Commisso 'ndrina

The Commisso 'ndrina (Italian: [komˈmisso, ˈkɔmmisso]) is a powerful clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organization in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Siderno, but also has a branch in the Greater Toronto Area in Canada as part of the Siderno Group. The Commisso clan is involved in international drug trafficking using family ties in Italy, Canada, the United States and Australia.[1]

Commisso 'ndrina
Founded1930s
FounderAntonio Macrì
Named afterCosimo Commisso
Founding locationMarina di Gioiosa Ionica, Calabria, Italy
Years active1930s-present
TerritorySiderno and Locride; Greater Toronto in Canada
EthnicityCalabrians
Criminal activitiesRacketeering, drug trafficking, money laundering, extortion
AlliesPiromalli 'ndrina
Pesce 'ndrina
Contini clan
Secondigliano Alliance
RivalsCosta 'ndrina
Rizzuto crime family

In Siderno

Siderno was the fiefdom of Antonio Macrì the undisputed boss at the time. In January 1975, Macrì was killed in the First 'Ndrangheta war. His right-hand man – who was wounded in the attack on Macrì – Francesco Commisso was intended to be his successor. However, he appointed his son, Cosimo Commisso, also known as "'u quagghia" ("the quail"), as the boss of the locale of Siderno.[2] Giuseppe Commisso (u mastru) is also an influential figure in Siderno.[3]

In the 1980s, the Commisso were challenged by the Costa 'ndrina over the command of Siderno.[2] The Costas had returned from Toronto. By 1991, the feud – that spilled over to Toronto as well – ended in a victory for the Commisso clan. Officially, there were 28 dead among the Costas and eight among the Commissos. Cosimo Commisso was sentenced over the vendetta and his cousin Antonio Commisso, also known as l'avvocatu ("the lawyer"), succeeded him as the acting boss of the clan.[2]

The Commissos are one of the 'Ndrangheta's biggest and most important clans, involved in the global cocaine business and money laundering.[4] They were members of Camera di controllo, a provincial commission of the 'Ndrangheta formed at the end of the Second 'Ndrangheta war in September 1991, to avoid further internal conflicts.[5] The Commissos are known to have links with the Secondigliano Alliance, considered by the authorities the most powerful Camorra group that is still active. Both organizations are allied in the trafficking and sale of cocaine and marijuana from South America, via the Netherlands.[6]

In 1993, Cosimo Commisso was arrested, and later convicted of five murders and three attempted murders between May 1989 and July 1991, and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1998.[7] After 26 years in prison, on 9 January 2019, the Court of Appeal of Naples acquitted Commisso in a review process "for not having committed the offense", releasing him immediately.[8] On 13 December 2019, Commisso was arrested in the "Core Business" operation, accused of mafia association for the period in which he was under house arrest since 2015 in Perugia.[9][10] On 30 January 2020, Commisso was definitively acquitted of the murders by the Supreme Court of Cassation.[11]

On 9 August 2019, several former Greater Toronto Area residents were arrested in Calabria, including Francesco Commisso and Rocco Remo Commisso.[12]

In Canada

By the end of the 1970s, the Commissos had put together a criminal enterprise that "rivalled the best of the Sicilian Mafia structures existing in the United States and which was, in terms of pure muscle and audacity, one of the most powerful mafia groups in Canada".[13] They "controlled a criminal organization that imported and distributed heroin with the Vancouver mob and the Calabrian Mafia in Italy, fenced stolen goods across North America, printed and distributed counterfeit money throughout Canada and the United States, ran a vast extortion network in Ontario, arranged insurance and land frauds in the Toronto area, and engaged in contract killings and contract-enforcement work across Canada and the United States – the whole gamut of violent criminal activities one usually associates with the Mafia".[13]

The Satan's Choice MC hitman Cecil Kirby who worked for Cosimo Commisso in Canada from 1976–81 wrote in his 1986 autobiography Mafia Enforcer: "Cosimo wasn't tough-he was homicidal. He'd kill you as soon as you were looking at him if he thought you were crossing him, if he thought it was good for business, or if he thought you insulted him or his family. The lives of other people meant nothing to him".[14][15]

In the 1980s, the Buffalo crime family also operated in Toronto and Hamilton, and hired Kirby to kill Pietro Scarcella and Paul Volpe in an arrangement with Rocco Remo and Cosimo Commisso to gain more control of the market. However, the plot was foiled when Kirby turned Royal Canadian Mounted Police informant.[16][17] As a result of Kirby's testimony, Rocco Remo and Cosimo Commisso were convicted of conspiracy to murder, counselling to commit murder, possession of property obtained by crime, conspiracy to commit extortion, counselling another person to commit an indictable offence, causing bodily harm, and conspiracy to commit fraud, and sentenced to 14 and a half years and 21 years, respectively.[18][19]

Antonio Commisso was first arrested in 1999.[20] While awaiting appeal, he regularly had to report to police, was subject to a strict night-time curfew, and was prohibited from leaving town.[2] On April 15, 2004, Commisso was definitively convicted and sentenced to seven years and 10 months for Mafia association and trafficking in weapons.[2][21] When police arrived at his home to arrest him, he was nowhere to be found. On May 14, 2004, he presented himself to the Canadian immigration officials at Montréal–Trudeau International Airport, and the Canadian authorities had no choice but to admit him because he had been granted permanent residency status in Canada in 1974, when he was 18.[2] According to the Siderno police force, "the criminal minds of Siderno are in Canada".[22] After being on the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy, living in Canada for more than a year, Antonio Commisso was arrested at his residence on June 28, 2005 in Woodbridge, Ontario, on an extradition warrant issued in Canada at the request of the Italian government.[23][24] The federal government was already taking steps to have Commisso permanently deported from the country.[21]

Antonio Coluccio of Richmond Hill, Ontario was one of 29 people named in arrest warrants in Italy in September 2014. Police said they were part of the Commisso 'ndrina. In July 2018, Coluccio was sentenced to 30 years in prison for corruption in Italy. His two brothers were already in prison due to Mafia-related convictions.[25]

On June 28, 2018, Cosimo Ernesto Commisso, of Woodbridge, Ontario and an unrelated female were shot and killed. According to sources contacted by the Toronto Star, "Commisso was related to "The Quail" of Siderno, Italy, who has had relations in Ontario, is considered by police to be a "'Ndrangheta organized crime boss".[26] The National Post reported that Cosimo Ernesto Commisso, while not a known criminal, "shares a name and family ties with a man who has for decades been reputed to be a Mafia leader in the Toronto area".[27]

References
  1. (in Italian) 'Ndrangheta: latitante arrestato da Polizia in Canada, Polizia di Stato, June 28, 2005
  2. Back to the 'wolves', National Post July 30, 2005
  3. "Commisso " u mastru" non andava arrestato".
  4. (in Italian) Gratteri & Nicaso, Fratelli di Sangue, p. 133
  5. (in Italian) Sentenza procedimento penale Olimpia Archived July 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Tribunale di Reggio Calabria, January 19, 1999
  6. Bitonto, Stefano Di (2020-05-14). "Scarcerato Patrizio Bosti, scuse e risarcimento dello Stato per il boss dell'Alleanza di Secondigliano". InterNapoli.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-05-15.
  7. "Mob kingpin Commisso with Toronto ties wins murder appeal". torontosun.com. 31 January 2020.
  8. "Siderno: Dal "fine pena mai" alla scarcerazione per Cosimo Commisso". larivieraonline.com. 11 January 2019.
  9. "Le mani dell'ndrangheta sull'Umbria: 27 arresti, sequestrati beni per 10 milioni" (in Italian). repubblica.it. 12 December 2019.
  10. "'Ndrangheta in Umbria, sistema economico infiltrato "in modo significativo": 23 arresti e sequestri per 10 milioni" (in Italian). ilfattoquotidiano.it. 12 December 2019.
  11. "In cella 26 anni per 5 omicidi, Cosimo Commisso assolto anche in Cassazione" (in Italian). reggio.gazzettadelsud.it. 30 January 2020.
  12. "Several GTA residents arrested in Italy following Mafia sweep". thestar.com. 9 August 2019.
  13. Schneider, Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada, p. 327
  14. Schneider, Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada, pp. 328
  15. Edwards, Peter The Bandido Massacre; A True Story of Bikers, Brotherhood and Betrayal, pp. 82
  16. "Mob war led to Russo shooting, sources say". theglobeandmail.com. 16 April 2005. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  17. Schneider, Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada, pp. 330
  18. Schneider, Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada, pp. 329
  19. "Alleged Toronto-area Mafia leaders named as suspects in massive Italian crime probe". nationalpost.com. September 29, 2015.
  20. (in Italian) Preso a Toronto Antonio Commisso boss della 'ndrangheta di Siderno, La Repubblica, June 28, 2005
  21. Organized Crime in Canada: A Quarterly Summary, April to June, 2005, Nathanson Centre
  22. Why Italy's scariest Mob loves Canada, National Post, November 24, 2007
  23. Preso a Toronto Antonio Commisso boss della 'ndrangheta di Siderno, Repubblica.it
  24. (in Italian) Latitante Commisso arrestato da Polizia in Canada, ANSA, June 28, 2005
  25. Peter Edwards (18 July 2018). "Former GTA resident convicted of Mafia charges in Italy". Toronto Star.
  26. "Man killed in Woodbridge shooting had family ties to organized crime - The Star".
  27. "'The less you know the better it is': Mob links in murder of man, woman on quiet Woodbridge street". 29 June 2018.
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