On this day in Sicily, 1946 we saw the birth of the future Montreal mob boss, Vito Rizzuto. Rizzuto headed his own family and was constantly in a battle for turf which saw many of his family killed. Despite knowing his life was in danger he sent the message that he wasn’t moving from Montreal. Brave move.

He eventually died from Lung Cancer at the age of 67 in 2013.

On this day, the 21st of February 1946, in the Sicilian town of Cattolica Eraclea, a child was born who would grow up to become one of the most powerful and feared organised crime figures in Canadian history. Vito Rizzuto arrived in Montreal with his family as a young boy, part of a wave of Sicilian immigration that would quietly reshape the criminal landscape of Canada over the following decades. What began as a modest transplanted family operation would eventually blossom into a multinational criminal empire with tentacles reaching deep into the Americas and across the Atlantic.

Vito did not inherit his position simply through bloodlines, though his father Nicolò Rizzuto had laid much of the groundwork. Vito earned his reputation through shrewd diplomacy, ruthless decision-making, and an uncanny ability to forge alliances with the most powerful criminal organisations in North America. He cultivated close ties with the New York Five Families, operating in a manner that drew comparisons to the statesmanlike approach of Lucky Luciano, who had himself built criminal empires through negotiation and strategic partnership rather than brute force alone. The Rizzutos essentially became the Canadian arm of the Sicilian Mafia's broader transatlantic network, dealing heavily in drug trafficking, construction fraud, and money laundering on a staggering scale.

Vito's most notorious brush with American mob history came through his alleged involvement in the 1981 murders of three Bonanno Family captains — Alphonse Indelicato, Dominick Trinchera, and Philip Giaccone — in what became known as the Three Capos murders. It was a defining moment that cemented his standing within the highest levels of the North American underworld. He was eventually convicted of conspiracy charges related to those killings and served several years in a United States federal prison, finally returning to Montreal in 2012.

His homecoming, however, was anything but peaceful. During his years of imprisonment, rivals had waged a savage war against his family, killing his son Nicolo Jr., his father Nicolò, and his brother-in-law Paolo Renda. Rather than retreating, Vito returned and set about rebuilding with characteristic resolve, making clear to enemies and allies alike that he had no intention of abandoning his city.

He would not live long enough to fully restore what had been lost. Vito Rizzuto died on the 23rd of December 2013, from lung cancer, aged 67. His death left a void in Canadian organised crime that has never truly been filled, a testament to just how singular a figure he truly was.