Hamilton mob boss Pasquale (Pat) Musitano, who twice survived attempts on his life, died Friday when he was gunned down outside a Burlington strip mall in bright sunshine.
Halton, Ont., police were called to reports of gunfire at the small business plaza at 484 Plains Rd. East at around 1 p.m. on Friday, where they discovered two victims. The suspect, an unknown man, had fled.
Police confirmed that Musitano, 52, died at the scene. A second, unidentified victim was taken to hospital.
Halton police said they believe the suspect drove off in a newer-model, grey, four-door sedan, similar to an Infiniti Q50, with a sunroof. They also warned that residents and businesses should expect a “heavy police presence” in the area as they appeal for witnesses to come forward with information.
Musitano’s death comes after an earlier attempt on his life failed in April 2019.
Peel Regional Police found Musitano with gunshot wounds near Hurontario Street and Matheson Boulevard East in Mississauga. He was sent to a trauma centre in Toronto with life-threatening injuries but recovered.
Musitano is the presumed boss of a Hamilton crime family originally hailing from Calabria, Italy. Their specialities include gambling, extortion and racketeering.
The eldest son and apparent heir of Dominic Musitano, who died in 1995, Pat had been stalked by a wave of attacks as a mob war erupted in recent years across the Greater Toronto Area. His family’s enemies are known to include criminal groups in Hamilton, Buffalo, Montreal and elsewhere, including the Luppino and Papalia crime gangs.
Pat and his younger brother Angelo were famously charged in the May 1997 Hamilton killing of Mafia don John (Johnny Pops) Papalia. Papalia’s underling, Carmen Barillaro, was killed weeks later in Niagara Falls, and hitman Ken Murdock said the Musitanos had tasked him with eliminating the pair. The Musitanos pleaded guilty in 2000 to conspiring to kill Barillaro, and were sent to jail. The Papalia charge was dropped, and the brothers were eventually freed in 2007.
Musitano survived another assassination attempt in 2017, when his Hamilton home was repeatedly shot at in a drive-by shooting. Angelo Musitano was shot and killed in the driveway of his own home just weeks before that.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
