The Italian underworld in Montreal from the late 1800's went from the Pre-Prohibition era Black Hands Gangs to the loosely organized gangs of the Prohibition and Depression eras which eventually became the newly organized and structured crime family that was formed between the two most powerful Italian mafia factions operating in the city of Montreal from the 1920's-40's. The names of the original Italian Black Hand leaders in Montreal are unknown or more accurately they have not been researched, recorded or written about by any Canadian law enforcement agencies, organized crime historians or writers. The Italian underworld in Montreal began to loosely organized itself by the 1920's just as the Italians in America had begun to do the same in big cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago and New Orleans! Depending on what city you research in the 1920's the Italian crime groups could be considered or labeled "Gangs", "Crime Families" or even "Mafia Factions" and the Italian underworld of 1920's and 30's Montreal could be categorized the same way with it's two powerful Italian gangs or factions leading the city's underworld! In terms of underworld size and strength, Montreal's Calabrian faction held more power and influence than the Sicilian faction in the city of Montreal and in actuality all across Canada which made complete sense in that the Calabrian communities up North were much larger than the Sicilian, the exact opposite being true in America. As stated previously it is not known who the official or recognized Black Hand Bosses where regarding the Calabrian and Sicilian factions from the late 1800's to the 1920's, but it would be almost impossible to believe that there were no mafia members or senior mafiosi that had emigrated to Montreal from the Calabria and Sicily between the late 19th and early 20th century setting up a base of operations in the port city! The Calabrian faction fell under the Italian mafia structure of the "Ndrangheta", "Ndrinna" or "The Honored Society" of Calabria, while the Sicilian faction of course fell under the "Cosa Nostra" of Sicily, considered two of the three known factions of Italy's mafia (the other is the Neapolitan Camorra of Naples and since the 1980's there is S.C.U. or Sacra Corona Unita of Puglia, along with what is referred to as the "Fifth mafia", the La Stidda, The Star of North Eastern Sicily).
By the 1940's the recognized leaders of Montreal's Calabrian and Sicilian factions were the city's two most powerful Italian mafiosi, Vincent "Vic the Egg" Cotroni and Luigi "Louis" Greco, two immigrants who took their growing ambition and will and made a name for themselves in Montreal's underworld! It is not known exactly when, but most likely around the same time Montreal lost it's last old world crime lord, Harry Davis in 1946, the two mafia factions of the city aligned themselves together and formed a traditional Italian "crime family" in Montreal. Vic Cotroni's operations were centered on the North Side of the city, the original Little Italy section, while Louis Greco was based on the West Side. Both mafiosi had become the leading crime lords in their areas of influence by the early 1940's and with their Italian crime groups co-operating with each other in the rackets, dividing territory and dominating the city's underworld the two crime lords decided to form an alliance by the mid to late 1940's and form their own powerful crime family! Vic Cotroni led the more powerful mafia faction or crime group, but both he and Luigi Greco were seen as equals and co-leaders of the organization! The Montreal crime family quickly asserted it's authority in Montreal and across the province of Quebec, Cotroni and Greco were both given the respect deserving of "Mafia Dons" or "Godfathers" and by the start of the 1950's the Montreal crime family reigned supreme in the Canadian mafia.
The two mafia Bosses continued to grow in underworld power and influence, their newly structured criminal organization became the leading crime group in Montreal and Canada, taking majority control over the gambling, loansharking, extortion, narcotics, labor and union rackets in Montreal while expanding their territory and operations throughout the province of Quebec, while forming close alliances with other mafia groups in Ontario and across Canada. Since there was a Montreal underworld homegrown French Canadian crime groups had operated in the city of Montreal and across Quebec and by the 1920's the Italian crime groups had cemented a working relationship with these groups and around the same time the French-Corsican Mob began to operated in Canada using Montreal as their base of operations for the famed "French Connection" heroin ring! Top French-Corsican gangsters like Antoine D'Agostino, Paul Mondolini and Antoine Cordoliani made the "Paris of Canada", Montreal, their Canadian base of operations, D'Agostino, known as "Michel Sisco" on the streets of Montreal was close to Vic Cotroni using his nightclub, The Faison Dors as his mailing address in Quebec.
By the 1940's the recognized leaders of Montreal's Calabrian and Sicilian factions were the city's two most powerful Italian mafiosi, Vincent "Vic the Egg" Cotroni and Luigi "Louis" Greco, two immigrants who took their growing ambition and will and made a name for themselves in Montreal's underworld! It is not known exactly when, but most likely around the same time Montreal lost it's last old world crime lord, Harry Davis in 1946, the two mafia factions of the city aligned themselves together and formed a traditional Italian "crime family" in Montreal. Vic Cotroni's operations were centered on the North Side of the city, the original Little Italy section, while Louis Greco was based on the West Side. Both mafiosi had become the leading crime lords in their areas of influence by the early 1940's and with their Italian crime groups co-operating with each other in the rackets, dividing territory and dominating the city's underworld the two crime lords decided to form an alliance by the mid to late 1940's and form their own powerful crime family! Vic Cotroni led the more powerful mafia faction or crime group, but both he and Luigi Greco were seen as equals and co-leaders of the organization! The Montreal crime family quickly asserted it's authority in Montreal and across the province of Quebec, Cotroni and Greco were both given the respect deserving of "Mafia Dons" or "Godfathers" and by the start of the 1950's the Montreal crime family reigned supreme in the Canadian mafia.
The two mafia Bosses continued to grow in underworld power and influence, their newly structured criminal organization became the leading crime group in Montreal and Canada, taking majority control over the gambling, loansharking, extortion, narcotics, labor and union rackets in Montreal while expanding their territory and operations throughout the province of Quebec, while forming close alliances with other mafia groups in Ontario and across Canada. Since there was a Montreal underworld homegrown French Canadian crime groups had operated in the city of Montreal and across Quebec and by the 1920's the Italian crime groups had cemented a working relationship with these groups and around the same time the French-Corsican Mob began to operated in Canada using Montreal as their base of operations for the famed "French Connection" heroin ring! Top French-Corsican gangsters like Antoine D'Agostino, Paul Mondolini and Antoine Cordoliani made the "Paris of Canada", Montreal, their Canadian base of operations, D'Agostino, known as "Michel Sisco" on the streets of Montreal was close to Vic Cotroni using his nightclub, The Faison Dors as his mailing address in Quebec.
THE MONTREAL CRIME FAMILY
Part 3: THE FACTIONS ALIGN
Author: Little Joe Shots
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