Mississauga convicted killer granted full parole
De Maria’s scheduled deportation to Italy was put off due to pandemic
Vincenzo (Jimmy) De Maria, a Mississauga senior citizen and convicted underworld killer, has been granted full parole, six months after his deportation to Italy was postponed because of the pandemic.
De Maria, 66, who also operated a bakery/deli and a west-end financial services company, was convicted of shooting a man to death in 1981 over a $2,000 debt.
He has been described by police in Canada and Italy as a major organized crime figure.
De Maria came to Canada as an infant from his birthplace of Calabria, Italy, but never took out citizenship.
He was ordered to be deported to Italy in 2018, but that decision was quashed in April because of his health concerns and the pandemic.
“A further hearing was ordered by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), and this is currently placed on hold due to the global pandemic,” a newly released Parole Board of Canada decision states.
“Should you be ordered deported, you indicated you intend to appeal their decision,” the decision continues.
De Maria was identified in a November 2010 Italian police report as one of the top GTA leaders of the ’Ndrangheta, or Calabrian Mafia.
The recent parole board report notes that he was convicted of second-degree murder after confronting a man in 1981 in a market and accused him of not paying a debt.
De Maria’s criminal history also includes convictions in 1976 for possession of a narcotic and carrying a concealed weapon, while he was acquitted of extortion charges in 1981, the parole board decision states.
Earlier decisions granting him parole have been overturned because authorities said he associates with local members of the ’Ndrangheta.
“You accept full responsibility for your criminal history; however, maintain you have no affiliations with organized crime,” the decision continues.
De Maria was granted day parole in November 1989, but that was suspended in 1991 after an assault charge, which was eventually dropped.
He was granted full parole in 1992, but that was suspended in 1 the board called “questionable behaviour and associates as well as a breach of your non-association condition with indications of active involvement with those involved with Traditional Organized Crime.”
The parole report for De Maria also notes his full parole was yanked yet again in June 2014 because of association with “your associates” and what was considered an increased risk of reoffending.
The board letter notes that he has a supportive wife and quotes from a November 1988 he does not display any signs of mental illness.
“You are addressing health issues which may increase your risk should you contract the Coronavirus, restricting your access to the community while accompanied by one of your bonds persons,” the report states.
An earlier parole board decision noted that he was well behaved in prison, where he worked as a cleaner in health care, and that prison files portray him as someone who “runs the institution.”
After his second-degree murder conviction, De Maria served time in Millhaven maximumsecurity prison in Kingston, medium-security Joyceville institution, as well as the Beaver Creek Institution in cottage country north of Toronto and a Keele Street halfway house.