Lorenzo Giordano

Lorenzo Giordano (1963-1 March 2016), better known as "The Skunk" was a Canadian gangster.

Underboss

Giorando was a member of a Rizzuto family crew who reported to Francesco Arcadi. ^[1] Alongside Francesco Del Balso, Giorando was a member of the "Young Turk" faction of the younger, more aggressive Mafiosi. ^[1] The Canadian journalists André Cédilot and André Noël wrote: "Arcadi's crew answered to the Rizzuto clan, but most of its young member lacked the judgment of old-school mobsters like Vito's father, Nicolò, and Paolo Renda. Aggressive, impulsive, they seemed not to care about the consequences of their actions". ^[1] Giorando's favorite meeting place was the Bar Laennec in Laval. ^[1] Like Aracadi, Giorando often associated with Gregory Woolley, the boss of both the Syndicate street gang and the Hells Angels puppet gang, the Rockers Motorcycle Club. ^[1] Giorando's usual partner was Del Balso whom he usually met at the Bar Laennec. ^[2] Giorando's nickname of "the Skunk" related to the fact that his hair was black except for a white streak in the middle. ^[3]

On 24 September 2003, Giorando went driving his new Ferrari 550 Maranello under the influence of alcohol and smashed his car in a traffic incident. ^[4] The next day, Giorando called a Rizzuto family soldier, Mike Lapolla to tell him "my wife is gonna to kill me" if she learnt of his traffic incident, leading to Lapolla to say that he would testify that it was him who was driving the Ferrari at the time of the accident. ^[4] In a phone call recorded by the police, Del Balso told Giorando to take his wrecked Ferrari to an automobile repair shop owned by John Scotti, whom Del Baslo described as a "master at disguising cars". ^[4] The policeman at the scene of the accident discovered a part of a blue Ferrari bumper, which allowed him to discover that it came from a Ferrari listed as belonging to a numbered company whose owner was Richard Krolik, a bookmaker for the Rizzuto family. ^[5] The matter was settled when Lapolla confessed that he was the alleged driver of the Ferrari at the time of the accident even though he clearly knew no details of the accident when giving his statement to the police. ^[5]

After Rizzuto's arrest following an extradition request from the United States in January 2004, a number of other gangsters attempted to challenge the duopoly on selling cocaine and heroin held by the Rizzuto family and the Hells Angels. ^[6] One such drug dealer was an Iranian immigrant, Essy Navad Noroozi, better known by his alias Javad Mohammed Nozarian, who sold heroin below the price set by the Rizzuto family. ^[6] On 18 April 2004, Giordano ran into Nozarian at the Globe, an expensive restaurant, and decided to kill him right on the spot. ^[6] During the struggle, Nozarian drew up his handgun, but Giordano stabbed him repeatedly. ^[7] The struggle ended with Giorando seizing Nozarian's gun which he used to shoot Nozarian in the groin and shot off both of his testicles. ^[1] Nozarian survived the shooting, but followed the underworld code and refused to testify against Giorando. ^[1] Paolo Renda harshly criticized Giorando for the brawl with Nozarian and for not killing him as left open the possibility that Nozarian might turn Crown's evidence. ^[3] Renda often chided Giordano for his heavy drinking and his impulsive behavior. ^[8] The journalists Peter Edwards and Antonito Nicaso described Giordano as "a fit man with a tough reputation". ^[9]

Together with Del Balso, Giorando was the co-owner of the worldsportcenter.com gambling website based first in Belize and then at the Kahnawake Mohawk Reserve. ^[10] Over the course of a year and six months in 2004-200, 1, 609 gamblers had made 820, 000 bets via the website, making the Rizzuto family a profit of $26. 8 million. ^[10] Together with his wife, he owned a house worth $1 million in the exclusive Vimont district of Laval. ^[3] Despite not having a job, Giorando owned a Porsche Cayenne SUV, a BMW Z8 Roadster and a Ferrari 550 Maranello. ^[3]

Operation Colisée

On 2 November 2004, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as part of Operation Colisée secretly installed cameras and bugs inside the Bar Laennec, which for the next two years recorded all of the criminal conspiracies that Giorando and Del Balso discussed. ^[2] Between November 2004-November 2006, the cameras recorded Giorando visiting the Bar Laennec 221 times while Del Balso visited the bar 541 times. ^[2] Frank Faustini, a baggage handler with Air Canada, had run up a $823, 000 gambling debt via the worldsportcenter.com gambling website owned by the Rizzuto family.. ^[11] On 15 December 2004, Faustini was summoned to the Bar Laennec by Del Balso and the RCMP cameras recorded him along with Giorando and another Rizzuto family soldier Mike Lapolla beating Faustini. ^[11] Giorando's shirt ended being socked in Faustini's blood. ^[12] Giorando was used by Aracdi to threaten restaurant owners to buy Moka d'Oro coffee, and smashed up a restaurant in Boucherville after the owner refused a request that he only buy Moka d'Oro coffee. ^[13]

On 1 January 2005 in a phone call to Aracdi that the police had bugged, Giorando admitted that he was a sadist who enjoyed violence and inflicting pain on others, saying of one beating he had inflicted "we gave it good". ^[14] On 9 March 2005, Lapolla was murdered on the dance of the Moomba's nightclub by Thierry Beaubrun, a member of the Crack Down Posse gang, who in turn was killed by Lapolla's bodyguards. ^[15] Giorando who was present at the shooting gave an account of the incident to the Rizzuto family "executive" at the Consenza Social Club the next day. ^[16] Giorando stated that Lapolla "had no chance". ^[17] On 25 November 2005, he and Del Balso stormed into the office of John Xanthoudakis, the owner of the bankrupt Norshield Financial Group, at the Place Ville Marie. ^[18] Giorando and Del Balso ordered one of their thugs, Caroles Narvaez Orellana, to beat Xanthoudakis in his office. ^[18] Xanthoudakis's face required 12 stitches to repair the fractures caused by Orellan's fists. ^[18] On 8 March 2006, Orellan, Giorando and Del Balso were charged with assaulitng Xanthoudakis, but the charges were dropped after Xanthoudakis refused to testify following death threats. ^[19]

In August 2006, Gioradno often with Aracdi, Del Balso and Giuseppe Fetta met in a Woodbridge restaurant with Antonio Coluccio where it was agreed that in exchange for the Coluccio family paying off the gambling debts of the hitman Salvaore Calautti that were owning to Del Balso, Calautti would work for the Coluccio family. ^[20] Later in August 2006, Giorando was drinking with Del Balso and Charles Huneault, a Hells Angels supporter at the Cavalli restaurant. ^[3] Under the influence of alcohol, Huneault was involved in a brawl with Giorando and Del Balso, which led to his explusion. ^[11] As Huneault was getting into his car, Giorando followed him out to the street and opened fire. ^[11] Giorando was arrested for possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. ^[11] On 30 August 2006, Domenico Marci, a cousin of Aracdi's, was killed in a case of mistaken identity. ^[21] At a meeting at the Consenza Social Club the next day attended by Renda, Aracdi, Del Balso, Rocco Sollecito, Nicolò Rizzuto, Moreno Gallo and Tony Mucci, Giorando pressed for swift vengeance. ^[22] The RCMP bugs recorded Giorando as saying in Italian to Aracdi: "They got one of ours this time. We can't let this pass". ^[22]

On 22 November 2006, the RCMP issued a warrant for Giorando's arrest as part of Operation Colisée. ^[23] Giorando evaded the RCMP, tied his hair all black, and fled to Toronto. ^[23] He was only arrested in May 2007 after he used his cell phone too often, which allowed the Mounties to finally track him down. ^[23] On 18 September 2008 in a plea bargain with the Crown, Giorando pledged guilty to charges of gangsterism and extortion in exchange for a prison sentence of 15 years. ^{[24] [25]}

Murder

While out on parole, Gioradno was murdered on 1 March 2016, being shot dead in his car. ^[26] On 27 February 2023, Jonathan Massari pleaded guilty to plotting Gioradno's murder in exchange for the Crown dropping charges of murder against him. ^[27] In a statement of fact read out to the courtroom as part of his plea bargain, Massari stated that the leaders of the conspiracy were the brothers Salvatore and Andrea Scoppa. ^[27]

Books

• Cédilot, André; Noël, André (2011). Mafia Inc. The Long, Bloody Reign of Canada's Sicilian Clan. Toronto: Random House of Canada. ISBN   9780307360410.
• Edwards, Peter; Nicaso, Antonio (2015). Business Or Blood Mafia Boss Vito Rizzuto's Last War. Toronto: Random House of Canada. ISBN   978-0-345-81376-3.

References

1. Cédilot & Noël 2011, p. 332.
2. Cédilot & Noël 2011, p. 379.
3. Cédilot & Noël 2011, p. 384.
4. Cédilot & Noël 2011, p. 422.
5. Cédilot & Noël 2011, p. 423.
6. Cédilot & Noël 2011, p. 331.
7. Cédilot & Noël 2011, p. 331-332.
8. Edwards & Nicaso 2015, p. 121.
9. Edwards & Nicaso 2015, p. 42.
10. Cédilot & Noël 2011, p. 382.
11. Cédilot & Noël 2011, p. 385.
12. Cédilot & Noël 2011, p. 386.
13. Cédilot & Noël 2011, p. 409.
14. Edwards & Nicaso 2015, p. 42-46.
15. Cédilot & Noël 2011, p. 393.
16. Cédilot & Noël 2011, p. 394.
17. Edwards & Nicaso 2015, p. 46.
18. Cédilot & Noël 2011, p. 412.
19. Cédilot & Noël 2011, p. 413.
20. Edwards & Nicaso 2015, p. 117-118.
21. Cédilot & Noël 2011, p. 398.
22. Cédilot & Noël 2011, p. 399.
23. Cédilot & Noël 2011, p. 405.
24. Cédilot & Noël 2011, p. 439.
25. Edwards & Nicaso 2015, p. 126.
26. "Rizzuto 'underboss' shot dead in Laval". CBC News. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
27. Cherry, Paul (27 February 2023). "Montreal Mafia leaders pleads guilty to conspiracy". The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 1 December 2023.