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HP OPINION NO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ON REVENGE SLAYING OF REPUTED MOBSTER REMAINS UNSOLVED, WRITES STEPHEN METELSKY Rapid gunfire permeat- ed the still, warm air in loud succession as shop- pers and frantic bystand- ers scurried for cover. When s his back on the pavement outside the Pro Patio Furniture store at 484 Plains Rd. E. in Burlington. The spent shell casings had barely hit the ground when the suspect vehicle — described asa newer model grey, four-door sedan, with sped away from the crime scene westbound on Plains Road East. This was not a random shooting. The dead man on the ground was reputed Hamilton mobster Pas- quale "Pat" Musitano. Hal- ton Police "believe he was targeted" on that warm summer day on July 10, 20 a tolp.m. one has been changed in the murder and no suspects have been iden- “There is certainly s Halton's homi- STEPHEN METELSKY Column cide unit. The premeditation and planning to murder Musi- tano began well before hie fateful events in that Bur- lington parking lot. Pat's murder eerily mimicked the high-profile underworld murder of ilton mafia boss John- ny Sena Papalia, who was. ordered killed on May 31, 1997, at the behest of the then-powerful Musitano brothers, Pat, and his younger brother Angelo. Papalia was also shot on a warm, sunny day in the early afternoon ina public setting. "The mafia uses sym- bolism and _ message: when someone is killed," Antonio Nicaso, a professor at Queens Uni- versity, organized crime expert and author of over 40 books on the subject. “It is an important part of mafia culture." Kenneth Murdock had been hired to kill Papalia and his underboss in Niag- ara Falls — Carmen Bari- llaro — who was gunned down in the front foyer of HALTON CRIME, {CONFIDENTIAL his home on July 23, 1997. The hitman later flipped and struck a deal that sent the Musitano brothers to jail i in 2000 after they pled rillaro homicide, vas part of a plea deal. The precursors to Mus- itano's 2020 death in Bur- lington appear to have be- gun the day Papalia was Graham Paine/ Metroland A police cruiser sits in the Plains Road East plaza where a double shooting left reputed mob boss Pat Musitano dead. effect that Played out into southern Ontari killed over two decades ear- om, int on, lierin Hamilton. This is the there was a foreshadowing by police of that led up intelligence and mafia ex- to the Burlingt: 101 pert tes, 100 per cent," said John Mans, the former de- tective sergeant, who man- aged Halton's intelligence unit up until 2017. "In all never forget." Events in the under- world took a significant and violent turn after re- puted Montreal mob boss Vito Rizzuto's untimely death in December of 2013. This created a major shift and void in Canada's un- derworld, witha ripple like calation of violence levied against the two brothers. In September 2015, Pat's SUV was set ablaze at his Hamilton home on St. Clair Boge On May 2, 2017, Angelo was shot to death at his Wa- terdown residence ashe sat in his car. In June 2017, weeks after his brother's murder, Pat's Pat survived the first at- tempt on his life, when he was shot several times the Mississauga parking lot of his attorney. Up until his death in Halton, it was believed Pat was on the run. However, the reputed mob boss couldn't outrun his past. “There is no statute of limitations on revenge," added Nicaso. On the day of the July 2020 shooting, the Hamil- ton Spectator confirmed John Clary and Pino Avi- gnone were also present when Pat Musitano was murdered. Clary was shot and transported to hospital win non-life-threatening "There is obviously a the actual selves," said Bradley. "You're not necessarily go- ing to get the full coopera- tion out of that (organized crime) world." But who pulled the trig- ger? Part two: The anato- my i Have a tip or informa- tion about this homicide? Call the Halton Police Homicide ‘Tip Line at 905- 825-4776. Tipsters can also pro- vide information anony- mously at Crime Stoppers: 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Stephen Metelsky is an ter: @StephenMetelsky. Have a story idea? Reach him at HaltonCrimeConfi- dential@gmail.com. INH UONEH - dl CUL | 2 a Fy 2 a S = 5 3 x iS 8 eordyouy