4 men found guilty in cafe killing

John Raposo was shot on the patio of a cafe in 2012

TORONTO (CP) — Four men accused of arranging a brazen daytime killing at a crowded Toronto cafe as part of a feud among drug traffickers were found guilty of first-degree murder on Thursday.

The convictions of Nicola Nero, Martino Caputo, Rabih Alkhalil and Dean Wiwchar carry automatic life sentences without parole eligibility for 25 years. The men were also convicted of conspiracy to commit murder.

The four had been on trial for the death of John Raposo, who was shot on the patio of the Sicilian Sidewalk Cafe on the afternoon of June 18, 2012, as soccer fans gathered to watch a Euro Cup game.

The men showed little emotion as their verdicts were announced in a packed courtroom. Jury members deliberated for two days before making their decision.

Raposo’s family thanked the judge, the jury and the prosecutors involved in the case but said they were still mourning their loss.

“Our hearts are broken. Justice cannot bring back the missing link in our family,” Raposo’s cousin, Helen Pacheco said outside court. “We ask everyone to remember John not how he died but how he lived.”

Prosecutors accused Wiwchar of actually carrying out the killing of Raposo. They said the men on trial orchestrated the hit on their rival partly because they believed Raposo had ratted Nero out to authorities.

Nero, Caputo and Alkhalil plotted to steal a 200-kilogram shipment of cocaine from Raposo, split the money between them, and have him assassinated, court was told.

The four men are to be sentenced on the conspiracy count at a still-to-be determined date but their lawyers will return May 23 possibly to make arguments about how long it took to get to trial.