Mafia don settles up with tax man

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This article was published 12/02/2010 (5942 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MONTREAL — The patriarch in Canada’s most notorious Mafia clan pleaded guilty to tax evasion, settled his debts with the tax man, and strolled out of court wearing a smile and a fedora hat.

It took less than 15 minutes in a courtroom Thursday for octogenarian Nicolo Rizzuto to walk out a free man. It had taken more than 15 years to bring his tax case to court.

The case stems from infractions committed in the mid-1990s by Rizzuto, the father of reputed Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto and grandfather of the recently murdered Nick Rizzuto Jr.

He admitted failing to declare interest revenues from more than $5 million deposited in a handful of Swiss bank accounts.

In 1994 and 1995, Rizzuto earned $627,906 in interest from the foreign accounts and didn’t declare it. Police uncovered the Swiss accounts in the mid-’90s, but didn’t pursue the case. Tax authorities only discovered the accounts when Rizzuto was swept up in a massive police dragnet against organized crime in 2006 in which he and scores of others were arrested.

"Revenue Canada became interested in Mr. Rizzuto because of Projet Colisee," Crown prosecutor Yvan Poulin told reporters. "The agency got interested in the case — and dusted off, if you will, its old files."

Charges were authorized by a judge on Feb. 1.

While Rizzuto could technically have faced time behind bars, prison sentences are rare in such cases, Poulin noted.

In a statement, the Canada Revenue Agency said Rizzuto paid a $209,000 fine and also settled his tax debt of about $154,000.

Rizzuto quietly exited the courthouse Thursday, and his lawyer said he was pleased the case had been settled to everyone’s satisfaction.

The family patriarch, who turns 86 next week, is already on probation after receiving a suspended sentence in 2008 for his previous crimes.

 

— The Canadian Press