Hit on mobster was ‘symbolic,’ expert believes
Killer may have shot father of 3 at home to send a message: ex-cop
HAMILTON— Mobster Angelo Musitano, who claimed to have found God and inner peace, was shot dead in the driveway of his suburban home, police said.
Musitano, 39, was shot at close range at about 4 p.m. on Tuesday while sitting in his truck.
“It was a very specific, calculated, closeup shooting where the male (shooter) has been observed exiting a vehicle, walking up or running up to the side of the truck and firing at close range at Mr. Musitano.” said Hamilton police Det. Sgt. Peter Thom.
Musitano’s wife and three other family members were inside their home on a quiet, upscale residential street in Waterdown when the heavy-set gunman approached and pumped several bullets into Musitano, Thom said.
A retired police organized crime officer said he doubts Musitano’s old enemies believe he had a spiritual conversion.
That retired officer said he suspects the killer shot the father of three at his home to make the attack particularly personal.
“It’s all symbolic, isn’t it?” he said. “We just have to figure it out.”
Musitano would have celebrated his 40th birthday on Sunday.
There are at least a half dozen security cameras at the house and Thom said the police are studying images from them. “The footage is fairly good,” he said. There were also witnesses to Tuesday’s shooting, he said.
His family has a long and violent history in the area’s underworld. That includes convictions for extortions and bombings in the 1970s, the 1983 gangland hit of Toronto mobster Domenic Racco, and the murders of mobsters John (Pops) Papalia and Carmen Barillaro in 1997.
There have been local media reports that the murder signifies the start of a gang war but family members haven’t asked the police for any refuge, Thom said.
“We have been in touch with the family and they haven’t asked for any assistance from police,” he said.
Recently, Musitano had found religion, according to police and an underworld source.
The killer is described as male, about 230 lbs. He wore a black toque and jacket and drove a four-door sedan.
Investigators have several possible theories.
One police source said some key players in illegal gambling in Niagara Falls have been arrested, creating a turf war to replace them. Thom declined to comment on any possible link between the murder and gambling in the Niagara Region.
A police source and a retired police source both noted that Musitano was connected to the late Vito Rizzu- to, a Montreal mob boss, who has long-standing bitter enemies in Hamilton and Toronto.
The Hamilton Spectator quoted a source as saying that Musitano’s older brother, 49-year-old Pasquale (Pat), is likely very concerned about his own safety.
“The war is on,” the source said to The Spectator.
Mike King, who said he has been a good friend of Angelo’s since meeting him at a Christian men’s group several years ago, told the Spectator he was shattered by the news.
“Ang (Angelo) had left his past behind him,” King said. “Ang would stand up for what’s right for everyone. He was a devoted father and was devoted in his faith. He was a good person.”
King said the father of three loved his wife dearly and was living a clean life, running a legitimate business.
“He loved the Lord. He changed his life for the Lord.” The Musitano brothers were charged with first-degree murder in the May 1997 contract killing of Papalia, a Hamilton mob boss.
Papalia, 73, was gunned down by hit man Kenny Murdock in daylight as he walked through a downtown parking lot.
Angelo Musitano was 21at the time, while Pat Musitano was 31.
Adeal allowed the brothers to plead guilty to the lesser offence of conspiracy to commit murder in the 1997 shooting death of Barillaro.
Barillaro was considered by police to be Papalia’s second-in-command.