REPUTED PATRIARCH OF CANADIAN CRIME FAMILY WALKS FREE

Nicolo Rizzuto, 84, Gets Suspended Sentence, Probation After Plea Bargain

MONTREAL -- He had been described as the patriarch of a Canadian crime
clan with tentacles reaching around the world. But only two years
after Nicolo Rizzuto was led from his columned mansion and locked up
in jail, he is walking away a free man. In a plea bargain, the
84-year-old grandfather and stalwart in one of Canada's most infamous
crime families received a suspended sentence yesterday and three years
of probation.

A few minutes after hearing Judge Jean-Pierre Bonin proclaim the
sentence, the aging figure rose from his seat in the glass-enclosed
prisoner's box and waved cheerily to family and supporters gathered in
the courtroom.

The crime lieutenants who received sentences along with him - their
terms range from six to 15 years - rose from their seats around him,
smiled, and waved too.

Counting for time already served, they will be eligible for parole in
five-and-a-half years at most.

Yesterday's sentencing comes two years after police carried out a
massive sweep alleged to be a blow to the heart of Canada's Mafia. As
part of a plea bargain, six underworld bosses admitted their guilt
last month to crimes including narcotics-related charges, bookmaking,
operating illegal gaming houses, gangsterism and extortion.

A veteran organized crime watcher said yesterday's punishments were
laughable. By plea bargaining and avoiding trial, the criminals have
come out ahead, author Antonio Nicaso argued.

"This is another failure in the attempt to take down a major criminal
organization in Canada," Mr. Nicaso said from Toronto.

Given the cost of the four-year police investigation, "at the end of
the day, you can ask if it was worth arresting all those people,
spending all this money, when this is the result.

"Instead of prosecuting with an iron fist, what they're doing is
making a deal to avoid the cost of a long trial. It means crime pays
in this country. That's the message the judicial system is sending
out."

But Crown prosecutor Yvan Poulin called the sentences reasonable. The
evidence didn't link Mr. Rizzuto to the most serious crimes; he is
also aging, suffers from incontinence, respiratory problems and is in
poor health, the court heard.

"Sentences are based on the evidence gathered, not on people's
reputations," Mr. Poulin said in an interview.

Mr. Poulin said those accused of more serious crimes face tougher
sentences. Rocco Sollecito and Paolo Renda played less serious roles,
he said, while Francesco Arcadi, Francesco Del Balso and Lorenzo
Giordano face stiffer prison terms after pleading guilty to more
serious charges of smuggling, racketeering and extortion. Mr. Giordano
was not formally sentenced and returns to court Nov. 25.

"Contrary to popular belief, Mr. Rizzuto played a role in this whole
adventure that was a lot more minor than other people," Mr. Poulin
told reporters at the courthouse.

In addition to the sentences, the court ordered the confiscation of
nearly $4-million in proceeds of crime, including cash, bank accounts
and a villa in Acapulco.

According to evidence, the elder Mr. Rizzuto regularly held sway with
acolytes at a Montreal social club, offering advice, settling
disputes, and accepting thick wads of cash that he often stashed in
his socks.

But prosecutors were unable to put a dollar amount on the cash
collected by Mr. Rizzuto, Mr. Poulin said. For example, police video
surveillance was not able to detect the dollar figures on the bills.

Mr. Rizzuto, the father of reputed Montreal mob boss Vito Rizzuto,
pleaded guilty to possession of proceeds of a crime and related
charges. The court yesterday sentenced him to four years, but two
years spent in protective custody while awaiting trial counts for
double. As part of his conditions, he will not be allowed to
communicate with a list of 25 associates, carry or own a weapon.