Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn are looking north and eyeing the reputed Mafia boss of Canada in the grisly 1981 murders of three Bonanno capos, Gang Land has learned. 

Law enforcement sources say that Vito Rizzuto, (right) a Sicilian-born gangster once called the “John Gotti of Montreal” by police, was one of the executioners in the May 5, 1981 slayings that were orchestrated by current family boss Joseph Massino. 

Sources say Rizzuto, now 57, was a member of the select hit team that blew away capos Alphonse (Sonny Red) Indelicato, Philip (Philly Lucky) Giaccone and Dominick (Big Trin) Trinchera in a Brooklyn social club.

Rizzuto, a wealthy Bonanno capo with ties to international drug dealers, was fingered in the hits by Massino’s brother-in-law Salvatore Vitale, the longtime family underboss who began cooperating last year and has owned up to a major role in the slayings, sources say. Massino is scheduled for trial in April for seven murders, including the three capos. Vitale is the prosecution’s key witness.

No stranger to mob violence at home, Rizzuto allegedly took part in the Brooklyn hits as his Sicilian faction was wresting control of the Montreal rackets from

Calabrian rivals in an all-out war that ended in 1981 with more than 20 fatalities in Canada, Calabria and Sicily.  

The Bonanno family’s Sicilian faction, often called “Zips” by American born mobsters, played a major role in the bloody coup. Those who took part included Santo Giordano of Queens and Gerlando (George) Sciascia (right) of Montreal, according to court papers.

The family’s links to Montreal go back to the 1950s when the city was a major transit point for heroin coming to the U.S. from Europe and Joe Bonanno expanded his rackets there. A key emissary to Montreal was Carmine (Lillo) Galante, who was later busted for heroin trafficking. Released from prison in 1974, Galante took over the family, only to be executed in 1979, a prelude to the three capos murders. 

Like Gotti in his heyday, Rizzuto (left) is known as a flashy dresser who was tough to convict. He beat two major drug smuggling cases between 1987 and 1990 and his only jail time was a two year bit for arson in 1972. As a result, he has often been compared to the Dapper Don by the Montreal press, and police.

“Vito Rizzuto is the John Gotti of Montreal,” Sergeant Detective Michel Amoit told Gang Land back then. “Vito’s handsome, well-dressed, flashy, but not too extravagant.

He has a lot of charisma and receives a lot of respect from all the Mafia types.”

These days, Rizzuto’s only concerns are drunk driving charges stemming from a routine traffic stop in 2002, for which the maximum penalty upon conviction is $2000 – that’s Canadian currency – according to Crown Assistant Chief prosecutor Jacques Rivet.

The trial, which began last month, has been recessed until May, when Judge Louise Baribeau will decide whether to toss the case for technical reasons.

Last month, when confronted by reporters about a court document in a previous tax case – he beat those charges too, in 2001 – in which prosecutors said he was the “godfather of the Italian Mafia in Montreal,” Rizzuto (right in a Montreal Gazette photo) denied it, with a smile. “I’m the jack of all trades,” he told Montreal Gazette newsman Paul Cherry.

“From these records,” said prosecutor Rivet yesterday, “There is no way to tell if he is a godfather or grandmother. But the police believe he is a very high figure in the Mafia.”

Last week, lawyers for Massino (left) and many codefendants were in court for a routine discussion with prosecutor Greg Andres and Judge Nicholas Garaufis about prison regulations that often make it difficult for the lawyers to confer with their clients.

It was so routine that all the defendants, including John (Johnny Joe) Spirito – he is charged with the 1999 murder of Sciascia – waived their appearances.

But the session was anything but routine for Michelle Spirito, whose husband faces execution if convicted. Mrs. Spirito, who lost her larynx to throat cancer and uses a mechanical device to speak, has attended every court session.

When the public proceeding ended, spectators were asked to exit to permit lawyers and the warden of the Metropolitan Detention Center to smooth out their problems. Before leaving, a spirited Mrs. Spirito walked over to the railing and excoriated Andres about his usual practice of drinking coffee in court.

“I am offended by your attitude during this important proceeding. You are being very disrespectful to the judge and everyone in the court. I can’t believe you are drinking coffee. There is a sign outside the courtroom and it says no eating or drinking in the courtroom and you’re sitting there drinking coffee.”

The stunned prosecutor declined to discuss the incident. Gang Land wonders whether Andres will be drinking coffee in court in the future. 

Acting Luchese boss Louis (Louie Bagels) Daidone went to trial for two murders this week, but when first busted in the case on Dec. 19, 2002, Daidone was hit with lesser extortion charges that led to some sarcastic banter with arresting FBI agents.

When one commented about his “nice wine collection,” Daidone replied: “I got it with all my extortion money.”

As they drove to the Queens FBI office for processing, Daidone complained about a nickname that the FBI (and Gang Land) have been using for him. His remark has caused us – sharp-eyed readers may have already noticed – to revert to one that he did not take issue with, one that refers to a bagel store in Queens that he owned.

“I don’t know anybody who calls me Crossbay Louie,” said Louie Bagels, who also discussed, without complaint, according to an FBI report of the conversation, the nicknames of several Luchese wiseguys, including John (Johnny Sideburns) Cerella, Anthony (Razor) Pezzullo and Ray (Mattress Face) Argentina.