TORONTO – Prosecutors are making their closing arguments in the trial of four men accused of orchestrating a deadly shooting at a packed Toronto cafe.
The Crown alleges Nicola Nero, Martino Caputo and Rabih Alkhalil hired a hit man to kill John Raposo partly for money and partly for revenge over some unspecified harm he had caused.
It alleges the fourth accused, Dean Wiwchar, was a contract killer who dressed up as a construction worker to carry out the job set out by the others.
All four are charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, to which they have pleaded not guilty.
READ MORE: Suspects hired hitman to kill rival in 2012 Toronto cafe shooting: Crown
Raposo was fatally shot on the patio of the Sicilian Sidewalk Cafe on the afternoon of June 18, 2012, as soccer fans gathered to watch a Euro Cup game.
Wiwchar was arrested three days later. Nero and Caputo were arrested in early 2013 – the latter in Germany – and Alkhalil was arrested in Greece the following year.
In his closing arguments, Crown lawyer Maurice Gillezeau said Raposo was murdered because the group wanted to steal a 200-kilogram shipment of cocaine from him.
“But he was also killed for more personal reasons, because he was considered a rat,” Gillezeau said.
Nero suspected Raposo had tipped off authorities, causing them to raid his property earlier that year, the Crown alleged.
VIDEO: Fourth man arrested in connection with Little Italy shooting
Comments