[60], A profile of Papalia was published in Toronto Star Weekly Magazine by Peter Sypnowich under the title "He Wanted To Be Canada's Al Capone. [151], In the 1990s, Mora borrowed $7.2 million from Montreal mob boss Vito Rizzuto and gave the bulk of the money to Papalia to open an upscale restaurant and nightclub in Toronto. [118] At a press conference, Page answered the question if he was nave with the remark, "Yes, we knew the connotations, yes, we were nave. At a young age, he was involved in petty crimes, but by the 1950s, moved his way up to drug trafficking and formed a powerful alliance with the Buffalo crime family. Antonio Papalia. [42] Papalia also had influence into northern Ontario with his power extending into North Bay. They were generous that way. John Joseph Papalia (Italian:[papalia]; March 18, 1924 May 31, 1997), also known as Johnny Pops Papalia or "The Enforcer", was an Italian-Canadian crime boss of the Papalia crime family based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The Papalia crime family is a 'Ndrangheta organized crime family based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, as well as Plat in Southern Italy and Buccinasco in N. [11] However, Papalia was suspected in playing a role in the murder of Perri's wife Bessie Starkman in 1930. [99] The allegation made by the FLQ in its manifesto of October 8, 1970 that was read out on national television and radio in both French and English following the kidnapping of the British trade commissioner James Cross on October 5 that Bourassa was working for "the election riggers Simard-Cotroni" caused Bourassa to change his policies that were perceived to be friendly towards organized crime. After the Rizzuto crime family were not re-paid, in September 1996, Mora was shot in the head four times at a Vaughan farm; Giacinto Arcuri was arrested and charged with Mora's murder, but was acquitted for lack of evidence. [147], Regarding the Greektown case, Papalia said in 1986, "Yeah, I know the people they charged they're friends of mine. He was killed. Papalia behaved with characteristic insolence when interviewed by two police officers, giving flippant answers to questions about his relationship with Duke. [52] Together with Alberto Agueci of the Magaddino family, Papalia contacted Antoine Cordoliani and Joseph Csari, two Corsican leaders of Le Milieu, to buy high-quality heroin. Another branch of the family is based in Griffith in the Australian state of New South Wales. In October 1990, 11 years after the police raids, the charges were withdrawn after the Crown Attorney disallowed the recorded wiretap evidence. Papalia was born in Hamilton, to Italian immigrants. [16] Tony Papalia attracted much media attention when he was named as the prime suspect in the murder of Starkman on August 13, 1930, through he was never charged. [edit | edit source]We welcome community groups or organizations who would like to use the Center for their family history classes or activities [edit | edit . [101] In August 1971, at a meeting in Toronto, Luppino shifted control of the construction unions in Toronto from Papalia to Volpe, which was a major blow to Papalia's ego. "[10][11], Papalia's mother, Maria Rosa Italiano, also came from a Mafia family, the Italiano clan, who also participated in Perri's gang. I knew some other people that knew him, acquaintances of Carmine Galante and those guys were class acts in comparison. [66] As a loan shark, Papalia forced those who took loans from him to pay back $6 for every $5 they had borrowed with the interest compounding on a weekly basis, amounting to an annual 1,040 percent interest on the loans. He's hard, hard, hard. [1][2] His father, Antonio "Tony" Papalia, who had early Picciotteria values, was a bootlegger who immigrated to Canada from Delianuova, Calabria, Italy, in 1912. "[75] While waiting trial in New York's West Street jail, Papalia was known as "Canadian John" and learned how to play chess. [148] Papalia was prepared to grudgingly tolerate other outlaw biker clubs such as the Outlaws and Satan's Choice, but drew a line at the Hells Angels. "[122], Papalia was known for his hatred of outlaw bikers, whom he found to be intolerably stupid and crude, and, in the 1980s and '90s, made it very clear that he did not want a Hells Angels chapter in Hamilton. He was part of the French connection; he ruled a big swath of Canada, particularly Southern Ontario, for a very long time. [53] Two members of the Papalia family have been killed in Australia. Another of Papalia's lieutenants was a man known as "Pennybender", whose special talent was to place a penny between his teeth while bending it with his hand, which considered to be a terrifying act by those who saw it, and inspired many people to give in to Papalia's demands. Antonio Papalia founded the Papalia family in Canada in the 1940s, and is one of three centralized Mafia organizations in Hamilton, with the other two being the Musitano crime family and the Luppino crime family. [37], Later in 1961, Papalia demolished the family home and built a warehouse for his vending machine business, an all-cash business, to serve as the front for his criminal operations. [146] Iannuzzelli, the owner of the House of Frankenstein Wax Museum, was a loanshark who was under the protection of Dominic Longo. [54] Both Domenico and Filippo Papalia were the cousins of Johnny Papalia of Hamilton. [133] When Longo died, Iannuzzeli disappeared three days later. [93] The speech caused a media storm in Ontario. The Musitano crime family (Italian: [muzitano]) is a 'Ndrangheta organized crime family based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, as well as Plat in Southern Italy and Buccinasco and Bareggio in Northern Italy. [87] There is also an Australian branch of the Papalia family based in Griffith, but the precise relationship, if any, between the Australian and Canadian Papalias beyond blood ties remains unclear. His companies were the biggest vending-machine and liquor-dispensing equipment firms in Canada. [10], In 1940, Papalia's father was arrested and sent to internment at Camp Petawawa as part of the Italian Canadian internment, as potentially dangerous enemy aliens with alleged connections to Benito Mussolini's fascist regime, causing his son to have a grudge against the Canadian government. [93] At a public inquiry to examine Shulman's allegations, Papalia admitted that Duke was a long-standing friend of his, but denied corrupting the police, claiming to be unaware that Duke was a close friend of Silk's. [63] Addison noted that the witnesses had all taken oaths on the Bible to tell the truth before testifying, which led him to sourly note that the fear of Papalia seemed greater than the fear of God with the witnesses at this trial. [34] A policeman stated that Ryce was being used for the long-term purposes of the Papalia family, saying, "They do these things for a reason. [86] Papalia worked closely with the Italian branch of his 'ndrina (clan). [127] Despite their first meeting, Papalia managed to get along well with Simard, who spoke fluent English and always respectful towards him. [97] The plans turned out to be moot when the Quebec premier, Robert Bourassa, later dropped his plans to legalize casinos as his government took a tough law-and-order stance in response to the FLQ. [92] He was a tyrannical boss who had no tolerance for failure, and made a point of taunting and punishing his men for any mistake, no matter how minor. He got to his person because he used our name. ", "May 31, 1997: Mob boss Johnny (Pops) Papalia executed in Hamilton", "Why did Vito Rizzuto get a full Catholic funeral in Montreal, when some bishops in Sicily are refusing mafiosi? In the 1960s, he played a role in the French Connection drug smuggling operation, for which he was extradited to the United States and served five years of a 10-year prison sentence. He many never have pulled the trigger himself, but for him to say he never killed anybody when he directed other people to do it, I find hard to believe. The elite Nomad chapter of the Hells Angels based in Montreal purchased their cocaine from the Rizzuto family, and in return sold the cocaine to the other Hells Angels chapters. "[115] The fact that Cotroni had threatened to kill Papalia if he went to prison caused him much alarm, and it came as a considerable relief to him in May 1977 when Violi and Cotroni were acquitted on most of the charges on an appeal. "[122] Papalia admitted, however, "I did shylocking and bookmaking, but was back in the fifties. [48] His brothers, Antonio and Rocco Papalia, used ransom money from kidnappings to buy large shipments of drugs for export. [145] It was only later that Pressey learned that "Pennybender" was working of Papalia. [20] Papalia then began to expand his enterprise with his son Johnny who had some relationship with the Buffalo crime family. [121] By the 1980s, Papalia's firms were the largest suppliers of beer dispensers for bars in Ontario while leasing out at least 2,000 vending and pinball machines. [131] The police did not charge Papalia for his role in the Greektown case out of the fear that he might be acquitted, which would add to the already almost legendary mystique that he had by the 1980s. [144] Barillaro was considered to be the more important of the two as the geographical proximity of the Niagara peninsula to the U.S. border was better situated for drugs to be smuggled into Canada. [18] Johnny, the oldest brother to Frank, Rocco and Dominic Papalia, half-brothers Joseph and Angelo Papalia, brother-in-law Tony Pugliese, and associates, all worked in running his clubs and gambling operations. When Bluestein dropped to the floor, he was kicked in the face. No regard for anyone or anything, neither for the criminal laws nor the laws of the underworld. [37][30] Businessmen who were unable to repay their loans were forced to take on vending machines from Papalia on his terms while those who could still not repay their loans were further threatened "or worse. [68] Papalia began to hijack trucks to supply cigarettes for his vending machines. "[2] Antonio Papalia was released in 1941 after he convinced the authorities that he was not a Fascist. [150] Papalia was especially opposed to the Hells Angels moving into Ontario because of their close alliance with the Rizzuto family as he felt that any Hells Angels chapters in Ontario would in effect be Rizzuto family chapters. [30] Frank did refuse, fined $150, his licence suspended for three months and his car taken to impound, where it was worked on by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In 1997, the Buffalo family's Canadian faction boss Johnny Papalia and his lieutenant Carmen Barillaro were murdered by Kenneth Murdock. [42] By 1955, Papalia was known for wearing expensive suits and driving equally expensive automobiles, together with his womanizing habits. "[57] Several of the witnesses to the Bluestein beating received threatening phone calls in the days after, warning them that it would be "healthier" for them to forget what they had just seen. He made millions and laughed about it in the media. [32] Through the wiretap planted in his car, Frank was heard procuring a woman, Shirley Ryce, for the Papalias' lawyer Clive Bynoe to have sex with her on September 5, 1979. John was the type of guy-even back then-that if he sensed fear in you, he tried to prey on it. [20] The authorities imposed conditions upon his release such as he stay out of Hamilton and regularly check in with the police. For a guy who been doing so much in this country, the police haven't been able to come up with anything on me. [120] The footage was aired anyhow with the four-words being beeped out, which made Papalia appear crude and vulgar on national television. [21] The Papalia family were still angry with Perri for his refusal to support the Italiano family and made an alliance with Stefano Magaddino against him. [47], In the 1970s, the Papalia siblings relocated their operations from Plat to Buccinasco near Milan. "[146] The police suspect that Barillaro was involved in Iannuzzelli's presumed murder. Killed. [53] In October 1958, Papalia made contact with Vinnie Mauro and Frank Caruso of the Genovese family, saying he wanted to smuggle heroin into the United States and needed someone to sell the heroin. [56] The "French Connection" heroin was grown in the poppy fields of Turkey and further afield in the "Golden Crescent" nations of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran or the "Golden Triangle" nations of Burma, Thailand and Laos. [154], Papalia was fatally shot in the head on May 31, 1997, at the age of 73 in the parking lot of 20 Railway Street outside his vending machine business, Galaxy Vending, in Hamilton. [29] The judge at the trial accepted this defense, and sympathetically advised Papalia to see a doctor after his release from prison, saying there were better ways of treating syphilis-induced pain. Ron Sandelli, a staff inspector with the Toronto police and a Mafia specialist said in 1986 about Papalia's claims to have never killed anyone, "He is probably telling the truth in a stretched way. . [96] The incident led to Papalia being charged with assault, but a month later, in September 1971 the assault charges were dropped when Joy accepted a written apology from Papalia who stated he "been under a great deal of pressure at the time" and refused to testify against him. [128] The meeting was tense as Papalia had brought along three bodyguards. Langton stated, "It's hard for people to understand now just how powerful Johnny Pops was. [92] Sicari stated to the police that on the day of the murder, he had driven Vendemini to Hamilton to see an unnamed mutual friend and then drove Vendemini to the Toronto airport; he denied knowing anything about the murder. [8] He was suspected in playing a role in the murder of Perri's wife Bessie Starkman in 1930. "[113], Bader testified against them, and the three were convicted of extortion in 1975 and sentenced to six years in prison. [14] Later in 1929, Nazzareno Italiano was convicted of trafficking heroin and rejected a plea bargain offer from the Crown to testify against his employers Perri and Starkman in exchange for a lighter sentence. I don't mind these cops following me, but when I have bits and piece of me out and there are girls following me, there is no honor in that."[141]. I'm your new partner. [139] One criminal who wore a wire at a meeting with Papalia later stated in an interview with Humphreys:, "It would have been a horrendous situation if he had found the wire. [6][7] Tony Papalia was working as a driver for Perri's bootlegging operations at least by 1922, if not earlier. Joseph Valachi, who also attended the same meeting in New York, and later turned informer, testified that he knew Papalia as a capo (boss) who dominated southern Ontario under the authority of the Magaddino family of Buffalo. Papalia was born in Hamilton, to Italian immigrants who also had a history in organized crime. [49] Chard failed to win any professional titles, but during his time in Kingston Penitentiary, had been the prison boxing champion, a title that commanded both respect and fear on the streets. [39][40] It is not clear just precisely when Papalia became a made man, but it appears to have occurred sometime in 1955. [109] Bader believed these claims, saying he had noticed "strange" cars parked outside of his house at night, whom he felt were from Montreal, and agreed to hand over the money to Papalia. [22] Johnny Papalia did not volunteer for overseas service (until November 1944, Canada only sent volunteers overseas to fight in World War II). [43] Papalia used the right that he gained with the social club charter to reopen the Porcupine Miners' Club in Hamilton in 1955, which served as a cover for an illegal gambling club that operated for the next two years. The creeps. [19] In 1940, Antonio Papalia was sent to internment at Camp Petawawa as part of the Italian Canadian internment, as potentially dangerous enemy aliens with alleged fascist connections to Benito Mussolini's regime. Buffalo crime family . They spent money like water". [55] The report by the National Anti-Mafia Directorate stated, "The links with the Mafia families are steadfast and deeply rooted in Australia where permanent traditional links with the Calabrian clans have been solidly establishedClans like Sergi, Barbaro, and Papalia have been active through their Australian affiliates for some time. [27] When visiting Toronto, Papalia was known to joke that the particular branch of the Toronto-Dominion bank that he robbed in 1944 was "our bank. [67] Monarch Vending and its successor company Galaxy Vending had a monopoly on the vending machine business in Hamilton as no other vending machine company was willing to compete with Papalia. [41] Galante had forged an alliance with the Cotroni family, placing Quebec in the sphere of influence of the Bonanno family, and Magaddino, who wanted to keep southern Ontario in his sphere of influence, chose Papalia as one of his instruments for doing so. [122], Papalia came to play a "Godfather" role in the Italian Canadian community, serving as a community mediator as Papalia's biographer Adrien Humphreys noted, "There are hundreds of people throughout Hamilton who will attest to Johnny's helping hand. [50], Another branch of the 'ndrina moved to Griffith, New South Wales. The Papalia crime family (Italian:[papalia]) also known as Papalia 'ndrina, is a 'Ndrangheta organized crime family[2] based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, as well as Plat in Southern Italy and Buccinasco in Northern Italy. [57] It was understood that if Bluestein accepted a drink paid for by Papalia, it would mean submission to Papalia and he refused it, it would mean defiance; Bluestein refused the proffered drink. [51] After police raids, Papalia started working with James McDermott and Vincent Feeley, two major figures in gambling, in several clubs throughout southern Ontario. People who use our name pay. [26] In 1944, Papalia, Giondrano, and Pasquale robbed a Toronto-Dominion bank to provide themselves with venture capital for their criminal enterprises. [9] Papalia said of his father, in a 1986 interview with The Globe and Mail's Peter Moon, "I grew up in the '30s and you'd see a guy who couldn't read or write but who had a car and was putting food on the table. [156], Amid controversy, Papalia was refused a full Funeral Mass by the Diocese of Hamilton due to having been a career criminal. They're setting people up to be compromised. [137] Sandelli stated, "You can't infiltrate Johnny Papalia. [155] The hitman Kenneth Murdock claimed that he had been ordered to kill Papalia by Angelo and Pat Musitano of the Musitano crime family who owed $250,000 in bookmaking debts to Papalia. Papalia also operated various gambling bars and vending machine businesses. And he as always very self-conscious about it. [108] Papalia devised a plan under which Swartz would tell Bader that the investors were from the Cotroni family, and that Papalia would volunteer to "return" the stolen money to Montreal in exchange for sparing Bader's life. In late 1981 and early 1982, the trial was halted, and a second trial the following year saw them acquitted. [37] Papalia was also associated with F.M. [56] Berton described the beating, "as terrible a beating as it is possible to give a man without killing himIron bars with ropes attached to them for greater leverage rained down on Bluestein's head and across his forehead, eyes and cheekbones. [154] Both Papalia and his right-hand man Barillaro were "made men" in the Magaddino family, and Musitano needed the "protection" of a more powerful family to avoid retaliation from the Buffalo family should either be killed. Rocco Perri was heavily involved with Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino, the boss of the Buffalo crime family from New York, and Johnny "The Enforcer" Papalia, boss of the Papalia crime family in Ontario. [17] Maria Rosa initially married Antonio's younger brother Giuseppe Papalia Jr., giving birth to two sons in Italy, however when Giuseppe died, she immigrated to Canada with her two sons in 1923 to marry Antonio. Papalia. Once you became their friend and earned their respect and you were loyal to them, you didn't have to worryThere was no limit on what they spent. [157] He was buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, in a family plot, in Burlington. [19] Papalia's criminal record, health problems and his anger at the Canadian government for interning his father ensured that he was not conscripted. [110] In 1974, Montreal mobsters Vincenzo Cotroni and Paolo Violi were overheard on a police wiretap threatening to kill Papalia and demanding $150,000 after he used their names in the $300,000 extortion of Toronto business man Stanley Bader without notifying or cutting them in on the score. The families operations in the U.S. and Canada remained stable until the mid-90s when the aging . "[107] Violi agreed, saying, "That's it. [60] Berton's columns had their effect, causing massive public outrage and Papalia was ordered to turn himself in. The killings of Johnny and his lieutenant Carmen Barillaro in 1997, ordered by the Musitanos, had effectively wiped out the family's remaining leaders in Canada. [25] By the early 1960s, he earned his reputation from the French Connection, a smuggling operation that supplied over 80 percent of America's heroin market between the 1960s and 1970sdeveloping strong connections with the Buffalo family. "[92] Papalia had a propriety attitude towards the wives and mistresses of his men, taking the viewpoint that it was his right as a boss to sleep with the girlfriends and wives of his men, which made him unpopular. Known as the "The Enforcer," Johnny (Pops) Papalia was born March 18, 1924 in Hamilton and died at the age of 73 when he was shot in the head outside his family's vending machine business,. He died of natural causes in April 2014, at the age of 83. [30], When Papalia was released in 1951, he moved to Montreal for a stint, where he worked with Luigi Greco and New York City Bonanno crime family representative Carmine Galante in heroin trafficking. J. Parker, the former British Empire and Canadian heavyweight champion. "[122] About why he was seen with gangsters so often, Papalia replied, "You go to Italian weddings, you meet people. Apparently it bothered him all his life and you had to very careful about calling John a 'bastard'. LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. - A family in Ashburn, Virginia is in shambles after two people were found dead Wednesday morning. [28] Bynoe was identified by the Ontario Provincial Police in April 1980 and brought in for questioning, where he confessed the sexual favours made available by the Papalias. By the 1950s, he moved his way up to drug trafficking, and formed a powerful alliance with the Buffalo crime family. [170] Langton noted Papalia had a marked distaste for outlaw bikers and, in a sign of his power, Walter Stadnick, the former president of Hells Angels Canada, had trouble establishing the Angels in Ontario while Papalia was alive. [2], During his time in Toronto, Papalia served with a youth gang consisting of Paul Volpe, Pasquale Giodrano , Roy Pasquale, and Alberto Mignacchio. [171] One police officer, Shawn Clarkson, of the Niagara Falls Police Department, stated: "There was nobody to stand up to the Hells Angels the way Barillaro or Papalia would have. [27] Ryce wrote in her 1988 memoir Mob Mistress: How a Canadian Housewife Became a Mafia Playgirl, "I was 23 years old and all of a sudden there I was with people waiting on me and taking care of me. They do it for the future. Box 7200, Leesburg, VA 20177 Frank, Rocco, Koaches and Monaco were all arrested and charged with conspiracy to defraud the federal government of $50,000. [51], Two of Australia's best known murders have linked to the family. Sylvestro's son-in-law Danny Gasbarrini, Papalia's brothers Frank, Rocco and Dominic, half-brothers Joseph and Angelo, brother-in-law Tony Pugliese, and associates Red LeBarre, Freddie Gabourie, Frank Marchildon and Jackie Weaver, all worked in running Papalia's clubs. [96], In August 1970, Papalia attended a crime summit in Acapulco representing the Magaddino family to meet with gangsters from Canada, the United States, France, and Mexico to discuss plans to take over the soon to be legalized casino industry in Quebec. The. "[75], On June 6, 1969, Papalia visited Toronto to meet with Luppino. [133] Despite the unflattening picture of him in Deadly Silence, Papalia never sued Edwards and Nicaso for libel. [12] Maria Rosa initially married Antonio's younger brother Giuseppe Papalia Jr., giving birth to two sons in Italy, however when Giuseppe died, she immigrated to Canada with her two sons in 1913 to live with Antonio, whom she married at some point, through it remains unclear when the wedding actually took place. In October 1985, Papalia was one of the principal suspect in the disappearance of Louis Iannuzzelli, a prominent businessman in Niagara Falls who vanished after angering Papalia by operating a loansharking business in what Papalia saw as his turf. [34] The fact that Bynoe had paid Papalia $100 in exchange for being allowed to have sex with Ryce left him open to the charge of soliciting prostitution, which had had been very embarrassing for him, especially if he was holding a position of power.