 Angelo Musitano and Pat Musitano | The brazen killing of notorious Hamilton mobster Angelo Musitano, who was gunned down in his driveway, might have been revenge 20 years in the making. Musitano was gunned down just before the 20-year anniversary of the famous hit on the fearsome Johnny (Pops) Papalia, to which he was forever linked. |  |
 | Angelo Musitano was born into a family with long ties to organized crime. His great uncle, his uncle, his brother, and his father were all involved with violent crime. Musitano's life changed in 1997 when he decided to join the plot to murder two major bosses in Ontario, and he joined the Rizzuto crime family. At the time the Rizzutos crime family was the most powerful Mafia family in Canada. That has certainly changed today. Brothers Angelo and Pat Musitano were charged with first-degree murder in connection with the 1997 shooting of Hamilton crime boss Johnny (Pops) Papalia and one of his lieutenants, Carmen Barillaro. Papalia had deep connections to the Cotroni crime family in Montreal. The brothers reached a deal and pleaded to conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Barillaro. In turn, the charges against them in connection with Papalia's death were dropped. |  |
 | The Musitano crime family first came to Canada when Musitano's namesake great uncle, Angelo senior, left Calabria. Alongside Musitano's father, Dominic, they built a criminal empire that was active for decades. But things have changed, experts say. The Mafia's influence has waned, while Asian gangs and the Hells Angels have gained more power. As mafia power and influence waned, so too would have Musitano's personal power and influence. Word would have gotten out that he had turned to religion and was writing a book about his mafia life, but few believe he was attempting to turn the page on his former life. In any case both factors would be seen as signs of weakness, often a fatal flaw in the mafia. |
