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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ay 26 ,2 02 2 | 26 NOW OPEN Rapid gunfire permeat- ed the still, warm air in loud succession as shop- pers and frantic bystand- ers scurried for cover. When the smoke cleared, a man was ob- served laying on 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 as a newer model grey, four-door sedan, with a sunroof and damage to the driver's side door -- 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, 2020, close to 1 p.m. No one has been charged in the murder and no suspects have been iden- tified. "There was certainly some planning that went into it," said detective ser- geant Trevor Bradley, who manages Halton's homi- cide unit. The premeditation and planning to murder Musi- tano began well before the fateful events in that Bur- lington parking lot. Pat's murder eerily mimicked the high-profile underworld murder of Hamilton mafia boss John- ny "Pops" 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 in a public setting. "The mafia uses symbol- ism and messages when someone is killed," said An- tonio Nicaso, a professor at Queens University, orga- nized crime expert and au- thor 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 his home on July 23, 1997. The hitman later flipped and struck a deal that sent the Musitano brothers to jail in 2000 after they pled guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in the Ba- rillaro homicide, as 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 killed over two decades ear- lier in Hamilton. This is the consensus shared by police intelligence and mafia ex- perts. "Yes, 100 per cent," said John Mans, the former de- tective sergeant, who man- aged Halton's intelligence unit up until 2017. "In all my experience with orga- nized crime, these guys 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, with a ripple like effect that played out into southern Ontario. From that point on, there was a foreshadowing of violent events that led up to the Burlington shooting -- in a slow, methodical es- calation of violence levied against the two brothers. In September 2015, Pat's SUV was set ablaze at his Hamilton home on St. Clair Boulevard. On May 2, 2017, Angelo was shot to death at his Wa- terdown residence as he sat in his car. In June 2017, weeks after his brother's murder, Pat's house was shot at. Then on April 25, 2019, Pat survived the first at- tempt on his life, when he was shot several times in 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 with non-life-threatening injuries. "There is obviously a shroud of secrecy around the actual victims them- 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 of a hit. 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 author, professor, and retired HRPS detective. Twitter: @StephenMetel- sky. Have a story idea? Reach him at HaltonCri- meConfiden- tial@gmail.com. 'NO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ON REVENGE' OPINION SLAYING OF REPUTED MOBSTER REMAINS UNSOLVED, WRITES STEPHEN METELSKY STEPHEN METELSKY Column Halton Crime Confidential A police cruiser sits in the Plains Road East plaza where a double shooting left reputed mob boss Pat Musitano dead. Graham Paine/Metroland