Paul Volpe (mobster)
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Paul "The Fox" Volpe (; 31 January 1927 – 13 November 1983) was an Italian-Canadian
mobster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level ...
and
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
-based member of the
Buffalo crime family The Buffalo crime family, also known as the Magaddino crime family, the Todaro crime family, the New York State crime family, the Buffalo Mafia, the Upstate New York Mafia, and the Arm, is an Italian Americans, Italian American American Mafia, M ...
.


Criminal activities

Volpe was born on 31 January 1927 in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, to poor Italian immigrants. His father, a tailor, died when he was young. He had a sister Laura, and four older brothers, Albert, Eugene, Frank and Joseph, who owned a car wash together, while also being involved in rackets. In 1959, Volpe began operating a
stock fraud Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a deceptive practice in the stock or commodities markets that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information.Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
through his connection with mobsters Jimmy Luppino and Harold Bordonaro, the son of Charlie Bordonaro, until he was run out by Hamilton mob figure Johnny Papalia.Schneider, ''Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada'', pp. 318 He started making strong connections with the
Buffalo crime family The Buffalo crime family, also known as the Magaddino crime family, the Todaro crime family, the New York State crime family, the Buffalo Mafia, the Upstate New York Mafia, and the Arm, is an Italian Americans, Italian American American Mafia, M ...
and other syndicates and started running a casino in
Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...
, Haiti in 1963 until returning to Toronto in 1965. The same year, Volpe extorted stock promoter Richard Angle, who was wearing
wiretap Wiretapping, also known as wire tapping or telephone tapping, is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connecti ...
s for police. Three days after Volpe got married, he was sentenced to two years in jail on 21 June 1968 for extortion. When he was released in 1969, he started forming a formal gang that did not favour a specific ethnicity – the most notable of which were: Nathan Klegerman, who helped with jewellery theft,
loansharking A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high or illegal interest rates, has strict terms of collection, and generally operates outside the law, often using the threat of violence or other illegal, aggressive, and extortionate ...
and stock frauds; Chuck Yanover, who was the weapons expert; Murray Feldberg, who was the loan shark; Ron Mooney, who specialized in burglaries and crooked card games; and Ian Rosenberg, who was as an enforcer.Schneider, ''Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada'', pp. 319-20 In August 1971, at a meeting in Toronto,
Giacomo Luppino Giacomo Luppino (16 January 1900 – 18 March 1987) was an Italian-Canadian mobster who founded and led the Luppino family of Hamilton. Early life Luppino was born in 1900 in the village of Oppido Mamertina, Calabria, Italy. Already involved in ...
shifted control of the construction unions in Toronto from Papalia to Volpe.Edwards and Auger, ''The Encyclopedia of Canadian Organized Crime: From Captain Kidd to Mom Boucher'' pp. 186 By the early 1970s, Volpe worked with Natale Luppino, son of mob boss Giacomo Luppino of the
Luppino crime family The Luppino crime family, () also known as the Luppino-Violi crime family, is an 'Ndrangheta organized crime family based and founded in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, in the 1950s by Giacomo Luppino. The Luppino family is one of three centralized Ma ...
, on schemes where they would be paid kickbacks from both the union and the developers for negotiating construction contracts. Volpe was later sponsored as a made member of the Buffalo family by Giacomo Luppino, Jimmy Luppino and Harold Bordonaro in Hamilton.Edwards and Auger, ''The Encyclopedia of Canadian Organized Crime: From Captain Kidd to Mom Boucher'' pp. 137 Volpe maintained a close relationship with both the Luppino and Bordonaro families in Hamilton. In 1974, a Royal Commission was brought together to investigate the building industry. On 22 April 1977, Rosenberg was murdered for suspected collaboration with the police.Schneider, ''Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada'', pp. 331 With Volpe living a more outlandish lifestyle and agreeing to appear in an extensive
CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...
documentary in 1977, he accidentally overexposed the Canadian mob.Schneider, ''Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada'', pp. 329 Later that year, Volpe went south to
Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...
where he began investing in real estate after "the okay" from Angelo Bruno of the
Philadelphia crime family The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Bruno–Scarfo crime family,< ...
that operated the city. With the murder of Bruno in 1980 and the up rise of new power in the city, Volpe returned to Toronto, but without his previous gang as most were in jail or fled.Schneider, ''Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada'', pp. 323 In 1979, Volpe bought a mansion in
Schomberg, Ontario Schomberg (2021 population 2,656) is an unincorporated village in northwestern King, Ontario, Canada. It is located north of the Oak Ridges Moraine and south of the Holland River. Schomberg is accessed via Highway 9, which links Orangeville a ...
. Volpe's decision to live in Schomberg instead of Woodbridge or St. Clair Avenue West in Toronto, which were the normal homes for Toronto-area Mafiosi, marked him out as something of an outsider within the Toronto Mafia. Volpe's mansion was a Tudor-style house which he named Fox Hill. Fox Hill had a huge Canadian flag flying on the front lawn and was lit up by floodlights at night, which marked Volpe out as a man who was seeking attention, which was not the norm with gangsters. Volpe was highly unusual in the Mafia subculture in admitting that he had been involved in gay relationships as a young man and he had an affair with a young actor. Volpe's wife, Lisa Dalhot, was a Danish-Canadian woman who worked first as a model and then as a fashion buyer for the Creeds stores, which unusual for a Mafia wife, who expected to be housewives. Volpe was viewed as a "troublesome and distant" character within the Mafia, an eccentric gangster who moralistically lectured his fellow Mafiosi on the evils of pornography and prostitution, and as a "loner" who did not cultivate close ties with other Mafiosi. Volpe was respected for his intelligence and ability to make money, but always seen as an outsider within his milieu.


Death

The Buffalo crime family also operated in Toronto and Hamilton, and in 1981, hired former Satan's Choice MC
hitman Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...
Cecil Kirby to kill Volpe and his driver Pietro Scarcella in an arrangement with Rocco Remo Commisso of the Commisso family of Toronto, for $20,000.Edwards and Auger, ''The Encyclopedia of Canadian Organized Crime: From Captain Kidd to Mom Boucher'' pp. 120-121 However, the plot was foiled when Kirby turned
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 ...
(RCMP) informant. Volpe, who had a reputation for being devious and treacherous, had involved the Commissos in a real estate deal and cheated them, causing them to vow vengeance. During a conversation on 31 March 1981, Commisso told Kirby that he needed the approval of an unnamed higher authority before he could give the orders to kill Volpe. When Kirby asked "What about Volpe?", Commisso replied: "I'm waiting for an answer, OK?" On 23 April 1981, Commisso told Kirby that Scarcella could not be killed until he received permission from the unnamed authority, but he had the approval to kill Volpe. Commisso stated: "Ah, Scarcella, forget about it for now. Just don't worry about it for now", leading Kirby to ask "For how long?". Commisso replied: "A month, two months, we don't know yet. There's another guy". When Kirby asked "What the fuck is going on?", Commisso answered: "There's another guy I want you to take care of instead of him." Sergeant Al King of the Toronto police visited Volpe to tell him that a contract had been placed on his life and asked him if he would like to cooperate by faking his death, a request that Volpe agreed to despite the fact that it was a violation of the Mafia code. Sergeant King later stated he had been expecting that Volpe would refuse his request, and was most surprised that he agreed to assist the police. Wearing a wire, Kirby went to the house of Rocco Remo Commisso on 16 May 1981 to tell him: "Volpe, he's dead... I just killed him a hour ago". In fact, Volpe and his wife Lisa were in hiding at the RCMP's Toronto office.Schneider, ''Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada'', pp. 330 Commisso asked for proof that Kirby had indeed killed Volpe, leading him to produce Volpe's wallet with his driver's license in it, which Kirby said he had taken from his corpse. After looking over the wallet, Commisso was finally satisfied that Kirby had killed Volpe. After complaining that he should not have come to his house, Commisso paid Kirby $1,000 and said he would have more money for him soon. Commisso repeatedly assured Kirby that he and his brothers "would take care" of him. In organized crime, excessive displays of affection and loyalty are often a sign that those displaying the sympathy are in fact planning to kill the seeming object of their affection, and Kirby was disturbed by the number of times Commisso told him that he was almost family to him and his brothers. In 1982, the Commisso brothers were arrested by the RCMP and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Volpe's violation of the Mafia code by co-operating with the police was not forgiven, and on 13 November 1983, Volpe was murdered and found dead the next day in the trunk of his wife's
BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
at Pearson International Airport; Scarcella is said to have been the last person to see Volpe alive before his unsolved murder. Many police officers suspect that
Enio Mora Enio "Pegleg" Mora (; 1949 – 11 September 1996) was an Italian-born Canadian mobster who became underboss of the Papalia crime family and oversaw the family's operations in the Toronto area. Early criminal career Mora was born in Sora, Lazio, ...
—who was an associate of Volpe's—at least helped to lure him to his death.Edwards and Auger, ''The Encyclopedia of Canadian Organized Crime: From Captain Kidd to Mom Boucher'' pp. 153 Papalia and Montreal hitman
Réal Simard Réal Simard (born 7 January 1951) is a Canadian gangster from Montreal known for being a hitman for Frank Cotroni of the Cotroni crime family, who later turned informant. Early career Simard grew up in an abusive home. Simard's childhood home wa ...
have also been linked with Volpe's murder, but no charges were laid.Schneider, ''Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada'', pp. 537 The police informer Marvin Elkind stated that Volpe was murdered on the orders of
Nicodemo Scarfo Nicodemo Domenico Scarfo Sr. (March 8, 1929 – January 13, 2017) also known as "Little Nicky", was an American mobster who served as boss of the Philadelphia crime family from 1981 to 1990. Infamously known for his murderous reputation, Scarf ...
on the account of his real estate scams in Atlantic City, which he failed to cut him in on. In the Mafia subculture, leaving a corpse at an airport is a sign that the victim had problems abroad, and Elkind noted it was no accident that Volpe's corpse was left in the parking lot of Pearson airport, where it was meant to be found.


See also

* List of unsolved murders


Books

* *


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Volpe, Paul 1927 births 1983 deaths 1980s murders in Canada 1983 crimes in Canada 1983 murders in North America 20th-century Canadian criminals 20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people Buffalo crime family Canadian male criminals Canadian people of Italian descent Canadian prisoners and detainees Deaths by firearm in Ontario Mafia extortionists Murdered Buffalo crime family members Murdered Canadian gangsters Murdered Mafiosi Organized crime in Toronto People from King, Ontario Criminals from Toronto People murdered by Canadian organized crime Prisoners and detainees of Canada Unsolved murders in Canada People murdered in Toronto