Reputed Montreal mob figure laid to rest

MONTREAL – Agostino Cuntrera was once considered untouchable.

The respect he commanded within the Montreal Mafia was such that, in 2005, it left people at the highest levels of the organization puzzled over what to do when his son ran up an enormous debt on an Internet gambling site they controlled.

Evidence gathered in Project Colisée indicated Francesco Arcadi, 56, operating then as the organization’s street boss, struggled to find any solution toward collecting the debt without letting Cuntrera know the problem even existed.

Much has changed in five years and the fact a funeral mass was held at a church in St. Léonard for Cuntrera Monday is one of the clearest signs of that change. Cuntrera, 66, was killed June 29, along with Liborio Sciascia, a 40-year-old convicted marijuana smuggler described as his bodyguard and driver, in a shooting that has yet to be solved.

Cuntrera owned several legitimate businesses in Montreal, including the food distribution company where he was killed. But for years Cuntrera was suspected of controlling a group of drug traffickers who were snared in a couple of high-profile busts while he was never charged.

He appeared to operate quietly out of a café on Robert Blvd. in St. Léonard and was related to some of the most prolific drug smugglers to ever operate in North America, a group known as the Caruana-Cuntrera organization.

Before he was killed, several police sources said they believed Cuntrera was acting as a sort of street boss, in the wake of the arrests and convictions generated by Project Colisée, including that of Arcadi who is currently serving a 15-year prison term.

Colisée was an investigation that targeted the men who assumed the leadership of the Rizzuto organization after its leader, Vito Rizzuto, was arrested and eventually extradited to the U.S. where he pleaded guilty in a racketeering case involving the 1981 murders of three Mafia captains in New York.

Cuntrera’s murder last week came a little over a month after the apparent abduction of Paolo Renda, 71, who is still missing after his car was found abandoned near his home on May 20. Renda, Rizzuto’s brother-in-law, was considered to have been part of a committee that took over in Vito Rizzuto’s absence.

Experts on organized crime have speculated Cuntrera’s murder and Renda’s abduction are clear signs someone is challenging the Rizzuto organization at its highest levels. But the question of who is mounting that challenge remains a mystery.

Police presence was heavy outside the Notre Dame de Mont Carmel church on Du Mans St. in St. Léonard as Cuntrera’s funeral procession arrived. Several uniformed officers could be seen standing near the church. Meanwhile a large, bald man dressed all in black and sporting dark sunglasses stood at the top of the stairway to the church, keeping a close eye on anyone who approached after more than 600 mourners filed in.

Despite very humid weather, at least a few dozen curious onlookers stood outside the church as the funeral mass went on inside.

Besides members of Cuntrera’s immediate family, among those who attended was Vito Rizzuto’s son, Leonardo Rizzuto, and Renda’s son, Calogero (Charlie) Renda, 43. Members of both of their families own the funeral home that arranged Cuntrera’s visitation and funeral.

The hearse carrying Cuntrera’s remains was followed by three limousines carrying large floral arrangements. The largest was a replica of the Ferrari logo visible on all of the carmaker’s vehicles.

The last arrangement simply said “Nonno” in large letters with several first names in smaller letters underneath. It was a reminder that despite his notoriety, Cuntrera was many things to many people, including a grandfather.

pcherry@thegazette.canwest.com