The Rizzuto Crime Family: Montreal’s Sicilian Dynasty Under Siege

For three decades the Rizzuto family ran Montreal’s underworld with iron discipline and Sicilian precision. Then Project Alliance, Arab Power, and a generation of street gangs that refused to bow arrived at the same time — and the dynasty began to crack.

The Rizzuto crime family is the most powerful and enduring Mafia organization in Canadian history. Operating out of Montreal since the 1950s, the family built a sophisticated criminal empire spanning drug trafficking, money laundering, construction fraud, and political corruption — at its peak, the Rizzutos were considered one of the most powerful Sicilian Mafia factions in North America. Today, the family faces pressure on multiple fronts: law enforcement action in Project Alliance, a reported conflict with the Arab Power street gang, and a new generation of street gangs that no longer recognize their authority.

Origins & Rise to Power

The Rizzuto family’s roots in Montreal’s underworld stretch back to Nicolò Rizzuto Sr., who emigrated from Cattolica Eraclea in Sicily and established the family’s criminal operations in the 1950s and 60s. The family’s ascent to the top of Montreal’s Mafia came through a combination of strategic alliances, calculated violence, and sophisticated business acumen that distinguished them from more brutish rivals.

The family’s consolidation of power culminated in the 1980s when Vito Rizzuto — Nicolò’s son — emerged as the dominant figure in Montreal’s underworld. Under Vito’s leadership, the Rizzutos expanded their reach across Canada and forged deep connections with Sicilian and American Mafia families, making them a major player in international drug trafficking, particularly heroin and cocaine importation.

The Vito Rizzuto Era

The Assassination Years

The Rizzuto family endured a sustained period of targeted assassinations between 2006 and 2013 that decimated their leadership and shook the foundation of their empire. These killings — widely attributed to rival factions within the Montreal underworld — represented an unprecedented assault on a Canadian Mafia family.

The same period also saw the November 2011 shooting of Salvatore Montagna, whom U.S. authorities have said once headed the Bonanno crime family, at a house in Charlemagne, northeast of Montreal. Raynald Desjardins, described by CBC as a close associate of Vito Rizzuto, was among those arrested in December 2011, and was sentenced in December 2016 to 14 years after admitting he took part in a plot to kill Montagna. Read the full Salvatore Montagna and Raynald Desjardins profile.

The Arab Power Threat

Media reports describe Arab Power, a Montreal street gang linked in those reports to extortion and arson, as a rival of the Rizzuto clan. Youness Aithaqi, described in media reports as one of its leaders, was found guilty of first-degree murder in February 2020 in the 2016 killing of Joseph Sarikakis, according to La Presse; the offence carries an automatic life sentence. La Presse reported on January 30, 2026 a possible conflict between the Mafia and Arab Power, and 98.5 Montréal described it that day as having begun with extortion attempts and escalated to arson and murder contracts. CTV News, which reported the November 2025 shooting near the Rivière-des-Prairies detention centre where members of the Rizzuto clan were held, did not mention Arab Power and reported no arrests.

Key Figures

Law Enforcement