Alleged Italian mafia boss unlikely to get any relief

An Immigration and Refugee Board member decided that one of the Italy’s most wanted men would remain behind the bars until a hearing is held in order to determine whether he should be removed from the country, as he poses threat to the Canadian public.

An Immigration and Refugee Board member decided that one of the Italy’s most wanted men would remain behind the bars until a hearing is held in order to determine whether he should be removed from the country, as he poses threat to the Canadian public.

Giuseppe Coluccio, the alleged mafia leader escaped Italy in the year 2005 and was convicted in Absentia under the charges of drugs, weapons and conspiracy. The Italian authorities have labeled him as one of the country’s most dangerous 30 people. If he is deported back to Italy then he will face a jail term of up to 16 years.

The 41-year old mafia was arrested last Thursday outside a Toronto-area strip mall. He has been held since then at the Toronto West Detention Centre. During a detention review, a board member William Willoughby told Coluccio that leaving him will pose a big threat to the security of the Canadian public. The board member also said to Coluccio that according to him, he has been involved in organized crimes and also heads a mafia organization. Willoughby also feared that once released, Coluccio may not come for his admissibility hearing.

Coluccio appeared at the hearing through a video link from the detention centre. He was wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and standing in a small room. He was often seen leaning towards the camera and nodding slightly. His lawyers, Michael Galluzzo and Mike Caden said that they weren’t able to review the case due to lack of time.

During the hearing, Heather Pearson, a Canada Border Services Agency said that Coluccio committed his first murder in the Siderno in the seventies and was convicted in 1993 for trafficking narcotics in Italy. He then served 10 of the 12 year sentence imposed on him. Pearson said that last week, when Coluccio was arrested in Markham, he was found with license of a French driver having his picture and name Agostino Bertolotti. He was allegedly found with two credit cards, one with the name of Giuseppe Scarfo and the other with the name of his Canadian wife.

Coluccio fled to Canada after he became subject of an Italian Investigation called “Nostromo”, that in general words can be termed as “our man”, according to the court documents forwarded from Italy. They also charged him of exerting his power along the coast in order to traffic drugs.