Cosimo Commisso (mobster)

Cosimo Commisso (Italian: [ˈkɔːzimo komˈmisso, - ˈkɔmmisso]; born 6 February 1950 in Siderno), also known as "the quail" ('u quagghia), is an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta, a mafia-type organization in Calabria.

For the scientist with the same name, see Cosimo Commisso (scientist). For the Canadian soccer player with the same name, see Cosimo Commisso (soccer).

Career

Commisso belongs to and was the boss of the Commisso 'ndrina based in Siderno with his cousin Antonio Commisso, previously on the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy until his capture on June 28, 2005, in Woodbridge, Ontario[1], and his brother Rocco Commisso.[1][2][3] He is described as the most notorious member of the group and its former leader.[4]

In 1975, he took over the reins of the clan from his father Francesco Commisso after the death of Antonio Macrì, who had been his right-hand man.[1][5] The Commisso 'ndrina has a branch in Canada, in the Greater Toronto Area, which is part of the wider Siderno Group.[6] THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS INCORRECT AND APPLIES TO ANOTHER COSIMO COMMISSO WHO ALSO HAS MOB TIES IN CANADA: The Satan's Choice MC hitman Cecil Kirby who worked for Commisso 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".[7] Kirby had been recommend by Frank Lenti, a former member of Satan's Choice who knew him, through he also warned that Kirby was not to be trusted as he was not of Italian descent.[8]

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.[9][10]

Arrest and release

In 1993, 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.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13][14] On 30 January 2020, Commisso was definitively acquitted of the murders by the Supreme Court of Cassation.[15]

References
  1. Back to the 'wolves', National Post July 30, 2005
  2. "Drug-smuggling mobsters used retired police dogs to help secure cargo, court hears". thestar.com.
  3. "Alleged Toronto-area Mafia leaders named as suspects in massive Italian crime probe". nationalpost.com. 30 September 2015.
  4. Organized Crime in Canada: A Quarterly Summary, April to June, 2005 Archived 2011-05-30 at the Wayback Machine, Nathanson Centre on Transnational Human Rights, Crime and Security
  5. (in Italian) È Giuseppe "u mastru" il vero erede di Ntoni Macrì Archived 2011-10-07 at the Wayback Machine, Gazzetta del Sud, December 15, 2010
  6. Corruption probe: The clubs, The Toronto Star, December 8, 2009
  7. Schneider, Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada, pp. 328
  8. Edwards, Peter The Bandido Massacre; A True Story of Bikers, Brotherhood and Betrayal, pp. 82
  9. "Mob war led to Russo shooting, sources say". theglobeandmail.com. 16 April 2005. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  10. Schneider, Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada, pp. 330
  11. "Mob kingpin Commisso with Toronto ties wins murder appeal". torontosun.com. 31 January 2020.
  12. "Siderno: Dal "fine pena mai" alla scarcerazione per Cosimo Commisso". larivieraonline.com. 11 January 2019.
  13. "Le mani dell'ndrangheta sull'Umbria: 27 arresti, sequestrati beni per 10 milioni" (in Italian). repubblica.it. 12 December 2019.
  14. "'Ndrangheta in Umbria, sistema economico infiltrato "in modo significativo": 23 arresti e sequestri per 10 milioni" (in Italian). ilfattoquotidiano.it. 12 December 2019.
  15. "In cella 26 anni per 5 omicidi, Cosimo Commisso assolto anche in Cassazione" (in Italian). reggio.gazzettadelsud.it. 30 January 2020.
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