Firebombed salon has links to Mafia
Security cameras near Laval salon to be checked
Arson investigators in Laval were called in Thursday to investigate yet another firebombing of a business owned by a person with ties to the Rizzuto organization.
Laval police were first alerted to the fire shortly after 2 a.m., when an alarm was set off inside the company based in a strip mall on Robert Bourassa Blvd.
When the police arrived, they noticed a smashed window and flames inside. Firefighters from a nearby fire station were called in and quickly extinguished the blaze, said Laval police spokesperson Constable Franco Di Genova.
“When the firefighters arrived, they were able to smell an accelerant,” Di Genova said, while explaining why arson investigators were called to the scene. He added that investigators will check security cameras used by other businesses in the area to see if they can come up with images of the person, or people, responsible for setting the fire. Di Genova said he was unaware of any motive that might explain why the business was targeted.
The Thursday morning fire appears to be the most recent in a series of arsons targeting businesses with alleged ties to the Montreal Mafia in recent months. In December, Montreal police Commander Juan Vargas, told La Presse that 13 recent arson fires investigated since September appear to be related to an internal conflict within the Montreal Mafia and that in 11 of those cases, the property damaged could be linked to people with ties to the Rizzuto organization.
According to the Quebec business registry, the salon, Streakz Coiffure, is owned by Caterina Miceli, identified in a 2006 court document as the wife of Carmelo (Mini-Me) Cannistraro, 46. Cannistraro headed an illegal bookmaking ring tied to the Rizzuto organization that was uncovered during Project Colisée, a major investigation into the Montreal Mafia that produced dozens of arrests in 2006. Miceli is also listed as the owner of another hair salon that operates under the same name on René-Laennec Blvd. in Laval.
In 2011, Cannistraro was part of a group of 10 men who pleaded guilty to charges related to a bookmaking ring. The network used a computer program to take illegal bets on sporting events. In a summary of the Colisée investigation, Cannistraro was described as being “in charge of (the ring’s) daily operations and of its personnel.” Because of his leading role, Cannistraro agreed to pay the highest fine, $250,000, out of more than $1.1 million the group collectively agreed to pay as part of their sentences.
The investigation revealed Cannistraro worked closely with Mafia leaders who financed the operation, including Francesco Del Balso and Lorenzo Giordano (who was murdered in Laval early last year). The RCMP estimated the bookmaking operation made more than $26 million in profits between October 2004 and March 2006. Cannistraro’s name has come up in at least two other major police investigations involving members of the Montreal Mafia since October 2011.
During Colisée, the RCMP had information that Streakz was owned by Polisena Delle Donne, the wife of Guiseppe Torre, 45, a convicted drug trafficker who received one of the lengthiest sentences handed out in the investigation. Torre was sentenced to an overall prison term of 14 years in 2009 after pleading guilty to being part of a series of conspiracies to smuggle drugs including cocaine into Canada.
Through wiretaps, the RCMP learned that Delle Donne sold the company to Miceli in April 2006. But according to the Quebec business registry, Delle Donne still has ties to the Streakz hair salon on René-Laennec Blvd.
The court document that mentions the sale of the salon to Miceli was filed at the end of an RCMP investigation into Torre and Delle Donne’s assets. As part of the probe, the RCMP recorded a telephone conversation Del Balso had, on Feb. 22, 2006, during which he mentioned Cannistraro planned to buy the salon from Delle Donne for $100,000.
13 recent arson fires investigated since September appear to be related to an internal conflict within the Montreal Mafia.