Elder Rizzuto pleads guilty to tax evasion

Reputed crime patriarch Nicolo Rizzuto stood before a Quebec Court judge Thursday morning and pleaded guilty to tax evasion.

The 85-year-old was fined $209, 200 in a case that was over in a matter of minutes.

Mr. Rizzuto is the father of reputed Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto, who is in jail, and the grandfather of the recently slain Nick Rizzuto.

The senior Mr. Rizzuto was aided during the court proceeding by an Italian-speaking interpreter. After the brief appearance, he walked past a wall of reporters and ignored requests to make a comment.

Mr. Rizzuto was in court on charges he failed to declare $728,000 in interest revenues on $5-million in Swiss bank accounts. In court filings, the government alleged Mr. Rizzuto was the real owner of the millions deposited in three bank accounts in Lugano, Switzerland, by Libertina Rizzuto, his wife, and other people acting as fronts.

Mr. Rizzuto is on probation for possession of proceeds of crime.