Developer faces weapons charges

Antonio (Tony) Magi still shows the effects of the attempt made on his life more than two years ago.

The head of a large construction firm based in Notre Dame de Grace could not stand when he appeared yesterday before a judge at the Montreal courthouse on five weapons-related charges.

His lawyer, Franco Schiro, cited a "medical condition" and asked for special permission to allow Magi to sit during the brief hearing.

Sporting a blue dress shirt and jeans, Magi, 51, appeared confused and nervous as he sat in the prisoner’s dock.

Schiro arranged for his release after entering a plea of not guilty to the charges.

According to sources familiar with Magi, he still has a bullet lodged in his body from when he was shot several times on Aug. 11, 2008, as he drove through N.D.G. That case remains unsolved.

Through several companies, Magi builds and develops residential properties in the downtown core and western Montreal. But his alleged associations with well-known criminals have recently raised eyebrows.

His offices were searched by police late last year as part of an extortion investigation. In March, Ducarme Joseph, a notorious street gang leader, walked into Magi’s offices for reasons unknown the day after an attempt was made on Joseph’s life in Old Montreal.

Yesterday, Quebec Court Judge Suzanne Coupal agreed Magi could be released on a deposit of $25,000. Magi agreed to surrender his passport and live under a curfew. He is also not allowed to communicate with the co-accused in a police operation carried out Tuesday that led to the arrests of Magi and six others, and seized ammunition, bulletproof vests, 24 firearms and thousands of dollars in Canadian and United States funds.

The seizures were part of an investigation by the Montreal police organized crime squad. Few details have been released about the investigation, but police sources have said that as of last week, investigators were trying to track down a large cache of firearms believed to be tied to men acting as Magi’s bodyguards.

The most serious charge Magi faces is one count of possession of a restricted weapon. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of three years and a maximum of 10 years.

Four of the seven people arrested were released without being charged.

Luciano Canci, 63, a former associate of the Cotroni crime family, was nabbed in the same police operation. He faces nine charges in all. Most are related to firearms found in Montreal and in Grenville, a town across the Ottawa River from Hawkesbury, Ontario.

The third man charged, Michael Armand Fanelli, 31, is believed to have been acting as Magi’s bodyguard in recent months.

According to police sources, Magi was often seen accompanied by bodyguards days before Nicolo (Nick) Rizzuto Jr. was shot dead at the end of December near the offices of Magi’s firm on Upper Lachine Rd. The number of bodyguards he was seen with increased after Rizzuto, the son of reputed Mob boss Vito Rizzuto, was killed.

Weeks before the fatal shooting, Magi said that he and the younger Rizzuto had bought land and were developing it together.

Fanelli provides an intriguing link to a similar police operation carried out in August in which Antonio Mucci alleged to have considerable influence in the Montreal Mafia, was arrested and charged with weapons offences.

According to indictments filed in both cases, Fanelli, who is reportedly from New Jersey, shares the same home address in Riviere des Prairies as Carmine Serino, 41, who police allege was acting as Mucci’s bodyguard while both men were under surveillance in August. Montreal police would not comment on the link Wednesday.

A decision on whether Serino and Mucci will be released on bail is expected Friday afternoon.