More violence feared after Musitano attacks
‘Common sense’ that murder, shooting at home linked: detective
Hamilton police are concerned about further violence after a notorious mobster’s home was shot up after his brother was gunned down in his Waterdown driveway last month.
“If you’re looking at it in stages, you have the green light, orange light, red light. I think we’re kind of in the orangeto red-light-type situation,” said homicide unit Det. Sgt. Peter Thom, who is leading the investigation into Angelo (Ang) Musitano’s May 2 murder.
While the violence is targeted, police are always concerned about innocent bystanders getting caught in the crossfire, Thom said, pointing to the very public setting of the homicide in broad daylight in a quiet subdivision.
Police have no “concrete evidence” that Ang’s murder is connected to the shooting early Tuesday at older brother Pasquale (Pat) Musitano’s St. Clair Boulevard home.
“But just common sense says there is some sort of connection, something’s going on,” Thom said. “What we don’t know is why.”
A photo by a freelance photographer shortly after the 2:30 a.m. Tuesday shooting shows 19 evidence tags.
They appear to be marking what look like shell casings in front of Pat Musitano’s home. The front appears to have been sprayed with bullets, but no one was hurt. Experts suggest the shooting was a warning or message.
Police won’t say exactly how many casings or holes were found, what type of gun was used, whether two guns were used or whether it’s believed the shooter emptied one magazine of bullets and reloaded.
Staff Sgt. Mike Cunliffe, who is in charge of the investigation, would only say the home was shot at “multiple” times. Officers were back at the house Tuesday night executing a warrant looking for evidence, but Cunliffe wouldn’t share details.
It’s believed a vehicle was used Tuesday and police are working on a description for the public, he said.
In both investigations, the Musitano family has not co-operated with police and continues to refuse protection. Thom said without speaking to the family, it is difficult to know what was going on in Ang Musitano’s life before his death.
What is known is that Ang and his family — he’s survived by his wife and three young children — had lived in the Chesapeake Drive home, where he was killed, for about two years. Neighbours didn’t know about Ang’s time in prison or the Musitano crime family.
“He seemed to be a working guy, he liked cars ... and that’s about all the neighbours knew,” Thom said.
Police know he was involved in a Hamilton-based construction firm where he worked as a project manager, but Thom said he may also have been a part owner.
The issue is Ang’s name is not on the paperwork and any agreement he had with the listed owner, who has provided police with a statement, does not appear in writing.
“There is still a lot we don’t know about his life without getting the cooperation of the family.”
Police believe the Musitano organization is still “active in the underworld.” But Ang’s role in recent years isn’t clear, Thom said.
According to friends, Ang had found religion in recent years and turned his life around. But without the co-operation of the family, Thom said it’s hard to gauge what was going on.
Police do not know the motive and continue to assess whether the murder has something to do with criminal activity in the past or something more recent.
The Musitanos have a long criminal history as one of three Italian Mob families that once vied for control of territory. Pat was seen to inherit control of the ’Ndrangheta organization when his father, Dominic, died in 1995.
The two brothers are believed to have launched one of the bloodiest periods of Mob violence in Hamilton’s history. They were accused of taking out Mob boss Johnny “Pops” Papalia in 1997, allegedly ordering hit man Kenny Murdock to commit the murder.
They were charged with first-degree murder, but struck a deal, pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in the shooting death of Niagara crime boss Carmen Barillaro, Papalia’s lieutenant. They served two-thirds of their 10year sentences and were released from prison in October 2006.
Since then, the brothers had remained off the radar, except in September 2015, when Pat’s SUV was set ablaze in his St. Clair driveway.
Police have said Ang was not the subject of any recent police investigation. However, it’s unclear if the same is true for Pat.
Hamilton police are in touch with other jurisdictions to see whether there’s a connection between Ang’s murder and other organized crime violence in Ontario and Quebec.
“Is this murder part of a national plan? That’s something we’re keeping an open mind about,” Thom said.
Detectives are poring over thousands of hours of surveillance footage captured near the Waterdown scene in hopes of spotting an error the killer or killers may have made.
Video from Ang’s security system captured a stolen burgundy four-door 2006 Ford Fusion slowly driving down the street and pulling in front of his house. The shooter — a heavy-set man, wearing a black tuque and black jacket with grey pants and black shoes — gets out and shoots Ang in the driveway.
That vehicle was seen scoping out the scene a week earlier and found dumped nearby afterward.
Anyone with information about the homicide can contact Det. Jason Cattle at 905-546-4167. Those with tips about the St. Clair shooting can call the criminal investigations branch at 905-546-3833. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.