| Anthony "Tony" Volpato |
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| Anthony "Tony" Volpato was born in Padua, Italy in the mid 1940s. The family immigrated to Canada in 1950 and, after living a few years in Hamilton, Ontario, settled in Montreal. He associated himself with the Cotroni brothers in the 1970s and, according to a government report, became involved in drug trafficking, as well as other illegal activities. In the early 1980s, police observed Volpato, Frank Cotroni, Frank's son Nicodemo, Guido Orsini, and Domenic Cordeleone during a trip to Italy. It is unclear whether the five reputed Montreal mobsters were in the European country vacationing or for alterior reasons. |
| In 1982, Volpato was involved in a road rage incident. He reportedly assaulted another driver but the victim later refused to take the stand against him and dropped the charges. Volpato was back in court two years later, he was again acquitted of assault, this time after a friend admitted to the court that he, not Volpato, had instigated the fight. By then, Volpato was considered by many to have replaced Claude Faber as Frank Cotroni's right-hand man. He was responsible for looking over Cotroni's Ontario operations, which were being run by Réal Simard, and often travelled there to make sure things ran smoothly. When Cotroni visited Toronto, Volpato often accompanied the Mafia boss. The two, along with a couple of hulking bodyguards, usually stayed at the Sheraton hotel on Queen street and would be chauffeured around town by ex-boxer Eddie "The Hurricane" Melo. In Montreal, Volpato moved freely between the organization's Calabrian and Sicilian factions. He was respected by both factions and was often used as a liaison between Frank Cotroni and Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto. In the mid 1980s, when Cotroni was charged with the murder of drug dealer Giuseppe Montegano, one of the jobs Cotroni had on paper was to be incharge of public relations of a ceramics company owned by Tony Volpato. In 1994, police searched Volpato's automobile and found four weapons, including a loaded firearm. He told the court that he purchased the weapons on the black market because he feared for his life. He was fined $2,000 and placed on probation for six months. Later that year, on December 8, Volpato, while still on probation, was picked up and charged in a bootleg cigarette and alcohol ring. The police operation, called Project Cardio, revealed that Volpato represented a mysterious group of investors that was involved in the contraband with natives from Kahnawake and the well-known Ouellette Family. He ended up being convicted of being in possession of contraband cigaretttes and fined $8,000. Given a year to pay the fine, Volpato walked into the court house two minutes before closing time on the last eligible day and paid the entire fee. Volpato and 23 others, including Frank Cotroni Sr and Jr, were arrested in a joint RCMP-MUC operation against members of the Montreal Mafia and the Daniel Serero Gang. Police claimed the network was responsible for importing hundreds, if not thousands, of kilograms of cocaine into North America. Volpato was convicted of conspiring to import 180 kilograms of cocaine and was sentenced to six years. It had made almost four years that police were observing Volpato, Cotroni, and other members of the Montreal Mafia and learned that they were connected directly to top drug lords in Colombia. He was released in March, 1998, after serving one year of his six year sentence. Since it was his first federal conviction and the crime he was convicted of was non-violent, Volpato became eligible for parole after serving just one-sixth of his term. Thanks to media pressure, this federal regulation has since been changed. Volpato served six months in a transition house and then went home. After three years of freedom, he was arrested and jailed in August 2001 for breaking his parole. He was allegedly seen meeting with known mobsters. |