Rizzuto dogged by tax evasion charges

Nicolo Rizzuto, the presumed patriarch of Montreal's Mafia, is facing tax evasion charges.

Rizzuto, 85, is accused of not paying taxes on a $5.2-million sum split among three Swiss bank accounts.

If found guilty, Rizzuto faces fines as high as twice the amount of the overdue taxes.

He is currently on probation after pleading guilty in 2008 to two gangsterism-related charges, including possessing proceeds of a crime.

Rizzuto is expected to appear in Quebec Court on Thursday to face the tax evasion charges.

His son Vito is serving time in the United States for racketeering. His grandson, Nick Rizzuto, was gunned down Dec. 29 in Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood.