JAILED DRUG LORD FACES CHARGES IN ITALY

Convicted drug lord Alfonso Caruana was arrested on new drug-trafficking
charges from Italy yesterday, just as he is becoming eligible to be paroled
from the 18-year Canadian jail sentence he was handed three years ago.

Convicted in 2000 of being part of a conspiracy to ship tonnes of cocaine
for the Italian Mafia, Mr. Caruana is, like all first-time, non-violent
offenders, eligible for what is called accelerated parole after one-sixth
of his sentence has been served.

A recent court ruling scuttled plans to keep him in jail until at least 2006.

While the RCMP says that Mr. Caruana may soon face extradition to Italy on
the new charges, he will be able to appeal any extradition attempt.

Within weeks, however, he may be let out of his minimum-security jail.

"We'll be dealing with [his parole review] in a couple of weeks, or even
earlier than that," said John Wilson, a National Parole Board spokesman.

Most non-violent, first-time offenders get accelerated release, but some
mob watchers find that shocking, given the multimillion-dollar,
cocaine-trafficking enterprises that Mr. Caruana has been convicted of
taking part in.

"In general, our parole board doesn't consider drug traffickers violent
offenders," said Antonio Nicaso, a Toronto-based organized-crime expert.

"They pay more attention to domestic violence than drug traffickers. They
don't realize one thing: Drug traffickers are merchants of death."

Mr. Nicaso, who was in touch with Italian police yesterday, said the new
charges against Mr. Caruana allege that he helped ship 150 kilograms of
cocaine into Spain.

In 1998, Mr. Caruana was arrested at his home in Woodbridge, Ont., and
accused of being the mastermind of a Sicilian crime family and of
involvement in a huge cocaine-trafficking operation.

RCMP Chief Superintendent Ben Soave said at the time that "if organized
crime was a hockey game, Mr. Caruana would be [hockey superstar Wayne]
Gretzky."

Two years later, Mr. Caruana was sentenced to 18 years in prison for his
role in the huge cocaine-importation conspiracy.

Because Mr. Caruana was considered a mobster, Corrections Canada had
originally said he was not eligible for accelerated-parole review, meaning
he was supposed to be imprisoned until 2006, at least.

In February, however, another convict successfully challenged a law that
seeks to prevent organized-crime figures from getting accelerated parole.

That could affect the sentences of Mr. Caruana and other convicted gangsters.

The Feb. 28 Quebec Court of Appeal ruling in the case of Michel DeLuca
means that judges have to be very explicit about whom they consider a
mobster if Corrections Canada seeks to deny someone accelerated parole.

"What's happening to us now is that unless a court says someone has gang
affiliations right at the beginning, we can't assume it, we can't use it to
prevent APR," said Corrections Canada spokeswoman Michelle Pilon-Santilli.

She said she didn't know how many prisoners are affected, but "in terms of
our numbers, were looking at it, but it's a very small number."

The RCMP said in a statement yesterday that Mr. Caruana was arrested at the
minimum-security Fenbrook Institution on an extradition warrant to Italy,
where he is wanted in connection with a "Mafia-type conspiracy" centred on
drug trafficking.