Paolo Violi (Italian: [ˈpaːolo ˈvjɔːli; viˈɔːli]; 6 February 1931 – 22 January 1978) was an Italian-Canadian mobster and capodecina in the Cotroni crime family of Montreal.

In the late 1970s, boss Vincenzo Cotroni transferred the family's day-to-day activities to Violi, and a mob war soon broke out between the Calabrians and the Sicilian faction led by Nicolò Rizzuto.

[2] He was charged with manslaughter in a Welland court, but was acquitted, claiming it was self-defense, showing the stab wound as evidence.

[5] In the 1960s and 1970s, Vic Cotroni used associate William "Obie" Obront to supervise a bookmaking network in the Ottawa-Hull area that handled around $50,000 in bets per day, with 25 percent going to Violi.

[19] Riots had erupted in September 1969 when the Saint-Leonard school board changed the language of instruction for Italian Canadian children from English to French.

[21] In early July 1973, Violi paid an extended visit to Italy to see his first cousin and childhood friend, Domenico Barbino.

[23] On 10 July 1973, the Popeyes motorcycle gang killed Mario Ciambrone and Salvatore Sergi of the Cotroni family for selling them low quality heroin at a premium price.

[25] Much to Violi's disgust, Frank spent too much time planning out an attack on the bikers as he was very concerned about the possibility of innocent by-standers being killed and never actually carried out the assignment.

"[26] At a meeting at the Windsor Hotel attended by Violi, Vic Cotorni and Joe DiMaulo, it was decided to end the war with the Popeyes, which was felt to be adverse for business.

[27] Violi went to New York to participate in the election for the new boss, and was overjoyed when the candidate he supported, Philip "Rusty" Rastelli, won.

[28] In 1974, Violi and Cotroni were overheard on a police wiretap threatening to kill Hamilton mobster Johnny Papalia and demanding $150,000 after he used their names in a $300,000 extortion plot without notifying or cutting them in on the score.

[34] Another Italian immigrant businessman testified behind a mask, as he wished to remain anonymous, that he was forced at gunpoint to go to the basement of the Reggio Bar to see Violi.

[34] Lino Simaglia, an Italian immigrant businessman, testified at CECO that Violi had visited him in 1971 and forced him to pay $1,000 per year in protection money.

[34] One of Violi's "soldiers", Peter Bianco, who had turned Crown's evidence, testified against his former boss at the CECO hearings.

"[35] Another piece of evidence introduced during the CECO hearings was a bugged phone call Violi had made to Cotroni in 1973 where, amid much laughter, he cheerfully confessed to attempted murder as he told his boss, "I shot the asshole three times.

"[35] Violi's only regret was that he failed to kill the man, but he took consolation from the fact that "They say he's still got two [bullets in the head] and they can't get them out.

[35] Violi was a braggart who claimed to Cotroni that he committed crimes done by others and the police knew that this particular attempted murder was the work of someone else.

[36] A recording made by Ménard on 5 December 1973 showed that Violi was confident that his office was not bugged and he mocked the CECO inquiry, saying in a contemptuous tone, "They're running around, butting in, and their balls are in an uproar because they don't know anything.

[35] During his own testimony, Violi portrayed himself as a victim and refused to answer any of the questions from the commissioners in a substantial manner.

Likewise, the way that the police wiretaps showed him making disparaging and insulting remarks about his superiors in Montreal and New York were gravely damaging to his reputation.

Peter Edwards, the crime correspondent of The Toronto Star wrote, "The wiretap conversations had shown that Violi didn't measure up to the traditional Mafia standards of leadership.

Perhaps, worse of all, he showed himself to be a petty criminal who didn't balk at having his soldiers steal from Little Italy brides as he attended their weddings, a man whose actions deprived St. Leonard children of gifts at Christmas.

"[39] The journalist Jerry Langton wrote that the Ménard tapes had destroyed Violi's underworld reputation and made him "...in many eyes, the equivalent of a rat by incompetence".

[40] In 1977, Rizzuto and Violi met face-to-face in the home of a Montreal resident for a last-ditch effort to resolve their differences, according to a police report.

[28][14] Just under a year later, on 8 February 1977, Francesco Violi, the younger brother of Paolo, the family enforcer, was murdered by several shotgun blasts.

[44] Violi's funeral was five days later at the Church of the Madonna della Difesa, and was buried at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery in Montreal.

[42] Edwards wrote about Cotroni's role in the murder that he "...gave his grudging approval, knowing a refusal might add his name to the assassins' hit list.

[51] The Montreal Gazette in an editorial condemned the plea bargains where it was declared, "For society to let people off with punishment this light-under a seven year term, a prisoner is eligible for parole after two-is almost to sanction the planning of executions...All this adult life, Paolo Violi worked to undermine respect for the law.

[54][55] A 2002 Halton Police report suggested the Violi brothers were affiliated with the Luppino-Violi crime family in Hamilton started by their grandfather Giacomo Luppino.

[56] Domenico Violi subsequently became the underboss of the Buffalo crime family in 2017;[57] the first Canadian to hold the second-highest position in the American Mafia.