his family and then for the gunman who shot him dead in front of his house.
This is a group that represents a different side of Musitano, a man who had turned his back on a long life of crime, members of the Christian men’s Bible study group say.
Musitano had embraced Jesus Christ and was going headlong down the path of relentless Christianity and attended their Bible study group for about four years, they said.
The stark irony for them is that the day Musitano was killed was the same day his first-person story of his transformation appeared in a published religious book.
The authors who collected the stories from 13 men and women received their copies that same day, but never had a chance to deliver a copy to Musitano.
“There are some who will know me by my name alone and will recall my past history. There are those who will sit in judgment of me because of my past but these are the people who do not really know me,” the chapter on Musitano’s testimony begins.
“I was born into a family — not just any family but ‘the family’ — in other words a family associated with organized crime.”
The chapter goes on to speak of his upbringing, being “constantly in and out of trouble with the law,” and his conviction for a murder conspiracy in a plea deal, after being charged with ordering hits on two rival Mafia bosses.
Both before prison and in prison, the chapter says, he saw “the worst of the human condition — beatings, stabbings and murder,” but after serving his sentence he tried to “distance myself from my past.”
It was hard for an ex-con, he said. He met the woman he would marry in 2008, and while they were expecting their first child, the book says, “God found me.”
He saw a Bible on a friend’s table and started reading. He went straight out to buy a copy. He still struggled to make a better life until he realized he had to give up “everything from the past and start over” to move forward, the chapter reads.
“I made amends with God for my mistakes and He blessed me with peace and love,” it says. He realized, it says, “I have now taken a stand to help other young men and women to learn from my mistakes.”
Art Duerksen, a Hamilton missionary who helped gather the stories for the book, entitled Are You Looking For the Truth: I Found Him, said the story is a true reflection of the man he and others in the men’s group knew.
“These are his words. He dictated it. It was a personal interview, right from his mouth. Everyone knew who he was. This is who he is — who he was, as of yesterday.”
Duerksen said he saw evidence of Musitano’s dedication to his new life when he dropped in unannounced and unexpected at Musitano’s restaurant on Hamilton’s Concession Street.
“I walked in the back room and there was Angelo with a couple other guys … And — this is the truth — his Bible is right there on the table,” Duerksen said.
“He handed out rosaries like they were candy,” said Mike King, a member of the same group.
“He was trying to keep his nose clean. He was trying to run a legitimate business and provide legitimately for his family. But that isn’t a headline,” said King.
Musitano was attending the Christian men’s group for about four years, they said. When he introduced himself to the group, people immediately recognized his name. He didn’t shy from his past, they said.
“We all met this morning for about an hour and a half and guys exchanged stories,” said Duerksen. “We all shared stories and we cried a lot. We were praying for whoever did this, whoever they are, because they are lost.”
Det. Sgt. Peter Thom said the shooter was caught on video surveillance climbing out of a car that was waiting for Musitano to return to his home in Hamilton’s Waterdown community, at about 4 p.m. Tuesday. He walked up beside Musitano’s white pickup truck and shot him multiple times at close range.
He then climbed back in the car and fled.
For more than 80 years, police in Canada and Italy tracked members of the Musitano Mafia family. It was considered one of three mob clans in Hamilton, under Musitano’s father, Dominic, who died of natural causes in 1995.
I WAS BORN INTO A FAMILY — NOT JUST ANY FAMILY BUT ‘THE FAMILY.’