WHY A QUEBEC MAN ISN’T ALLOWED IN ‘ITALIAN-STYLE COFFEE SHOPS.’
Possible risk prompts new restriction
A prodigious and storied Quebec drug trafficker and money launderer — once kidnapped by a Colombian drug cartel and hustled to their jungle hideaway — has been banned from setting foot in Montreal’s Little Italy.
The unusual parole condition — along with a prohibition against entering any “Italian- style coffee shops” — was imposed on Sabatino (Sammy) Nicolucci over fears he was slipping back to his underworld lifestyle.
“Your presence in that area represents a risk situation to meet individuals from organized crime,” the Parole Board of Canada said in its recent decision.
Nicolucci, 70, had a reputation as one of the Montreal Mafia’s most trusted drug and money laundering contractors, although he denies links to the mob.
He was released on parole in 2012, but prison officials remained concerned over his rehabilitation.
A considerable portion of Nicolucci’s adult life has been spent in captivity, as a fugitive or on parole. His first criminal conviction in Canada came in 1973 for drug possession, followed in 1978 for possessing $ 2 million of counterfeit money.
His elevation in the underworld was evident when he became known as a criminal confidante of Vito Rizzuto, the now- dead boss of the Mafia in Montreal who was the most powerful crime figure in Canada.
In 1984, Canadian po- lice followed Nicolucci and Rizzuto on a trip to South America, where their hosts were leaders of the CaruanaCuntrera, an immensely rich Mafia family renowned as drug specialists.
Afterwards, police charged Nicolucci for drug i mportation and money l aundering. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison and released on parole in 1991.
Within months of release he was laundering money again, moving more than $ 30 million through a cur- rency exchange in Montreal secretly run by the RCMP in an elaborate sting operation.
Officers traced a $ 1.7- million purchase of 280 kilo- grams of cocaine made by Nicolucci on behalf of Rizzuto, according to parole records.
Nicolucci, however, refused to pay the sellers, a Colombian drug cartel, claiming the cocaine was of poor quality.
The Col o mbians responded decisively, kidnapping Nicolucci from Castel Tina, the infamous Montreal strip club he managed, and smuggling him across the border to Miami and then to Colombia. Nicolucci — who was always a good talker — negotiated a deal with his kidnappers; his life would be spared and he would work off his debt as an indentured servant for the cartel in Colombia.
His conditions must not have been too inhospitable. When Colombian police found him, he fought extradition, a battle he eventually lost. Arriving back in Canada 643 days after he stopped reporting to his parole officer, he faced 437 charges for drug trafficking and money laundering.
He received a combined sentence of 33 years.
At previous parole hearings, the board was concerned he appeared to be using his temporary leaves from prison to connect with mob friends.
His release on parole was rejected in 2007, 2008 and 2010. He was paroled on statutory release in 2012.
Since release, he has “displayed a compliant attitude,” but some activities still caused officials to worry, according to the Parole Board of Canada’s decision, released Aug. 24.
A meal at an unnamed restaurant last year is cited as “cause for concern.” He was seen “going from one restaurant to another,” one of which is a known hangout for gangsters. He was asked to turn over all restaurant receipts and tell his parole supervisors where he planned to eat.
“More r ecently, s ome i nformation caused your supervisors to question your activities, your associates and possible business ties,” the parole decision says.
The board said sources claimed people owed him money and there is information about a shareholder of a company that was censored from the decision prior to its release.
Nicolucci denied doing anything untoward.
The board imposed tighter restrictions.
“You are forbidden to be inside the quadrilateral limited by the following streets: St- Laurent, Jean-Talon, Bell echasse and Alma,” the board said, naming t he boundaries of Montreal’s Little Italy. He was also told to stay away from bars and “Italian- style coffee shops or establishments that are recognized by the police as being a meeting point for members of Italian organized crime.”
“The main contributing factors related to your criminality are identified as criminal associations, bad judgment, pride, financial difficulties, lax values and the lure of easy gain,” says the board’s decision.