Dec 19 2008
Mafia ‘man of honour’ denied full parole
Gerlando Caruana was arrested in project Omerta, a Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit investigation, in 1998. Photograph by: Gazette file photo
Despite his stunning admission that he was a “man of honour” in the Sicilian Mafia while he conspired to smuggle large quantities of cocaine into Canada, Gerlando Caruana of Montreal has been turned down for full parole.
During a parole hearing held Friday morning at the Federal Training Centre in Laval, Caruana, 65, finally acknowledged that he and his younger brother Alfonso were part of the Sicilian Mafia, a extremely rare admission among those who are part of the secretive society that originated in Italy and, over the past century, carried over to countries like Canada and the U.S.
His decision to be more transparent with the National Parole Board comes after Caruana was turned down for full parole in April, when he denied being part of the Mafia.
This time around, during a frank exchange with parole board members Gilles Roussel and Pierre Cadieux, Caruana even admitted to being a so-called “man of honour,” or leader in the organization, while he, his brothers and other relatives, known as the Caruana-Cuntrera clan, shipped large quantities of cocaine around the world.
“To be a man of honour means to be respected and to respect. When you give your word, that is it. It is final,” Caruana said, adding his organization was destroyed after project Omerta, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit investigation, arrested him and several others in 1998. His brother Alfonso and other relatives, former Montrealers from the Cuntrera side of the clan, are currently serving lengthy prison terms in Italy.
Previous admissions like Caruana’s have typically come from Mafia members who turned police informant.
Despite his openness, Caruana was turned down for full parole on the 31-year prison term he is currently serving. In 1995, he was out on full parole, while serving a 20-year term for heroin smuggling, when he and his brothers Alfonso and Pasquale made plans to bring tons of cocaine into Canada. Gerlando’s role was to distribute it in Montreal.
All three brothers received lengthy prison terms and Gerlando has been out on day parole for 19 months now. His parole officer, Julie Dubois, told the board that Caruana leads a very isolated life, restricted to his work at a centre that distributes food for needy people in St. Jérôme, part of his day parole, and his family. Caruana walks with a cane. His movements are limited by diabetes and a right hip that he damaged while behind bars at a penitentiary in Ontario. He said he now regrets being behind bars when all three of his children married and all five of his grandchildren were born.
Caruana claims to lead a frugal life, living partly off his pension with his spouse in a small house in Laval. For years, police have speculated that Caruana still has a fortune in drug profits stashed away somewhere. Before the arrests in 1998, members of the Caruana-Cuntrera organization were believed to have hidden millions in drug money through real estate purchases in countries like Aruba and Venezuela.
Caruana claimed that all his assets were lost when his partner in crime, Oreste Pagano, became an informant for the police.
“Everything disappeared,” Caruana said while claiming Pagano controlled the profits made from their transactions.
But while explaining the decision to keep Caruana under much closer surveillance than he would have experienced on full parole, Roussel said the parole board remains skeptical about his finances. Roussel also noted the length of Caruana’s sentence justifies a long period of day parole.
The board is required to hear Caruana’s case again in six months. His sentence ends in 2018.
Mafia ‘man of honour’ denied full parole – By Paul CherryDecember 19, 2008 4:01 PM – The Montreal Gazette – This story was found at: http://www.montrealgazette.com/Mafia+honour+denied+full+parole/1096717/story.html
