Rocco Sollecito (; June 9, 1948 – May 27, 2016) was an

Italian-Canadian Italian Canadians ( it, italo-canadesi, french: italo-canadiens) comprise Canadians who have full or partial Italian heritage and Italians who migrated from Italy or reside in Canada. According to the 2021 Census of Canada, 1,546,390 Canadians ...

underboss Underboss ( it, sottocapo) is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian, Greek, and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss. The underbo ...

of the

Rizzuto crime family The Rizzuto crime family () is an organized crime family based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, whose criminal activity covers most of southern Quebec and Ontario. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) considers the family a facti ...

based in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada.

Biography

Sollecito was born in

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Sollecito was believed to be one of the "top five figures" within the Rizzuto family and was responsible for deals within the construction industry. He was arrested on November 22, 2006, 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, Ital ...

Paolo Renda Paolo Renda (; September 10, 1939 – disappeared May 20, 2010, later Dead in absentia, declared dead September 2, 2018) was an Italian-Canadian consigliere of the Rizzuto crime family based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, who has not been seen sinc ...

, Francesco Arcadi, Lorenzo Giordano and Francesco Del Balso, as part of Project Colisée. Sollecito pled guilty in September 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, though he was released in the summer of 2011. His son, Stefano, and

Vito Rizzuto Vito Rizzuto (; February 21, 1946 – December 23, 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 ...

's son, Leonardo, are believed to be the heads of the Mafia in Montreal, who were both arrested and charged with

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

and gangsterism in November 2015. On February 19, 2018, they were released from prison, acquitted of charges of gangsterism and conspiracy to traffic cocaine.

Death

Sollecito was shot to death in

Laval Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...

around 08:30 ET on May 27, 2016, while driving a white BMW

SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definiti ...

. He was 67 years old at the time of his death. Sollecito's death is believed to be part of dismantling the older generation of the Rizzuto family. Sollecito's death occurred just months after the death of Rizzuto confidant, Lorenzo "Skunk" Giordano, who was shot to death in a parking lot in Laval. On October 17, 2019, Jonathan Massari, Dominico Scarfo, Guy Dion and Marie-Josée Viau, were arrested and charged with planning and executing the murders of Sollecito and Giordano.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sollecito, Rocco 1948 births 2016 deaths Canadian gangsters of Italian descent Italian gangsters Italian emigrants to Canada People from Bari Rizzuto crime family Murdered Mafiosi Organized crime in Montreal Murdered Canadian gangsters Canadian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Canada Deaths by firearm in Quebec People murdered in Quebec