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Deadly Silence: Canadian Mafia
Book by Edwards; Nicaso
- GenresNonfiction
219 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1972
41 people want to read
About the author
Peter Edwards
24 books20 followersPeter Edwards has written for The Toronto Star for almost thirty years, specializing in organized crime and justice issues. He’s the author of more than a dozen non-fiction books, nine of which are on organized crime.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 25, 2020
This informative book describes a series of murders with clear ties to Canadian Mafia groups. The authors intend to show how the Italian underworld changed in Canada by examining these murders chronologically. However, this theme does not show through each chapter, nor is it expounded in the Introduction or Conclusion. Instead, each murder/ chapter stands alone.
The authors might have sought to make the book appear more scholarly with a stated thesis and good use of references. Instead, it is a hybrid between scholarly and mass-market that allows readers to pursue further research and easily understand the circumstances surrounding the murders.
The key to understanding Canada's Italian underworld is the relationship between Sicilian and Calabrian crime families. In several chapters the authors reinforce that both groups regarded the other as primitive gangsters. The result has been a simmering resentment and mutual hostility. The hostility was kept in check by powerful American crime families that exerted domination over their Canadian counterparts. The decline of the American LCN allowed these long-standing rivalries to come into the open. As the hostilities increased in temper, so to did the factionalism. The authors reinforce that there were multiple crime families; but they appeared to stand as part of a biological family of siblings or a small handful of operatives. The Cotronis relied on a French-Canadian as their enforcer. The fearsome Commissos relied on a non-Italian former biker for their enforcement work. This suggests that they are much, much smaller in size and scope than the American, or even Italian counterparts.
The authors included good references and suggested readings. However, one glaring error stands out. During their chapter on Paul Volpe's murder, which they hypothesize as resulting from a realignment of the Buffalo and Philadelphia crime families, they mention that Nicky Scarfo arranged for the murder of Angelo Bruno (p. 77). Their suggested readings are all great readings on the Philadelphia mob. They all agree that Scarfo had nothing to do with Bruno's murder, or that of Bruno's successor. Such a glaring error does cast some doubt on their other work.
Some chapters were difficult to follow and understand. The strange chapter on the nurse and invalid husband barely connected to the Mafia. It was strange to watch the authors try to connect the brutal murders to the Mafia and Carmen Barillaro. It appears the only one convicted of the murders was a hanger-on, rather than a mobster. In fact, the authors point out that the murderer was a lousy criminal and a lousy associate of the mobsters. The purpose of the chapter is to show the Mafia does kill innocents like invalid elderly gents.
So it is strange to see the authors repeatedly discuss the gangsters' sense of right and wrong. Their honor and law code is bizarre. The authors try to portray them as a philosophical realignment. Paul Violi could kill people without remorse; but he was seriously upset by someone speaking foul language by kids. I am not convinced this is a code of honor, but rather personality. The authors a never-before-published dogma of the Calabrian Mafia. This quasi religious, allegorical, folk tale someone how sets the stage of their code of honor. Maybe if either author deconstructed the document they could make that conclusion. But the authors kept very clear away from interpretations. The result is a lengthy passage that boggles the mind. As they introduced the document, the authors warn, it is an oral tradition developed by uneducated country criminals. This work is the only one I have found connecting the Calabrian underworld to a Spanish criminal society called the Birbevis.
Overall, this is an interesting organization for a book. It is chronological. It is fairly detailed, although I hated references to "a former Cotroni lieutenant," or a former power in the Niagara Region. These phrases focused attention on the key people in each chapter at the cost of making the connections between the various groups and people. Some chapters were difficult to read because the connection to the underworld was so vague. But this remains a very informative study on the Canadian underworld. However, I would only recommend to readers who already have some knowledge on the subject and a desire for a deeper understanding of the subject.
The authors might have sought to make the book appear more scholarly with a stated thesis and good use of references. Instead, it is a hybrid between scholarly and mass-market that allows readers to pursue further research and easily understand the circumstances surrounding the murders.
The key to understanding Canada's Italian underworld is the relationship between Sicilian and Calabrian crime families. In several chapters the authors reinforce that both groups regarded the other as primitive gangsters. The result has been a simmering resentment and mutual hostility. The hostility was kept in check by powerful American crime families that exerted domination over their Canadian counterparts. The decline of the American LCN allowed these long-standing rivalries to come into the open. As the hostilities increased in temper, so to did the factionalism. The authors reinforce that there were multiple crime families; but they appeared to stand as part of a biological family of siblings or a small handful of operatives. The Cotronis relied on a French-Canadian as their enforcer. The fearsome Commissos relied on a non-Italian former biker for their enforcement work. This suggests that they are much, much smaller in size and scope than the American, or even Italian counterparts.
The authors included good references and suggested readings. However, one glaring error stands out. During their chapter on Paul Volpe's murder, which they hypothesize as resulting from a realignment of the Buffalo and Philadelphia crime families, they mention that Nicky Scarfo arranged for the murder of Angelo Bruno (p. 77). Their suggested readings are all great readings on the Philadelphia mob. They all agree that Scarfo had nothing to do with Bruno's murder, or that of Bruno's successor. Such a glaring error does cast some doubt on their other work.
Some chapters were difficult to follow and understand. The strange chapter on the nurse and invalid husband barely connected to the Mafia. It was strange to watch the authors try to connect the brutal murders to the Mafia and Carmen Barillaro. It appears the only one convicted of the murders was a hanger-on, rather than a mobster. In fact, the authors point out that the murderer was a lousy criminal and a lousy associate of the mobsters. The purpose of the chapter is to show the Mafia does kill innocents like invalid elderly gents.
So it is strange to see the authors repeatedly discuss the gangsters' sense of right and wrong. Their honor and law code is bizarre. The authors try to portray them as a philosophical realignment. Paul Violi could kill people without remorse; but he was seriously upset by someone speaking foul language by kids. I am not convinced this is a code of honor, but rather personality. The authors a never-before-published dogma of the Calabrian Mafia. This quasi religious, allegorical, folk tale someone how sets the stage of their code of honor. Maybe if either author deconstructed the document they could make that conclusion. But the authors kept very clear away from interpretations. The result is a lengthy passage that boggles the mind. As they introduced the document, the authors warn, it is an oral tradition developed by uneducated country criminals. This work is the only one I have found connecting the Calabrian underworld to a Spanish criminal society called the Birbevis.
Overall, this is an interesting organization for a book. It is chronological. It is fairly detailed, although I hated references to "a former Cotroni lieutenant," or a former power in the Niagara Region. These phrases focused attention on the key people in each chapter at the cost of making the connections between the various groups and people. Some chapters were difficult to read because the connection to the underworld was so vague. But this remains a very informative study on the Canadian underworld. However, I would only recommend to readers who already have some knowledge on the subject and a desire for a deeper understanding of the subject.
Displaying 1 of 1 review