Frank Dasti
Montreal Mafia
    Frank Dasti was born in 1914 and would become one of the most loyal followers of the Cotroni brothers. He rose through the ranks alongside men such  as Vincenzo Soccio, Diodato Mastracchio, and  Jimmy Orlando, and became one of Montreal's most respected underworld figures.

     Along  with fellow  mobsters Romeo Bucci, Peter Adamo, and  William Obront, Dasti owned  shares in  the 
Béret Bleu. He  also  ran the  Victoria Sporting Club, the organization's biggest gambling joint and, in 1955, Dasti was listed by the U.S. Bureau of Narcotics as being a close collaborator of  Giuseppe "Pep" Cotroni  and Lucien Rivard.

     Police tracked Dasti  to the 
Park Sheraton hotel  in  New York City on May 9, 1969, where he was seen meeting  with Guido "The Bull" Penosi, a reputed drug trafficker with links to the Gambino crime family.

     He returned to the  Big Apple  three months  later, on August 13, where
he  met  with  Paolo Gambino, caporegime  and brother  to Mafia boss Carlo Gambino. The  next day, Dasti met with mobsters Guido Penosi and Steve Panepinto.

     Dasti's movements  were closely tracked by police  and, in 1970, police heard him discussing drug deals on wiretapped telephones. They learned that Dasti, along with Angelo Lanzo and  an unidentified member of  the organization, were  about to complete  a  transaction for 12 kilograms of  heroin  with New York wiseguys. The deal would of  brought them $144,000 but it kept being delayed because  of constant police pressure.

     Around this time, Dasti was overheared berating Joseph Horvath in a telephone conversation, after Horvath had exaggerated the  weight of  heroin he had sold to New York mobsters. "If  a man weighs 150 pounds," Dasti explained, "you shouldn't say he weighs 180 pounds." Horvath knew better than to respond and accepted the reproach.

     Dasti was back in New York on September 19, 1971. Police noticed his presence at the funeral of  mobster  James "Jimmy  Doyle" Pulmeri. Pulmeri, a  caporegime  in the  Lucchese  crime  family, had been murdered three days earlier.

     Police arrested Lucien "The Cat" Madere, Dasti's drug courrier, and American wiseguy Paul Oddo, as the two were making  a narcotics transaction  at the
Sheraton hotel in New York. Ten kilograms of heroin  was discovered inside  Madere's car. Medere  was sentenced to six  years in prison  and Oddo received ten years. Dasti avoided arrest.

     Life was good for Dasti and the money kept rolling in. He opened up the
Pizzeria Tower restaurant on Décarie Boulevard. The place quickly became  a popular gathering place for members of the Mafia. It also became the target of intense police surveillance.

     Dasti was  arrested in the lobby of  the
Park Lane hotel in New York City on December 19, 1972, and charged him  with trafficking  in narcotics. He  was released on bail on  June 1, 1973, after Judge James A. Coolahan  agreed to reduce his bail from $250,000 to $100,000. His wife  and nephew René Di Fruscia put up the money. Since his  arrest, the two had  worked with loya  associate  Joe Horvath to raise the required amount from Montreal's underworld figures.

     Anthony Del Vecchio testified  against Dasti and, on October 11, 1974, he was convicted on three counts and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was also fined $20,000.

     Things  weren't finished though. Just three  weeks later, on November 8, Dasti  was indicted with Frank Cotroni, Guido Orsini, Paul Oddo, Jorge  Asaf y Bala, and Claudio Martinez  on drug trafficking charges. Sicilian drug trafficker Giuseppe "Pino" Catania testified against the group and, on March 24, 1974, Dasti was given 15 additional years.

     Dasti, who had loyally served the Cotroni brothers for forty years, was paroled in the early 1980s. He died a few years later.