Mafia expert hints at secret Ontario probe
York police detective lets news of possible investigation slip during Quebec corruption inquiry
MONTREAL— An Ontario mafia expert told a Quebec corruption probe Thursday that York Regional Police may be investigating government contracts that have been awarded to organized crime groups.
The issue of rigged government contracts has rocked the provincial and municipal governments in Quebec and is the subject of a public inquiry into the infiltration and corruption of the province’s construction industry, its unions and the public officials who dole out lucrative contracts.
York Regional Police Det. Mike Amato let it slip at the end of his testimony Thursday that authorities may be investigating at least one instance where a criminal organization in Ontario undercut competitors in order to secure a contract for taxpayer-funded work.
Amato refused to answer a question about any instances he knew of in which mafia groups he had been speaking about were able to win a contract by being the lowest bidder.
“That question there is too close to something that we are working on right now,” said Amato, a 25-year veteran of the force.
“The question that he asked brings something to mind in terms of a link that may exist. I’m not saying it does exist, but it’s a possible theory.”
It was the most concrete example that emerged of the links that exist between the activities of Italian mafia groups in Quebec and Ontario. Earlier this week, a joint investigation by the Toronto Star and RadioCanada revealed the recent rise of the ’Ndrangheta, or the Calabrian mafia, which the RCMP has listed as one of its “Tier 1” threats in the GTA.
The ’Ndrangheta is one of three separate mafia clans active in Canada. The others are the Cosa Nostra, or Sicilian mafia, and the Camorra, originally from Naples.
In Quebec, investigative news reports and police probes of corruption and collusion have been frontpage news for years. The Quebec government launched the Charbonneau commission last year to probe the ways the Cosa Nostra and outlaw biker gangs have infiltrated Quebec’s $50-billion construction industry.
There have been a number of arrests, including construction magnate Tony Accurso and confidantes of Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay. The allegations have also resulted in the creation of a provincial anti-corruption police squad, which just this week executed search warrants related to a publicprivate partnership to build a mega hospital affiliated with McGill University.
Mafia activities in Ontario fly under the radar of the public and the police, said Amato, who has been working full time on mafia intelligence for the last six years.
Amato said that the ’Ndrangheta is “stronger and more prominent” in Ontario based on the number of members in the province, which he did not reveal. The group is also exceedingly difficult for police to infiltrate, investigate and arrest because it operates along strict bloodlines. One is either born or marries into the clan. Children are raised according to the strict criminal code that only family can be trusted and all others must be manipulated for financial gain. Viewed from the outside, they appear wealthy, generous and normal. They work as bankers, accountants, limousine drivers, lawyers and entrepreneurs. They operate banquet halls, nightclubs, garden centres and construction companies. “There are persons who are criminals, who are suspects in murders, who . . . go and coach soccer for kids. They’re integrated into the community and most people don’t even know who they are,” Amato told commission lawyer Sonia Lebel. Members of the mafia also donate to charity, raise money for political parties and take part in community services, he said. “It legitimizes your own persona. It legitimizes your criminal past. It’s almost like absolving your sins.” Vincent “Jimmy” Demaria is one of the rare examples in which a Toronto-area mobster has made the headlines. A baker by trade, he went to jail at the age of 27 after executing a man in a Little Italy market over a $2,000 debt. He was a model prisoner at Kingston’s Joyceville Institution, even acting as president of the jail’s inmate committee. Three decades later, in 2009, he was out on parole and operating a financial-services business when Amato’s squad sent him back to jail for consorting with mafia associates and violating the conditions of his release. When asked about the possibility of government contracts going to organized crime groups, the office of Ontario Community Services Minister Madeleine Meilleur issued a statement, saying: “As I’m sure you can appreciate, my office is not privy to details on ongoing police investigations. It’s important to note that we do not interfere with or direct police operations. What I can tell you is that this government has made significant investments in the fight against organized crime.”