Mob boss dies in hospital
Vito Rizzuto was suffering from cancer
MONTREAL — Mob boss Vito Rizzuto died Monday morning in Montreal.
The 67-year-old was admitted to Sacre-Coeur Hospital in the Cartierville district suffering from lung complications.
“I can tell you that he died in our hospital of natural causes but that is the only comment I will make out of respect for the family,” said Sacre-Coeur spokesperson Maude Hebert-Chaput.
Sources confirmed that Rizzuto was suffering from aggressive lung cancer linked to cigarette smoking.
Rizzuto was weakened by chemotherapy and was rushed to the hospital with breathing difficulties after contracting pneumonia.
Because Rizzuto died of natural, medical causes, the coroner will not be investigating or conducting an autopsy, a spokesperson for the Quebec coroner’s office confirmed.
Rizzuto returned to Montreal last year after being extradited to the U.S. in 2006, where he served six years of a 10-year sentence for his part in the 1981 murders of three alleged gang leaders.
During his time in prison, both his son, Nick Rizzuto, and his father, Nicolo Rizzuto, were slain.
Rizzuto was known as the Teflon Don.
His son was gunned down in 2009, his father shot in his kitchen by a sniper in November 2010.
He was released from prison in October 2012 and returned to Montreal to his home in Laval’s Ste-Dorothee district.
Reports say he was admitted to hospital overnight Saturday to Sunday and died at 4 a.m. Monday.
Since his return to Montreal, there have been several slayings of people believed to be enemies of Rizzuto, most notably Joe Di Maulo, who was gunned down in the driveway of his home on Jan. 11. Di Maulo allegedly tried to wrest control of the mafia during Rizutto’s time in jail.
Rizzuto’s name has come up frequently during testimony at the Charbonneau Commission into the role of organized crime in the construction industry.
In particularly riveting testimony, the Charbonneau commissioners watched surveillance videotape showing the highest-ranking members of the Rizzuto crime family exchanging huge wads of cash.
Rizzuto’s father, Nicolo, is seen stuffing cash into his socks.
Rizzuto’s funeral will be held at Notre-Dame-de-la-Defense church in Little Italy, though no date or time has been confirmed.