Angelo Musitano was being 'stalked' in the days before he was killed: police
Investigators now say multiple vehicles were seen staking out home of man linked with Hamilton mob
Notorious Hamilton mobster Angelo Musitano was being "stalked" by multiple people in the days before he was gunned down in the driveway of his own home, according to police.
Musitano, 39, was shot in the driveway of his suburban home in Waterdown on May 2. The gunman was never found, but Canadian mob experts have theorized that the shooting could have been retribution for an incident in Musitano's past.
Lead investigator Det. Sgt. Peter Thom told reporters Thursday that police believe Musitano was under surveillance from April 27 onwards. More than one person was involved, Thom said, and they may have been checking on his lifestyle and habits leading up to the shooting.
"We do need witnesses in this case," said Thom. "We've had a lot of intelligence information, which is good for our purposes, but not necessarily good for prosecutorial evidence down the line."
No motive has yet been uncovered, said Thom.
Musitano's father was Dominic Musitano, a well-known Mafia boss in the city.
Police say the shooting victim had done jail time in connection with three murders, but that Musitano had been mostly laying low since getting out of jail in 2007.
Musitano and his brother, Pat Musitano, were charged with first-degree murder in the 1997 shooting of Hamilton crime boss Johnny Papalia and one of his lieutenants, Carmen Barillaro.
They reached a deal with the Crown and pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to commit murder charge in the death of Barillaro. The pair were sentenced to 10 years in jail.
Police previously released security camera video of the car investigators say was used as a getaway vehicle in the murder.
The car — a stolen four-door, 2006 Ford Fusion with rusty wheel rims — was later recovered in Waterdown. On Thursday, police released photos of three other vehicles they believe were involved:
- A 2006 to 2011 black, two-door Honda Civic.
- A red 2017 Chevrolet Malibu.
- A grey or blue Infiniti sedan.
Those vehicles were either seen in the area of Musitano's home on Chesapeake Drive or were spotted on security footage "interacting" with vehicles that had been staking out Musitano, said Thom.
"More than one person was involved in stalking Angelo Musitano, and more than one vehicle was used to accomplish this task."
In the wake of his death, friends shared stories that Musitano had become religious after his time in prison, and had left behind his old ways.
In a book of collected stories of faith called I Found Him, Musitano told his own story, and spoke about how meeting his wife, starting a family and finding religion changed him.
"During my formative years and while serving [a prison sentence], I saw firsthand the worst of the human condition — beatings, stabbings and murder — and it began to have a profound effect on me," he wrote. "I wanted to try to distance myself from my past but on my release it seemed there was only one life for an ex-con. Nobody seemed willing to take a chance on a man with a record."
Thom said despite that supposed change of heart, Musitano's family has not been talking with police.
"Our victim here, who apparently had changed his life around, if he was out of that lifestyle, I would have expected some more co-operation from the family."
Shots were later fired into Pat Musitano's home in Hamilton in late June last year, after his brother was killed.
Thom said there's no "direct evidence" linking the two incidents, but "is there an inference there? I would say there's a good chance."
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