The Commisso 'ndrina (Italian: [komˈmisso, ˈkɔmmisso]) is a powerful clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organization in Calabria, Italy.
The Commisso clan is involved in international drug trafficking using family ties in Italy, Canada, the United States and Australia.
[3] Girolamo Commisso left behind a widow and three sons Rocco Remo, Cosimo and Michele who vowed to avenge their father.
[3] The murder of Girolamo Commisso was never solved, but it was believed to have been the work of two assassins, Salvatore Scarfo and Michale Alberti, both of whom fled to Argentina afterwards.
[3] One of the men present at the Gourmet, Vincenzo "Jimmy" DeLeo, upon his return to Canada visited the Commisso brothers being held at the Kingston penitentiary; he denies that he discussed with them the murder of the man who was believed to have killed their father.
[7] They were members of Camera di controllo, a provincial commission of the 'Ndrangheta formed at the end of the Second 'Ndrangheta war in September 1991, to avoid further internal conflicts.
[10] After 26 years in prison, on 9 January 2019, the Court of Appeal of Naples acquitted Commisso in a review process "for not having committed the offense", releasing him immediately.
[17] Racco sat on La Camera di Controllo, the board that governed 'Ndranghta activities in Toronto, making him one of the most important 'Ndranghetisti in Canada.
[19] They "controlled a criminal organization that imported and distributed heroin with the Vancouver mob and the Calabrian Mafia in Italy, fenced stolen goods across North America, printed and distributed counterfeit money throughout Canada and the United States, ran a vast extortion network in Ontario, arranged insurance and land frauds in the Toronto area, and engaged in contract killings and contract-enforcement work across Canada and the United States – the whole gamut of violent criminal activities one usually associates with the Mafia".
[20][21] In the 1980s, the Buffalo crime family also operated in Toronto and Hamilton, and hired Kirby to kill Paul Volpe and his driver Pietro Scarcella in an arrangement with Rocco Remo and Cosimo Commisso, for $20,000.
[22][23] Volpe, who had a reputation for being devious and treacherous, had involved the Commissos in a real estate deal and cheated them, causing them to vow vengeance.
[24] During a conversation on 31 March 1981, Commisso told Kirby that he needed the approval of an unnamed higher authority before he could give the orders to kill Volpe.
"[23] Wearing a wire, Kirby went to the house of Rocco Remo Commisso on 16 May 1981 to tell him: "Volpe, he's dead...I just killed him a hour ago".
[28] While awaiting appeal, he regularly had to report to police, was subject to a strict night-time curfew, and was prohibited from leaving town.
[4] On April 15, 2004, Commisso was definitively convicted and sentenced to seven years and 10 months for Mafia association and trafficking in weapons.
[34] On June 28, 2018, Cosimo Ernesto Commisso, of Woodbridge, Ontario and his female companion were shot and killed in the early morning.
[35] The National Post reported that Cosimo Ernesto Commisso, while not a known criminal, "shares a name and family ties with a man who has for decades been reputed to be a Mafia leader in the Toronto area".