York Regional Police has been largely silent on what the killings mean and what they are doing about the root causes of these bloody displays, until now.
Insp. Tim Kelly, who is in charge of York police’s major crimes unit, said that while detectives continue to investigate the killings, there is no proof the crimes are connected.
“Motives for murders are not always obvious,†he said. “Our investigators have a responsibility to keep open minds, look at all the angles and follow the evidence where it leads. There is currently no evidence to link the shooting incidents with each other.â€
Others familiar with the underworld are not so sure.
Two victims, Salvatore “Sam†Calautti, 41, who was shot and killed in July 2013 outside a stag party, and Carmine Verduci, 56, gunned down in broad daylight in April outside a west Woodbridge cafe, have been dubbed mafia killings by various sources in media reports.
Both men were suspected high-ranking members of crime families in or around Vaughan.
Meanwhile, the most recent victims, Ritesh Thakur and Sarhad Sadiq, both shot in public places within months of each other, had previously been charged in major cocaine trafficking investigations, an activity the mafia is suspected to be heavily involved in, experts say.
Whether or not these surprise attacks are linked to the ongoing Montreal mob war, which has claimed several lives in recent years, is something few people are willing to speak about.
Mafia experts, authors and journalists familiar with the underworld are but few voices on the subject.
The only authorities willing to comment openly are prosecutors in Italy, who wrote in a 2010 report that seven dominant crime families are living and working in the GTA.