Alleged Mafia boss granted release from prison.
Surety posted of $450,000, many conditions
An alleged Toronto Mafia boss was granted release from prison to live at home despite government fears he will use his freedom to influence underworld affairs.
The Immigration and Refugee Board agreed that Vincenzo ( Jimmy) Demaria presents a danger to the public based on his criminal conviction and association with a Mafia organization but believe the risk can be mitigated with release conditions.
The board rejected the government’s argument that he was also a flight risk and unlikely to appear for future proceedings.
Canada Border Services Agency ( CBSA) is trying to deport Demaria, 66, back to Italy, a country he left before his first birthday, and argued he should remain in prison until his deportation proceedings had been decided.
Police and federal authorities have alleged for years that Demaria is a leading member of the ’ Ndrangheta, the proper name of the Mafia formed in the Italian region of Calabria, which is one of the world’s most powerful crime groups.
To reduce the danger DeMaria poses, Karri- Lynn Hennebury, an IRB member adjudicating his case, ordered him not to communicate directly or indirectly with several alleged or accused mobsters and mob associates who live in Canada and Italy.
The list includes DeMaria’s brother, Giueseppe ( Joe) Demaria; his cousin, Michele Carabetta; and Luigi Vescio, owner of a chain of funeral homes in the Toronto area, all of whom face charges in Italy for Mafia association after warrants were issued last year.
Demaria is also banned from communicating with two brothers in Vaughan, north of Toronto: Angelo Figliomeni and Cosimo Figliomeni. Authorities in Italy deem them Mafia fugitives. York Regional Police said Angelo was the head of the Figliomeni crime family when he was arrested last year in Project Sindacato, a large anti-mafia probe.
Demaria was also told to steer clear of Rocco Remo Commisso, who has, for decades, been named as a leading mob figure in the Toronto area, and Francesco Commisso, named as a mobster from Italy known as “The Chosen.”
All of those men live in or around Toronto.
Demaria was also told not to communicate with two men from Italy who are his cousins: Vincenzo Muià and Giuseppe Gregaraci. These two visited Canada last year to discuss mob business and met with several men who then visited Demaria while he was in prison, the IRB heard. They were arrested in Italy when they returned.
Demaria is ordered to live at home with his wife, to report monthly to CBSA, and not to commit any criminal acts.
Two people backed his release with promises of financial penalty if Demaria breaches his release conditions.
Linda Demaria, his wife, put up a $ 400,000 performance bond; Scott Wilson, a family friend who runs a franchised network of rehabilitation health clinics, gave a $50,000 cash deposit.
Hennebury made the pair responsible for supervising and monitoring Demaria.
“You must remain within your residence at all times except when in the direct company of either Linda DeMaria or Dr. Scott Wilson, except for medical emergencies, or during required court, immigration or parole proceeding appearances,” Demaria was told in his written release order.
Either Linda Demaria or Scott must be inside the home with him at all times and he cannot use a cellphone or access the internet without one of them present.
Demaria was also ordered to tell CBSA about his finances every two months.
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, National Post was prevented from attending or observing the hearing in real- time and the IRB could not yet provide Hennebury’s lengthy reasons for her decision.
Lawyers for Demaria declined to comment on his case.
Demaria is serving a life sentence for a second- degree murder in 1981, when he shot and killed a Toronto grocery clerk who owed him money. He was first released on parole in 1992. He was returned to prison in 2013 after an arrest for a parole breach.
Demaria can now again prepare to leave prison.
He was granted day parole by the Parole Board of Canada last month, partly because of the danger in prison from COVID-19 contagion, but before he could step out from behind bars he was re- arrested by CBSA for immigration matters.