| Gaetano "Guy" Panepinto |
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| Gaetano Panepinto was born around 1960 and earned a reputation as an enforcer and leg breaker on the streets of Toronto. The 250-pounder rose in status to become the head of the Toronto wing of the Montreal Mafia.
Panepinto was sometimes referred to as the "Discount Coffin Guy" because he was a part owner of a company that sold caskets, urns, and other objects at discount prices. He barrel-chested heavy also had an interest in a Toronto gym. Police say Panepinto and his associates were involved in a variety of crimes, including manufacturing ecstasy tablets, smuggling marijuana into the United States, and counterfeit credit cards. He regularly met with reputed Montreal mob boss Vito Rizzuto. |
Panepinto had a lengthy criminal record. In September 1989, he was among six people arrested after Ontario police recovered $530,000 worth of stereos and clothing. Panepinto was charged with two counts of possession of stolen property. The following year, Panepinto was arrested after police raided a sophisticated Toronto gambling den. The west-end operation, which featured surveillance cameras outside the building to spot visitors, took in $250,000 in bets during the three weeks police were watching. Panepinto was charged with keeping a common betting house and engaging in bookmaking. The colossal enforcer just couldn’t stay out of trouble. He was again arrested the following year, this time for conspiracy to possess explosives. The arrest came after one man had his hand blown off and another was seriously injured when a car bomb exploded prematurely in Toronto in July 1991. The intended target of the pipe bomb was unknown. Panepinto eventually pleaded guilty to possession of explosives and was fined $1,000 and ordered not to own any guns or explosives for the next five years. Panepinto’s days came to an end in October 2000, when he was shot dead in an ambush near his Toronto home. At least six bullets were fired into the enforcer’s shoulder, chest, and stomach as he sat in his burgundy Cadillac. His killer or killers then fled the scene in a grey van. Rumours quickly circulated in the media that it was Panepinto’s hairy trigger finger that got him killed. Two members of another Toronto crime family had moved in on Panepinto’s illegal gambling empire and Panepinto apparently retaliated by having the two gangsters killed. But he did it without seeking permission from his superiors in the Montreal Mafia, thus sealing his own faith. Panepinto’s funeral was a portrait of organized crime. Among those in attendance was reputed mob boss Vito Rizzuto and mobsters from Montreal and the United States. Also present were members of the Paradice Riders and Vagabonds biker gangs, who arrived to the funeral home on their motorcycles and wearing their colours. Following Panepinto’s slaying, police concentrated their efforts on the Toronto wing of the Montreal Mafia. By September 2002, 32 people linked to the group had been arrested on more than 130 charges, including conspiracy to commit murder. Also seized was more than $10 million of drugs, guns, and cash. Among those arrested was Raymond Fernandez, a reputed Montreal Mafia associate who had twice been deported to Spain just to sneak back into Canada. Police alleged Fernandez had been sent to take over as leader of the mob’s Toronto operations. Fernandez eventually pleaded guilty to an assortment of charges and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. |