 Welcome into another quick hitter episode of the OG podcast. I'm your host Scott Bernstein and I want to do some, you know, rapid fire news. Just a blockbuster mob hit that went down to Montreal today. On Monday, June 5, 2023, longtime Rizzuto crime family enforcer Francesco Chet Del Basso was killed leaving his workout, his late morning workout at the monster gym in West Island section of Montreal. He was running for his life these last couple months. He, you know, the old saying is if you take a shot at the King, you better not miss and then Chet, he missed back in the spring. Del Basso made a play a move to try to take out Rizzuto crime family Don alleged Don Leonardo Rizzuto and he failed. Rizzuto averted assassination in a drive by on the expressway and was shot in the leg but wasn't killed. Del Basso tried to leave the country and that was on March 16, two weeks later on March 30 Del Basso tried to leave the country and he was intercepted by other authorities there and RCMP, they confiscated his passport and told him he was the target of an investigation. He was already out on bond on an extortion case from 2022 where he was accused of extorting his priest. What a kind of diabolical hellion. Roughneck that this guy was and just a very, very notorious mob muscle mob enforcer collector, a guy that you did not want to see coming down the street calling your name was caught on a wire back in the 2000s telling a guy that I'm the guy that's going to make you drink from a straw for the next year. He told another guy that he was going to twist him up like a pretzel. A guy that worked very close with Vito Rizzuto and then try to kill Vito Rizzuto son. So what I think is most interesting about this. Obviously it's the forefront of this great Canadian mafia war that we've been. We're going on decade number two with this thing and the body counts already probably in the triple digits. Del Basso is the most high profile name to fight the dust in a few years, but couple, couple weeks ago, you had the murder the first murder intentional murder of a female, a mob wife in Montreal, the daughter-in-law of one of Vito Rizzuto's allies turned rivals, Moreno Gallo. His daughter-in-law Claudia Iacano was murdered, she owned a spa, her husband was Antonio Gallo, and then now a couple weeks later to Del Basso. So it's really ramping up instead of tamping down. It all started back in the 2000s when Vito Rizzuto went to prison and then went into high gear when Rizzuto was extradited to the United States and served about three or four years in a U.S. prison for his role in the three capos slain that was depicted in the movie Donnie Brasco. But by the time he came back, his family was in shambles. Leonardo Rizzuto who's taken over for his dad, his dad died of an aggressive form of cancer allegedly back in 2013. Eventually the crown went to Leonardo Rizzuto who is the real life Michael Corleone in terms of the Canadian mafia. This is a guy that grew up in a mafia empire but was never tapped to be a future leader, was known as a non-gangster type as opposed to his brother who I guess he could analyze to Sonny Corleone if he was Michael, Nicky Rizzuto, Rizzy Nick, you know he was the guy that was going to be his father's successor, but he was murdered of Vito Rizzuto's dad, Uncle Nick was murdered, brother-in-law murdered and eventually Leonardo Rizzuto who was an attorney has had to kind of step up and enter the underworld as a Don when he never intended on doing that 10, 15 years ago. But you know we're not, it's presumptuous I guess in some regards legally to say that Del Basso's murder came from the Rizzuto camp, but if you're just going to connect the dots, you know conventional wisdom says that this was revenge for Del Basso trying to kill Rizzuto back in March. So, you know, another underlying plot here that I think needs to be focused on and contextualized is that Del Basso wasn't acting alone per se. He had received the support and backing of the Hell's Angels who had one point been fierce, loyal Rizzuto allies. And according to reporting in across the border in Canada right now and some of my sources, Martin Robert who's the most powerful biker boss in Quebec, called Marty the Capo or Captain. He's about 4849 years old, and he's got the power right now in the Hell's Angels and it looks like he made the wrong call on who to back in this dispute, at least right now, you know, after you know in the hours after Del Basso was was gun down. And it should be interesting to see what the fallout is and how this affects the Hell's Angels who are in the midst of quite a bit of chaotic activity here in the United States. They're kind of under siege more than normal. We've talked about it on the pod as well as on gangsterreport.com, where the Pagans blue wave, the Pagans long time, East Coast Southeast centered club back in about five years ago, launched an expansion campaign known as the blue wave and now they're going in across the country into a lot of locales that have been previously dominated by the Hell's Angels. And we're getting quite a bit of quite a few flare ups. And there are rapport, you know, underworld sourcing telling us over the last six months, the impossible happening that the Hell's Angels and the outlaws, their bitter rivals might be secretly either calling an end to their 50 year war, or at least a temporary truce ceasefire to join forces and oppose this Pagans blue wave kind of like your enemies becomes your friend. I don't know how that's going to affect things that are going on in Canada. Marty Robert is has become, or is was a rising star is now kind of the boss of bosses in that area, his marriage, his wedding five years ago. But on the same time that this blue wave was being launched in 2018, he got married to the daughter of a pretty notorious narcotics trafficker, and the wedding was like covered like, you know, in some of the press out in Canada it was covered like a royal. It was like it was Prince William and cake getting married. It was, it was very ceremonial and a lot of big time crime lord shot callers were at that wedding and the authorities were snapping photos. There were paparazzi outside of it and Marty Robert was was aligned with according to sources according reporting was was aligned with with Chit Del Basso and this in this palace coup to try to take out Leonardo risotto. Only time will tell what what the, you know, ramifications of this are but in some ways it's not surprising but whenever another murder in this just long lasting biblical, you know, mob feud where bodies are dropping it seemingly every 30 seconds it's still when I see the report it still kind of gives you a sense of shock even though it shouldn't be shocking Del Basso again was was really lame low trying to avoid the fall out from his attempt on on risotto he wasn't capable, but the RCMP have raided Hells Angels clubhouses as well as Marty robert's home residents in relation to both the the attempted hit on Leonardo risotto and the, another, you know, organized crime case involving you know racketeering and drug dealing within the biker community there but it should be interesting to see how this plays on both sides of the border. Del Basso is just you know one of these guys that you just was synonymous with with the risotto crime family for the last 25 years came up in the 90s as one of veto risotto's main, you know, go to strong arms, and he struck fear in everybody that was in his wake. It appeared that he enjoyed it and reveled in the reputation that he created for himself. I got busted in 2006 with a lot of the big time risotto crime family leaders went and did a little bit of prison time came out and was there when when that crime family was being destabilized. You know him and Leonardo risotto used to be very clear clear friends I mean there's about a five year age difference till basso was 53. Well, I'm actually I'm not positive about the age differences, but I know that risotto at one time was being body guarded by chip del basso back when risotto was younger, and his dad wanted security for his son, and he was one of the guys he trusted watching his son's that the my prince is back. They obviously don't didn't see eye to eye. Later on in their relationship and as things in the underworld in Montreal throughout Canada evolved this very tumultuous couple decades, and del basso, you know, took a shot. It obviously was a failure and it cost him his life that was the penance that he had to pay, and you know that's the life these guys choose. So in that regard, I wouldn't be shocked if you can get him in front of you right now at the gates if he's there, or wherever. I would say, I'm guessing you would say hey man I may I took my best shot. And this is this is the, you know, retribution goes along the game this is just par for the course. And, you know, so the early in the show you take a shot at the game, but better, better not miss and tip del basso missed, but he's someone that will no doubt be remembered there's a mythology around him. He's more so than a normal, just a guy that was muscle or enforcer maybe that was part of his desire to to take the reins himself and kill his way to the top. And he wouldn't just been known as a knuckle drag or strong arm he wasn't a guy that was looked at, at least early in his career as a super sharp minded mob guy he was valuable because he was a thug, and he. Was very good at it. Maybe that didn't sit well with him, but he's going to be remembered much more I mean obviously because of the way it ended but more than that, he'll be. When people talk about him 2030 4050 years from now. He was more reverence probably than a normal mafia enforcer because this guy had a, you know, was there was a panache about him he was more colorful than your average knuckle dragger. Some of those wire taps from from the case from the 2000s or just gold. But when he tells the guys going to drink through a straw, the guy can't recognize who he's who's talking to me they're kind of going back and forth, almost like the dozens and breaking balls a little bit and the guy asked, Chet, you know, who's who the fuck are you and Chet says, you know, you know you want to know who I am I'm the guy that's going to put you in the hospital for a year and you'll be drinking through a straw because of me. And that just goes down as all time great sound bites. And I think Chet will be somebody that. Again, it is talked about when you talk about the risotto era, more so than just how it ended it'll be. He'll be looked at it as a major player in that in that empire the Roman Empire, if you will, the last great Canadian mafia dynasty so check back. This week for another full length episode of the OG podcast, we'll keep you updated with everything that's going on in Montreal, whether it be the risotto crime family war or Hell's Angels on both sides of the border. For Jimmy Bucci Lotto my co host for Benny behind the glass Scott Bernstein out.