Rocco Zito (; 19 August 1928 – 29 January 2016) was an Italian-Canadian

crime boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, mafia don, mob boss, kingpin, or godfather is the leader of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss has absolute or nearly absolute control over the other members of the organization and is ...

of the

'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 ...

in Canada, a Mafia-type organisation originating in

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

, Italy. He was also a founding member of the Camera di Controllo in Canada in 1962. In 1986, he was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to two and a half years in jail. On 29 January 2016, Zito was shot to death by his son-in-law Domenico Scopelliti in a domestic dispute. After the shooting, Scopelliti fled, but turned himself in hours later to police, and was charged with first-degree murder. Scopelliti was charged with manslaughter after being found not guilty of first and second degree murder. On 5 September 2018, he was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison.

Early life

Zito was born into a

crime family in Fiumara,

, on 19 August 1928, one of six sons to Domenico and Angela. His father and uncle, Giuseppe, were both ‘Ndrangheta members. Zito tried to immigrate to North America illegally twice, once as a stowaway on a ship headed to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1947, and two years later trying to enter Texas at

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

through Mexico; both times he was caught and deported. A murder charge against him in Italy was dropped in 1952 before he entered Canada legally through

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 ...

three years later, then relocating to

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 ...

as its connection to the Montreal mafia-bootlegging scheme.

Activities and convicted manslaughter

Police long believed he earned that money through

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

loan sharking 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 ...

, drugs, fraud,

counterfeiting A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...

and other criminal ventures. He also had an early bootlegging conviction. Zito was first a police target in Canada in 1960 in a fraud investigation and by 1962, he was seen meeting with powerful mob figures, including

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 ...

boss of the Luppino crime family and Michele Racco of the

Siderno Group The Siderno Group is a criminal association in Canada, Australia and Italy related to the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organization in Calabria. The association is labelled the "Siderno Group" because its members primarily came from the town of Side ...

. He received his

Canadian citizenship Canadian nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of Canada. The primary law governing these regulations is the Citizenship Act, which came into force on February 15, 1977 and is applicable to all provinces and ...

in 1961 and was believed to be a founding member of the '' Camera di Controllo'' since 1962. Police also spotted Zito meeting with convicted heroin trafficker New York mobster Paolo Gambino of the

Gambino crime family The Gambino 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, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia. ...

, who was setting up a heroin pipeline to Toronto, at a Toronto hotel on 4 May 1970. In 1978, a police investigation of a counterfeiting operation focused on a printing company Zito owned. It led to the seizure of $1.7 million in counterfeit money in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, with the bills originating in Toronto but charges against him were never laid. By the 1980s, Zito was boss of the Toronto Siderno Group after the death of Michele Racco. Police also spotted Zito often rambling through Toronto's

Little Italy Little Italy is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an Urban area, urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian cul ...

in the 1980s, meeting with other mob bosses like

's Frank Cotroni. Zito was also aware of listening devices and used a soft voice and hand motions to communicate. In 1986, Zito was convicted of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

for the killing of photo studio owner Rosario Sciarrino on 13 January 1986, for not being able to pay back a $20,000 loan plus interest for the loan sharking. Sciarrino's body was found frozen and wrapped in garbage bags in the trunk of his car after a meeting in a

Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

meat company. An autopsy showed Sciarrino was shot in the head and chest, and suffered a dozen facial fractures from an

ashtray An ashtray is a wikt:receptacle, receptacle for ash from cigarettes, cigars, and other smokable products. Ashtrays typically are made of fire-retardant material such as glass, heat-resistant plastic, pottery, metal, or rock (geology), stone. It ...

. Zito initially vanished after the shooting, but surrendered four days later to Peel homicide detectives. He limped in from a gunshot wound to the leg, telling police that "I, Rocco Zito, was shot on Monday, Jan. 13th, by persons unknown." Police suspected the wound was self-inflicted to instill legal doubt in the initial second-degree murder charge in Sciarrino's death, and was sentenced to four and a half years in prison. In 1987, Zito was sentenced to two and a half years in jail for possessing stolen goods and proceeds of crime.

Death

Zito was shot to death in his

North York North York is a former township and city and is now one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the northern area of Toronto, centred around Yonge Street, north of Ontario Highway 401. It is bounded by ...

home on 29 January 2016, by his son-in-law Domenico Scopelliti in a domestic dispute at the age of 87. Scopelliti and his family shared the home with Zito. After the shooting, Scopelliti fled, but turned himself in hours later to police, and was charged with first-degree murder. Police found at least six guns — including a pistol and a rifle — and ammunition, stashed in closets, linen drawers and cabinets in his home. Police also found a total of $23,390 in Canadian currency,

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

18,570 and $251 in American currency, stashed in a briefcase, wallets, an envelope and a drawer in his home. In April 2018, Domenico Scopelliti's then-wife, and one of Zito's daughters, Laura Scopelliti, who later divorced Domenico after the incident, testified in a Toronto court about the dialogue used between the two men before the shooting, and about the origins of the $1 million in his bank account and money found inside the home. On 18 May 2018, Scopelliti stated in court that he killed Zito after he had a gun point at him, fearing for his life. However, on 20 June 2018, another one of Zito's daughters, Angela Buda testified she was standing close to her father and that he did not have a gun when he was shot. Scopelliti was charged with

after found not guilty of first and second degree murder. On 5 September 2018, Scopelliti was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison.

Style and philosophy

Zito officially listed his occupation as a ceramic tile salesman as a business front. He lived by the philosophy of old-school modesty, disliking the flash of the modern Mafia, with its extravagant displays of wealth to show power; he believed true respect, came from "honour." He often dismissed younger mobsters who resided in Woodbridge, north of Toronto, as "Hollywood". Zito once stated, "In my day, we didn’t have the big houses, drive the big cars and the suits and all the flash... But all the guys in Woodbridge have the big houses and drive the big, black SUVs and put on airs."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zito, Rocco 1928 births 2016 deaths 20th-century Canadian criminals 20th-century Italian criminals Bootleggers Canadian crime bosses Canadian male criminals Canadian people convicted of manslaughter Canadian people of Calabrian descent Canadian prisoners and detainees Deaths by firearm in Ontario Italian-Canadian organized crime Italian crime bosses Italian emigrants to Canada Italian male criminals Italian people convicted of manslaughter Italian people imprisoned abroad Italian people murdered abroad Murdered Canadian gangsters Murdered 'Ndranghetisti Naturalized citizens of Canada Organized crime in Toronto People from the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria Criminals from Toronto People murdered in Toronto Prisoners and detainees of Canada