Ontario man accused in mob-related killings arrested in Mexico after 9 years on the run

A sir william rowan hamilton adult male wanted in connectedness with ii mob-related killings was arrested in united mexican states after nine years on the run and faces at least two counts of first-degree murder.

The 35-year-old is now in custody in Mexico and efforts “are underway to facilitate his extradition to Canada,” Hamilton police said in an email. 

York Regional Police, also in Ontario, say he is contesting extradition.

News of the arrest was first reported by the Hamilton Spectator.

Tomassetti was wanted in connection with the separate 2017 murders of infamous Ontario mobster Angelo Musitano and bystander Mila Barberi. 

Barberi, a 28-year-old veterinary technician from Toronto, was shot in a parked SUV in Vaughan nine years ago this month while waiting to pick up her boyfriend, Saverio Serrano, who was also injured. According to police, Serrano had connections to organized crime. 

On May 2, 2017, Musitano, a member of a well-known mob family in Hamilton, was gunned down in his driveway in the Hamilton neighbourhood of Waterdown. 

Tomassetti is the last of three suspects in the double killings. 

Following the shootings, Michael Cudmore fled to Mexico, where he was found dead in June 2020. Hamilton police say he was killed. 

Jabril Abdalla pleaded guilty and was convicted of the lesser charge of participating in a criminal organization. He was sentenced to time served of 46 months.

According to Interpol at the time, Tomassetti was facing two counts of first-degree murder, as well as one count of attempted murder and three counts of conspiracy to commit murder. 

He was under police surveillance following the shootings in 2017, but in January 2018 he was able to travel to Mexico, where he was known to have connections. Court records suggest he evaded surveillance by leaving his phone at home while getting a ride to the airport. He was not on the return flight days later.

In 2023, Tomassetti was named one of the nation’s most wanted fugitives within Canada’s BOLO (be on the lookout) Program. Police also issued an award offer of $50,000 for information leading to Tomassetti’s arrest. Hamilton police could not confirm if that reward has been claimed. 

The Musitano family’s links to organized crime date back half a century. 

While serving a prison sentence for his connections to extortions and bombings, Anthony Musitano was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in the killing of mobster Domenic Racco.  

In 1997, Angelo and his older brother Pat were charged with first-degree murder for the killing of mob boss Johnny (Pops) Papalia and his lieutenant, Carmen Barillaro. The first-degree murder charges were dropped when the brothers reached a deal and pleaded guilty to committing murder in the Barillaro case. 

Weeks after Angelo’s murder in 2017, Pasquale (Pat) Musitano was also shot at, but he survived. He was shot and killed in 2020 in front of a furniture store in Burlington, Ont. 

Reporter/editor

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