Calabrian Mafia Boss Vincenzo DeMaria
Vincenzo DeMaria, a convicted killer accused of being a leading Mafia boss in Toronto is suing the Canadian government for a humiliating return to prison.
Police in Canada and Italy say that Vincenzo DeMaria, known as Jimmy, is a boss of the ’Ndrangheta, the Mafia formed in southern Italy that has since become a powerful global crime network. DeMaria, however, says he is being wrongly accused and seeks $350,000 in compensation for the 179 days he spent in prison, some of it in solitary confinement, after being accused of violating his parole.
He is suing to recover money he spent fighting for release, damages for alleged breaches of his constitutional rights and “for the humiliation, stress and anxiety he experienced while wrongly arrested and imprisoned,” says his lawsuit.
DeMaria’s troubles began in 1981 after he confronted a 37-year-old father of four at a Toronto fruit store over a $2,000 debt. At his trial, he told the jury he acted in self-defence, but forensic evidence showed the victim had been shot seven times in the back, casting doubt on his account.
He was found guilty of second-degree murder and released on full parole in 1992. Since then he has operated Invicta Financial, a successful financial services business. It was at Invicta where he was arrested again in April 2009 for alleged parole violations.
He was accused of associating with his cousin, Nicola Cortese, and helping him flee justice. Cortese, facing charges in Ontario, disappeared for two years before he was caught shoplifting in Montreal last November, stealing a gun holster, ammunition pouch, a black balaclava and a car part that can be used as a gun silencer — despite carrying a wad of $100 bills totalling more than $3,000.
DeMaria mounted a stiff defence in fighting against his own incarceration. He retained three lawyers, including noted civil rights lawyer Marlys Edward and John Hill, a prison law specialist, and hired high-profile private investigations firm MKD International.
In October 2009, the Parole Board of Canada ruled evidence of his infractions was “not reliable or persuasive” and released him.
At the time DeMaria told the National Post: “I really don’t know where these allegations came from. I’m still dumbfounded.”
His statement of claim, which has not been tested in court, says the Correctional Service of Canada and the Attorney-General relied on “speculative, unsubstantiated and/or dated allegations.”
His case may not be helped by allegations made this summer in Italy during that country’s massive anti-Mafia sweep. The Italian authorities named him as one of the leaders of the ’Ndrangheta in Canada and a member of its board of control.
Wiretaps in the office of a Mafia boss in DeMaria’s hometown of Siderno, in southern Italy, recorded accused mobsters discussing DeMaria’s arrest in Canada.
“He was released, but he was released with obligations … they’ve caught him again, and do you know why? Because they control him,” one man said, according to Italian court documents. “He let himself be seen and he was arrested.”
The Correctional Service of Canada did not respond to questions about the lawsuit. A statement of defence has not been filed.
“It’s an important case and one we will be prosecuting vigorously,” said Mr. Hill, DeMaria’s lawyer.
DeMaria has a history of fighting back against perceived injustice.
While he was imprisoned on his murder charge, he was transferred to maximum-security after he telephoned a Liberal MP to complain about conditions in the prison after a prisoner riot. He took the prison to court and forced a reversal of his transfer and a judicial rebuke against the warden.
