Frank Dasti |
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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. |