Francesco Arcadi (; born 1964) is a Canadian mobster in the
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
-based
Rizzuto crime family
The Rizzuto crime family () is an Italian Canadian crime family based in Montreal, Quebec, whose organized crime activity covers most of southern Quebec and Ontario. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) considers the family a ...
.
Early life
Arcadi served as one of the principle lieutenants of
Vito Rizzuto
Vito Rizzuto (; 21 February 1946 – 23 December 2013), also known as "Montreal's Teflon Don", was an Italian-Canadian crime boss alleged to be the leader of the Sicilian Mafia in Canada. He headed the notorious Rizzuto crime family based in ...
, head of the Rizzuto family. Arcadi had been a member of the
Cotroni crime family
The Cotroni crime family, originally CotroneAuger and Edwards ''The Encyclopedia of Canadian Organized Crime'' p.63. (), was an Italian Canadian crime family based in Montreal, Quebec. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) consi ...
, but defected over to the Rizzuto family in the 1980s. As a Calabrian, Arcadi was an outsider in the Sicilian Rizzuto family whose leaders almost all came from the villages of
Cattolica Eraclea
Cattolica Eraclea (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italy, Italian region Sicily, located about south of Palermo and about northwest of Agrigento nearby the Platani (river), Platani river valley.
The town w ...
and
Siculiana
Siculiana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Agrigento, Sicily, southern Italy, west of the provincial capital Agrigento.
Geography
Siculiana’s long coast line is largely unspoiled; a protected Regional Nature Reserve has been es ...
. The journalists Peter Edwards and
Antonio Nicaso
Antonio Nicaso (; born 1964) is an Italian author, university professor, researcher, speaker and consultant to governments and law-enforcement agencies originally from Caulonia, Calabria, Italy, now based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Lejtenyi, Patr ...
described Arcadi as a "crude and thoughtless" man who needlessly alienated black outlaw bikers such as
Gregory Woolley. On June 30, 1995, Arcadi was one of the guests at the wedding of Nicolo Rizzuto Jr. to Elenora Ragusa, a marriage which united Canada's leading Mafia with one of the leading Mafia families of Sicily. Arcadi seized control of Montreal Trudeau Airport, putting dozens of Canada customs agents and baggage handlers on the Rizzuto family's payroll in order to smuggle in cocaine from South America. In addition, Arcadi charged a "tax" of 3 percent on all drug profits on other gangs that wanted to smuggle in drugs via Trudeau airport. Despite being a Calabrian, Arcadi was very close to Rizzuto, with whom he normally went on vacations with to the Dominican Republic every January. Within the Rizzuto family, Arcadi was known as "''Compare'' Frank". As part of the Rizzuto's family's expansion into Ontario, Arcadi had the key role as the "ambassador" who was supposed to bring the seven
'Ndrangheta
The 'Ndrangheta (, , ) is a mafia-type organized crime, criminal syndicate originating from the Calabria region of Italy. Gratteri & Nicaso, ''Fratelli di Sangue'', pp. 65–68 This body, also referred to as the Commission in reference to the ...
families of Toronto under the control of the Rizzuto family.
Arcadi served as the leader of the "Young Turk" faction of the Rizzuto family whose most important members were
Francesco Del Balso
Francesco "Chit" Del Balso (; April 13, 1970 – June 5, 2023) was a Canadian mobster in the Montreal-based Rizzuto crime family.
Rizzuto family and gambling
Del Balso was regarded as the leader of the "Young Turk" faction of the Rizzuto family. ...
and
Lorenzo Giordano Lorenzo "The Skunk" Giordano (; 1963 – March 1, 2016) was a Canadian mobster in the Montreal-based Rizzuto crime family.
Underboss
Giordano was a member of a Rizzuto family crew who reported to Francesco Arcadi. Alongside Francesco Del Balso, ...
whose usual meeting place was the Bar Laennec in Laval. Arcadi maintained close links for a time with
Gregory Woolley, the boss of both the Syndicate street gang and of a
Hells Angels
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is an international outlaw motorcycle club founded in California whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells ...
puppet gang, the Rockers Motorcycle Club. The Canadian journalists André Cédilot and André Noël wrote of Arcadi: "He was a hardened criminal, but he had nothing of the charisma, finesse and leadership qualities that Vito displayed".
In the spring of 2000, Arcadi met with Paolo Gervasi to ask him to stop selling cocaine to the
Rock Machine
The Rock Machine Motorcycle Club (RMMC) or Rock Machine is an international outlaw motorcycle club founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1986. It has eighteen Canadian chapters spread across seven provinces. It also has nine chapters in the Un ...
which threatened the Rizzuto family's alliance with the Hells Angels. On April 20, 2000, Salvatore Gervasi, the son of Paolo, was murdered with his corpse being found inside of the trunk of his Porsche, which was parked outside of his house. Gervasi met with Arcadi, who denied being responsible for his son's murder, but again told him to stop selling cocaine to the Rock Machine. On August 14, 2000, Gervasi was shot and badly wounded in a murder attempt. Two days later, Arcadi met with Rizzuto where a police wiretap recorded him as saying about Gervasi: "There's only one way, a bullet to the head". Gervasi was wounded by a
car bomb
A car bomb, bus bomb, van bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles.
Car bombs can be roug ...
planted in his Jeep Cherokee on February 25, 2002. The third murder attempt on January 19, 2004 was successful after Gervasi was shot and killed inside of his car.
On July 13, 2001, there was a failed attempt to kidnap Arcadi ordered by Christian Deschěnes, a French-Canadian associate of the Rizzuto family who wanted to recover the $800,000 in drug debts owed to him by Arcadi. One of the men Deschěnes recruited, a cousin of his wife, Denis-Rolland Girouard, was a police informer. The Montreal police arrested the kidnappers as they were on their way to the Consenza Social Club intent upon shooting their way into the club to seize Arcadi.
In January 2003 during one of their annual trips to the Dominican Republic, Rizzuto in a conversation in Italian with Aracdi described to him how he was the gunman responsible for the murder of three ''capos'' in the
Bonanno crime family
The Bonanno crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City.
The family was known as the Maranzano crime family until its founder Sal ...
in 1981. The conversation with Arcadi which was covertly recorded by the RCMP was key evidence at Rizzuto's trial for first degree murder in New York. On January 3, 2003 at the ''Diente de Perro'' resort, Rizzuto told Arcadi about how he had shot and killed
Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato,
Philip "Philly Lucky" Giaccone and
Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera
Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera (December 20, 1936 – May 5, 1981) was an American caporegime in the Bonanno crime family who was murdered with Alphonse Indelicato and Philip Giaccone for planning to overthrow Bonanno boss Philip Rastelli.
Early ...
on May 5, 1981 as a favour to the Bonanno family boss,
Philip Rastelli
Philip "Rusty" Rastelli (January 31, 1918 – June 24, 1991) was an American mobster and former boss of the Bonanno crime family in New York. He spent all but three years of his reign in prison.
Biography
Rastelli was born and raised in Maspeth, ...
. In January 2004, the United States requested Rizzuto's extradition on the basis of the evidence collected by the RCMP. After Rizzuto was arrested in 2004, a committee of caretaker leaders for Vito Rizzuto was formed of Arcadi,
Nicolo Rizzuto
Nicolo Rizzuto (; February 18, 1924 – November 10, 2010) was an Italian-Canadian crime boss and founder of the Rizzuto crime family, the Sicilian Mafia organization based in Montreal, Quebec.
Rizzuto was born in Cattolica Eraclea, Sicily, It ...
,
Paolo Renda
Paolo Renda (; September 10, 1939 – disappeared May 20, 2010, later Dead in absentia, declared dead September 2, 2018) was a Italian-Canadian, Sicilian-Canadian mobster who served as consigliere of the Rizzuto crime family based in Montreal, Qu ...
,
Rocco Sollecito Rocco Sollecito (; June 9, 1948 – May 27, 2016) was an Italian-Canadian underboss of the Rizzuto crime family based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Biography
Sollecito was born in Bari, Italy. Sollecito was believed to be one of the "top five figur ...
,
Lorenzo Giordano Lorenzo "The Skunk" Giordano (; 1963 – March 1, 2016) was a Canadian mobster in the Montreal-based Rizzuto crime family.
Underboss
Giordano was a member of a Rizzuto family crew who reported to Francesco Arcadi. Alongside Francesco Del Balso, ...
and
Francesco Del Balso
Francesco "Chit" Del Balso (; April 13, 1970 – June 5, 2023) was a Canadian mobster in the Montreal-based Rizzuto crime family.
Rizzuto family and gambling
Del Balso was regarded as the leader of the "Young Turk" faction of the Rizzuto family. ...
.
As a leader, Arcadi saw the breakdown in relations with the black Canadian street gangs such as the Crack Down Posse and the Bo-Gars whom Rizzuto had cultivated. After
Juan Ramon Fernandez was convicted in 2004, Arcadi replaced him as the Rizzuto's family agent in Ontario and he frequently visited
Woodbridge, Ontario
Woodbridge is a very large suburban community in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, along the city's border with Toronto. It occupies the city's entire southwest quadrant, west of Ontario Highway 400, Highway 400, east of Ontario Highway 50, Highway 50, n ...
to meet various Toronto area 'Ndrangheta leaders.
One Rizzuto family gangster, Giuseppe Torre, lied to Arcadi about the size of a cocaine shipment coming in from Haiti in January 2005, saying he was importing 120 kilos in a bid to swindle Arcadi who always collected three percent of the profits on all cocaine smuggled in via Trudeau airport. The RCMP seized the 218 kilos of cocaine that Torre had imported, leading to Arcadi to impose "fines" of $100,000 on each member of Torre's crew to punish them for their dishonesty. Arcadi told Torre that he was to hand over all of his profits from his next few drug shipments as a punishment and warned him to never try to cheat him again after lying about the size of his cocaine shipments.
Project Colisée
During
Project Colisée, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police videotaped Arcadi visiting the Consenza Social Club 616 times to see
Nicolo Rizzuto
Nicolo Rizzuto (; February 18, 1924 – November 10, 2010) was an Italian-Canadian crime boss and founder of the Rizzuto crime family, the Sicilian Mafia organization based in Montreal, Quebec.
Rizzuto was born in Cattolica Eraclea, Sicily, It ...
between 2004 and 2006. On March 9, 2005, Thierry Beubrun, a member of Woolley's Crack Down Posse, shot dead a Rizzuto family soldier, Mike Lapolla, and in turn was shot dead by other Rizzuto family soldiers. The police bug recorded Arcadi as saying the Rizzuto family should not let the incident escalate into a war with Woolley's gang while Giuseppe Sollecito (the son of
Rocco Sollecito Rocco Sollecito (; June 9, 1948 – May 27, 2016) was an Italian-Canadian underboss of the Rizzuto crime family based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Biography
Sollecito was born in Bari, Italy. Sollecito was believed to be one of the "top five figur ...
) in anger told Arcadi: "There will be blood. The blacks are not people you can sit down and reason with. They are animals". On August 11, 2005, Giovanni "Johnny" Bertolo, a Rizzuto family soldier who tried to sell cocaine in his old territory after his release from prison that had been taken over by Arcadi was killed, which led to a breakdown in relations with
Raynald Desjardins
Raynald Desjardins (born October 2, 1953) is a prominent organized crime figure in Montreal, and a former associate of the Rizzuto crime family. In 2010, he was part of a violent effort to take control of the Rizzutos' operations. He is currently ...
. Bertolo was working for Desjardins who saw his murder as a personal insult by Arcadi.
Arcadi took a particular interest in seizing control of the coffee market in Montreal as he attempted to force all restaurateurs to buy his coffee, leading him to send out thugs to make death threats against restaurateurs who did not want to buy his coffee. Aracdi was recorded as telling a Rizzuto family soldier Antonio Vaelli: "As soon as you see a different package of coffee, you tell them I'll break down the whole place". Arcadi had three of his men trash a restaurant in
Boucherville
Boucherville () is a city in the Montérégie region in Quebec, Canada. It is a suburb of Montreal on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River.
Boucherville is part of both the urban agglomeration of Longueuil and the Montreal Metropolitan ...
after the owner refused to buy Moka d'Oro, a line of Italian coffee whom Leonardo Vanelli and Nicodemo Cotroni (one of the sons of
Frank Cotroni
Frank Cotroni (born Francesco Cotrone; ; 1931 – 17 August 2004) was an Italian-Canadian crime boss of the Cotroni crime family in Montreal, Quebec.
Cotroni was born in 1931, in Montreal. His family, including his brother Vincenzo, had immigr ...
) had the exclusive rights to sell in Canada. In January 2004, Arcadi ordered Del Balso, the "head bailiff" of the Rizzuto family to "talk" to the owner of a precise machine company in Rivière-des-Praires to make him pay $6,000. In a phone call, Del Balso told the owner of the company "the guy that's going to make you eat out of a straw for six months if you don't pay him", followed up by the statement "you hear me? I know you have it on tape, don't worry about it. Just pay the bill, okay? And I'm not going to come and tell you again. The next time I break your head, okay?"
Arcadi was visited at the Consensza Social Club by a rival gangster, Lugi D'Amico, who claimed that the Rizzuto family owned him $900,000 following a failed attempt to smuggle marijuana into the United States in alliance with the Hells Angels
Sherbrooke
Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...
chapter. Arcadi had called D'Amico a "damn wanker" during the meeting, which escalated the dispute. D'Amico threatened to behead Arcadi if he did not receive the money he claimed was owing to him. Arcadi had one of D'Amico's cars burned in revenge for the threats. On 31 October 2005, four men wearing masks posed as trick-or-treaters kidnaped Nicolò Varacalli, a close ally of Arcadi. Left behind was a note saying that Varacalli would be killed if Arcadi did not repay the $900,000. The RCMP bugs at the Consenza Social Club revealed that Arcadi was terrified and hysterical as he expressed much fear of "the Frenchmen" (his term for the Hells Angels) whom he believed were acting with D'Amico against him. Arcadi admitted that he did not know what to do as he was recorded as saying: "There's no money now. Just leftovers". Luca D'Amico arrived at the Consenza Social Club with a letter addressed to Nicolo Rizzuto that blamed Arcadi for the kidnapping and promised to release Varacalli in exchange for him resolving the dispute in their favour. Varacalli was ultimately released in a goodwill gesture. To apply more pressure, Luca and Patrico D'Amico walked into the Consenza Social Club with their guns drawn in an implied threat. After the D'Amicos left, Arcadi was heard to say he was afraid of the "crazy guys" and did not want to leave the Consenza Social Club as he feared he would be shot down the moment he stepped out. Afterwards, Arcadi refused to go outside without a gun while Nicolo Rizzuto tried to hire some hitmen from Venezuela to kill the D'Amicos. On April 12, 2006, Arcadi was videotaped counting wads of cash with Renda where he was recorded as saying: "This is ''compare'' Rocco's
ollecito'sand Lorenzo's
iordano's. When Rizzuto was extradited to the United States on August 17, 2006, he disparaged Arcadi's leadership abilities to the two Mounties driving him to the airport as he predicated chaos in the Montreal underworld with Arcadi as leader.
On August 30, 2006, Arcadi's nephew, Domenico Marci, was killed. The police believe the murder was in revenge for Bertolo murder the previous year and that Arcadi might had been the actual target. Arcadi drove a Cadillac very similar to Marci's and Marci had driving just behind his Cadillac when he was killed. At a meeting at the Consenza Social Club, Del Balso and Giordano pressed for vengeance while Sollecito told them to wait. Arcadi was recorded as saying: "Me, I agree. Here we are, Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. I agree that it's things that we have to reason out; things have to be measured, things have to be evaluated. But when it gets to a certain point and we are touched by some stupidities, the discussions have to be short". Arcadi who was clearly shaken by Marci's murder seemed very afraid for his life told the others that he was leaving for Italy immediately. Renda told Arcadi: "See, what you gotta do now, find an island. Take your wife and leave". Arcadi together with his wife fled Montreal for Italy, which removed him from the leadership of the Rizzuto family.
Shortly after his return to Canada in October 2006, Arcadi was arrested by the Mounties at his cottage in
Hemmingford on November 22, 2006. Arcadi crashed his car into a ditch when he saw the Mounties drive up to his cottage. Found inside of his cottage was an arsenal of illegal guns. Arcadi was arrested along with dozens of others including
Nicolo Rizzuto
Nicolo Rizzuto (; February 18, 1924 – November 10, 2010) was an Italian-Canadian crime boss and founder of the Rizzuto crime family, the Sicilian Mafia organization based in Montreal, Quebec.
Rizzuto was born in Cattolica Eraclea, Sicily, It ...
,
Paolo Renda
Paolo Renda (; September 10, 1939 – disappeared May 20, 2010, later Dead in absentia, declared dead September 2, 2018) was a Italian-Canadian, Sicilian-Canadian mobster who served as consigliere of the Rizzuto crime family based in Montreal, Qu ...
,
Rocco Sollecito Rocco Sollecito (; June 9, 1948 – May 27, 2016) was an Italian-Canadian underboss of the Rizzuto crime family based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Biography
Sollecito was born in Bari, Italy. Sollecito was believed to be one of the "top five figur ...
,
Francesco Del Balso
Francesco "Chit" Del Balso (; April 13, 1970 – June 5, 2023) was a Canadian mobster in the Montreal-based Rizzuto crime family.
Rizzuto family and gambling
Del Balso was regarded as the leader of the "Young Turk" faction of the Rizzuto family. ...
, and
Lorenzo Giordano Lorenzo "The Skunk" Giordano (; 1963 – March 1, 2016) was a Canadian mobster in the Montreal-based Rizzuto crime family.
Underboss
Giordano was a member of a Rizzuto family crew who reported to Francesco Arcadi. Alongside Francesco Del Balso, ...
as part of the four-year
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...
investigation known as
Project Colisée. Arcadi was held at Bordeaux jail in the same wing with Giordano and Del Balso. Arcadi pled guilty on September 18, 2008 to "general conspiracy to commit extortion, bookmaking, illegal gaming as well as being in possession of the proceeds of crime" and was sentenced to eight years imprisonment.
Arcadi was sentenced to 15 years in prison. After the murder of Nicolo Rizzuto in 2010, Arcadi was described as being the "interim" leader of the Rizzuto family whom was involved in a feud with
Raynald Desjardins
Raynald Desjardins (born October 2, 1953) is a prominent organized crime figure in Montreal, and a former associate of the Rizzuto crime family. In 2010, he was part of a violent effort to take control of the Rizzutos' operations. He is currently ...
who along with Joe Di Maulo had attempted to take over the Rizzuto family. During the civil war within the Rizzuto family between Rizzuto and Desjardins, Arcadi stayed loyal to Rizzuto.
A review by the National Parole Board stated: "You were closed off and followed the law of ''
Omerta'' (the Mafia's code of silence) without opening up about your past or current life (and) while never showing concrete action or any desire to change your criminal way of life".
Arcadi told the Parole Board that he wished to end his life of crime as he wanted to "manage a garden, raise animals and spend the rest of his time with his family" if released on parole.
Arcadi was released on parole in February 2016, but ordered to live in a
half-way house.
Books
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arcadi, Francesco
1964 births
Living people
Rizzuto crime family
Canadian gangsters
Canadian people of Italian descent
Canadian people of Calabrian descent
Italian gangsters
Organized crime in Montreal
Canadian prisoners and detainees
Prisoners and detainees of Canada
Canadian people convicted of drug offences
Italian-Canadian organized crime