 | Police investigated many arsons and bombings linked to the Musitano family over the decades. In 1998, police detectives arrested Musitano and his brother Pat, charging them with ordering the high-profile murder of John “Johnny Pops” Papalia, the top-ranked Mafia boss in the province. In 2000, the Musitano brothers were sentenced to 10 years in prison under a plea deal that saw them plead guilty to conspiring to murder Papalia’s right-hand man, Carmen Barillaro of Niagara Falls, who was shot by the same hit man. The charges in Papalia’s death were dropped under the deal. Musitano was released from prison in 2007. | 
This month marks the 20th anniversary of Papalia’s murder. |