‘Very solid leads’ in slaying of man, police suggest
Evidence points to suspects in killing of Musitano associate
Homicide investigators say they have plenty of evidence pointing towards suspects in the killing of Grant Edward Norton, 59, a former business partner of slain Hamilton mobster Pat Musitano.
“We have very solid leads in identifying suspects,” Det. Supt. Chris Newton of London Police said in an interview Friday.
Norton’s remains were found in a wooded area of east London on July 19, nine days after Musitano was shot dead in a Burlington parking lot while meeting with two men.
There have been no arrests in Musitano’s murder.
Norton was last reported alive on July 4, six days before Musitano’s murder, Newton said.
“It was a relative who had (last) seen him,” Newton said.
“There’s a strong possibility he could have been killed even before Pat Musitano was.”
Police haven’t yet released a cause of death, place of death or exact time of death for Norton, who was reported missing to police in Waterloo Region on July 12.
At the time of his murder, Norton was on the run from police after failing to appear in court in March to answer seven charges, including fraud, theft, uttering threats, conspiracy and obstructing a peace officer.
Those charges stemmed from his June 2019 arrest by Niagara Regional Police in a theft and fraud investigation connected to West Lincoln business Havana Group Incorporated, which was involved in hauling soil from construction sites.
Norton and Musitano were partners with several others in Havana Group, which is accused of illegally dumping gravel in the Niagara Region and also embroiled in a bitter dispute with truckers who say they have not been paid.
So far, investigators probing Norton’s death have gathered 126 witness statements and extensive cellphone records, Newton said. Forensics evidence are combing through a two-storey rental residence at 20 Adelaide St. S., about two blocks from where Norton’s remains were found.
“We’re still out there now, pounding the beat, talking to people,” Newton said. “There’s a significant amount of evidence to pore over.”
Norton was living in Ingersoll at the time of his murder, Newton said.
Investigators still aren’t linking the Norton and Musitano homicides, Newton said.
Musitano, who was also a partner in Havana Group, did prison time after pleading guilty in 2000 to conspiracy to commit murder in the 1997 murder of Carmen Barillaro of Niagara Falls.
Norton had problems with the law, himself. He was sentenced to two years behind bars in August 2016, two months after he was pulled over by Brantford police leaving a Brant county motel in a vehicle that was reported stolen in London.
Inside the stolen vehicle, police found 19.4 grams of packaged crystal methamphetamine, which was worth almost $2,000 on the street, $1,200 of dilaudid pills and $435 in hydromorphone capsules.
They also found a scale and packaging materials and $435 in cash.
Norton was convicted of possession of property obtained by crime, possession of a substance for the purpose of trafficking and operating a motor vehicle while disqualified.
Norton had a variety of addresses in southern Ontario, including Markham, Ingersoll and Dundas. He filed for bankruptcy in Markham in 1988 and in Dundas in 1995.
North stated he had $172,500 in assets and $223,973 in liabilities when he lived in Dundas in 1995 and $2,500 in assets and $30,394 in debts in Markham in 1988.