| Angelo Lanzo |
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| Angelo Lanzo, a colossal of a man, started out as a doorman at a club ran by mobster Jimmy Orlando and collecting loanshark payments for Giuseppe Cocolicchio. He impressed his superiors and was placed in charge of several of the organization's gambling joints. He was convicted in 1952 of running the Ramsay Club on Bullion street, one of the city's biggest gambling dens, and was sentenced to two months in prison. When mob lieutenant Nicola "Cola" Di Iorio noticed Lanzo's talent, his importance in the organization increased considerably. He became Di Iorio's closest confidant, privileged to the inner secret's of the mafia's top members. He was seen meeting with Vic Cotroni, the groups' leader, who only high-ranking members could meet with, and was placed in charge of several clubs, including the Chez Paree, the Café Métropole, the Little Club, and the Casa Del Sol. |
Police arrested twenty individuals during a raid at Lanzo's appartment on Broadway street in Notre-Dame-de-Grace in November, 1966. According to authorities, the purpose of the meeting was to set up a network of bookmaking joints throughout the city for Expo '67. In January, 1970, police observed as Lanzo, Di Iorio, and Frank Dasti made a trip to Miami, Florida, where they had several meetings with Gambino wiseguy Guido Penosi, to discuss and arrange the shipments of the drugs from Montreal to New York City. On May 29, 1972, police observed an important meeting at the Sirloin Barn between leaders of the organization. Present were Lanzo, Vic Cotroni, Paolo Violi, Nicola Di Iorio, William Obront, and Irving Goldstein. Surete du Quebec officers testified at the Quebec Inquiry into Organized Crime (CECO) that Lanzo, along with Vic and Frank Cotroni, Paolo Violi, Nicola Di Iorio, Luigi Greco, and Michel Pozza, made up the hierarchy of the Montreal Mafia. When the commission subpoenaed Lanzo to appear before them, the mobster went into hiding. He died of a coronary thrombosis on May 19, 1974, in an apartment where he was hiding out from testifying before the committee. |