After living as a fugitive in Canada for more than a year, one of Italy's most powerful Mafia figures was arrested yesterday near his home outside Toronto.
Antonio Commisso, 49, a leader of the N'drangheta crime group based in Reggio Calabria, was apprehended by an RCMP-led task force working in conjunction with Italian state police.
He is facing an extradition hearing to determine whether he will be returned to Italy to serve a 10-year sentence for Mafia association, a crime under Italian law.
Renato Panvino, an inspector with Italian police, said Mr. Commisso is one of the most notorious criminals in his country.
"In Italy, Mr. Antonio Commisso is a very, very dangerous person," Mr. Panvino said, speaking through a translator. "He has been sentenced because he was the capo of this Mafia organization . . . an organization that has at its disposal weapons of all kinds [and is]involved in extortions, arms trafficking, explosives and illicit drugs."
Court documents describe Mr. Commisso as the head of "a dangerous bloodthirsty Mafia association," which has imposed a permanent criminal presence in the town of Siderno in southern Italy.
Mr. Commisso slipped into Canada on May 14, 2004, through Trudeau International airport in Montreal. One month earlier, Italy's highest court had upheld a lower court decision sentencing him to 10 years in prison. He was not in police custody at the time, and evaded Italian authorities.
Mr. Panvino said in an interview yesterday that a few months after Mr. Commisso's disappearance, Italian police received information indicating that his wife had travelled to Canada.
"[We]were almost 100-per-cent sure that he would also be coming here to Canada," Mr. Panvino said.
Officers from the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit began an investigation in September of last year and by the end of October had confirmed that Mr. Commisso was in Canada. He was spotted driving, and later jogging, in the Woodbridge, Ont., area. Officers made a positive identification as he was filling the tank of a silver Nissan Pathfinder at a local gas station in October.
In January, Mr. Commisso moved to 52 Hollywood Hills Circle in Woodbridge with his wife and daughter. The house was registered in his name, and his Ontario driver's licence listed it as his home address.
He was arrested just after 11 a.m. yesterday. He was driving alone in an Audi when police pulled him over, asked for his identification, and made the arrest. He made no effort to resist, police said.
He appeared in court wearing blue jeans and a grey T-shirt. His lawyer asked that his extradition hearing be held over until July 8 to allow him more time to familiarize himself with the case.
Mr. Commisso does not face any charges in Canada.
He was first convicted of Mafia association by the Court of Reggio Calabria in 2001. In the decision, the trial judge described him as "a figure of extraordinary criminal importance" who was at the top of his organization.
Mr. Panvino said the arrest is the culmination of a very important investigation spearheaded by Nicola Gratteri, a prominent judge known for his pursuit of Mafia figures.
He said Mr. Commisso is the head of the Commisso crime group, part of the N'drangheta Mafia, run out of Siderno.
"At this time the N'drangheta is considered one of the top Mafia organizations or clans in the world, particularly with their activities in drugs and weapons trafficking," Mr. Panvino said.
In court documents related to the conviction, an Italian appeal court judge said there was no doubt that Mr. Commisso "was the person who had to be asked or informed in Siderno before any criminal activity was undertaken."
An earlier court ruling said that although Mr. Commisso did not always openly agree with the planning and perpetration of murders, "he is a constant reference point as to criminal activities, like drug trafficking and robberies. . . . Neither bloody actions nor crimes included in trial records would have been possible without Commisso's tacit or explicit consent."
Mr. Commisso is in police custody.
Joe Friesen