HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Rocco Zito (; August 19, 1928 – January 29, 2016) was an Italian-Canadian
crime boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, Don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is a person in charge of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss typically has absolute or nearl ...
of the
'Ndrangheta The 'Ndrangheta (, , ) is a prominent Italian Mafia-type organized crime syndicate and secret society, criminal society based in the peninsular and mountainous region of Calabria and dating back to the late 18th century. It is considered one of ...
in Canada, a Mafia-type organisation originating in
Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
, Italy. He was also a founding member of the
Camera di Controllo The ''Camera di Controllo'' (Board of Control), is a collegial body of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria. It is also known as ''La Provincia'' (the Province) or ''Camera di Compensazione'' (compensation board). It is composed ...
in Canada in 1962. In 1986, he was convicted of manslaughter and was sentenced to two and a half years in jail. On January 29, 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 September 5, 2018, Scopelliti was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison.


Early life

Zito was born into a ‘Ndrangheta crime family in Fiumara, Calabria, on August 19, 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 or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in 1947, and two years later trying to enter Texas at Galveston 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 three years later, then relocating to
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
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 ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three ele ...
, loan sharking, drugs, fraud,
counterfeiting To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...
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 boss of the Luppino crime family and Michele Racco of the Siderno Group. He received his
Canadian citizenship Canadian nationality law details the conditions in which a person is a national of Canada. With few exceptions, almost all individuals born in the country are automatically citizens at birth. Foreign nationals may naturalize after living in ...
in 1961 and was believed to be a member of the '' crimini'' or
Camera di Controllo The ''Camera di Controllo'' (Board of Control), is a collegial body of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria. It is also known as ''La Provincia'' (the Province) or ''Camera di Compensazione'' (compensation board). It is composed ...
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, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as th ...
, who was setting up a heroin pipeline to Toronto, at a Toronto hotel on May 4, 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 most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...
, 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 in the 1980s, meeting with other mob bosses like
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
's
Frank Cotroni Frank Cotroni (born Francesco Cotrone; ; 1931 – 17 August 2004) was an Italian-Canadian crime boss of the Cotroni crime family in Montreal, Quebec. Cotroni was born in 1931, in Montreal. His family, including his brother Vincenzo, had immigr ...
. 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 murder of photo studio owner Rosario Sciarrino on January 13, 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 ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it t ...
meat company. An autopsy showed Sciarrino was shot in the head and chest, and suffered a dozen facial fractures from an ashtray. 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 home on January 29, 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 and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
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 May 18, 2018, Scopelliti stated in court that he killed Zito after he had a gun point at him, fearing for his life. However, on June 20, 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
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 ...
after found not guilty of first and second degree murder. On September 5, 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 Canadian gangsters of Italian descent Italian gangsters Murdered Canadian gangsters Murdered 'Ndranghetisti Italian emigrants to Canada Canadian people of Calabrian descent People from the Province of Reggio Calabria 1928 births 2016 deaths Italian people murdered abroad People murdered in Toronto 'Ndranghetisti Naturalized citizens of Canada Bootleggers Canadian people convicted of manslaughter Deaths by firearm in Ontario Canadian crime bosses