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Dec 31,2006 - Jan7,2006 |
La Cosa Nostra makes its way north
Part 3 - Drug trafficking and prostitution prosper in Montreal
By Antonio Nicaso
Originally Published: 2001-06-24
Montreal — Montreal today is one of the most important North American entry points for narcotics. There is cocaine from South America, heroin from southeast Asia and marijuana from the Pacific provinces and States. While some stay behind to feed the relatively small Canadian market for drugs, most head south — meeting the demand of the world’s largest consumer of narcotics. And it’s all managed in Montreal by a small group — no more than four to five people.
"It’s a huge ring," confirms Staff Sergeant Jean Pierre Boucher of the Montreal RCMP drug squad. "They fix the price for drugs both wholesale and retail, decide how much must come in and whom it must be sold to,"
There’s the Mafia boss, the chief of the Irish gang who controls the West End of the Francophone city, and the head of Hells Angels. In Italy this would be known as the "Commission", but in Montreal’s criminal jargon it is known as the "Consortium". And it has contacts everywhere: in Columbia, the United States, the Bahamas, but most especially Europe.
It was a former drug dealer who some years ago confirmed the existence of this "drug coordination board" to investigators. Something like the "junta" that in the Forties and Fifties handled gambling, clandestine bets, prostitution and all the illegal activities connected to show business in what was then called the North American Paris.
These are stories of bygone days, investigative craftsmanship, marked by black-and-white photos showing the sneering smile of many untouchable bosses, such as Max Shapiro, Frank Pretula, Louis Greco, and Harry Ship. Gambling alone generated profits to the tune of $50 million per year. And with money, the Montreal crooks bribed everybody, politicians, policemen, and middlemen included.
Harry Ship was a drop-out at Queen’s University. When he was arrested for gambling in the Forties, the police found in his notebook telephone numbers of some of the most influential politicians. There were many rumours about dangerous liaisons but nothing of consequence. Ship soon became the head of the tough guys controlling nightclubs. He was smart, but he had a weak spot: he loved gambling on everything. He once lost $35,000 gambling on a hockey team. And gamble after gamble, he ended up owing his neck to Frank Erickson, a U.S. gangster associated with Frank Costello, a major figure in U.S. organized crime, who was also referred to as the Prime Minister of La Cosa Nostra. Pretula and Greco, two wiseguys from Montreal’s underworld, did not let the opportunity pass them by.
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