Rizzuto’s uncle released from U.S. jail

Domenico Manno, the uncle of Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto, was released from a U.S. prison on Thursday morning and was on his way back to Montreal, where the elderly mobster was to be reunited in grief with a family under attack.

Manno, 79, was instrumental in propelling the Rizzuto family to the top of Canada’s underworld in 1978 when he helped in the slaying of Paolo Violi, the reigning Mafia chieftain at the time.

That dramatic murder in a Montreal ice cream parlour signalled the changing of the guard from the Calabrian-led Mafia faction to the Sicilian-led faction under the leadership of Rizzuto’s father, Nicolo.

“Domenico Manno was turned over to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement this morning. ICE successfully removed Domenico Manno to Montreal, Canada, this afternoon,” said Ross Feinstein, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman.

Manno was held in Fort Dix correctional institution in New Jersey. He was charged in the U.S. in 1994 for a drug trafficking conspiracy that brought heroin and cocaine from South America into Canada through the U.S. After an extradition battle, he pleaded guilty in 1998.

His lawyer at the time called him the “Don Corleone” figure in the drug conspiracy, a reference to the Mafia boss in The Godfather movie.

As part of the plea agreement, Manno agreed to forfeit $250,000.

He later appealed his sentence, arguing he thought he would be transferred to serve his sentence in Canada and not ever have to pay the fine.

When told this was wrong, he was outraged and sought to reduce the fine, claiming he was broke. His appeal was denied.

He has since quietly done his time.