| Nicodemo Cotroni |
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| Nicodemo Cotroni, the oldest son of mob boss Frank Cotroni, was born on April 23, 1955. He was named after his grandfather, who also bore the name Nicodemo. Of Frank Cotroni's four sons - a fifth, Paolo, was murdered in 1998 - Nicodemo is seen by authorities as the most likely candidate to follow in his father's footsteps and replace him as a Mafia chieftain. He is also the principal owner of Expotronique, a video lottery machine company based at 8085 Champ-d'Eau street in Saint-Leonard. Over the years, numerous mobsters have claimed to work for the business, including Paolo "Paul" Cotroni, Jos Di Maulo, his brother-in-law Raynald Desjardins, and Vincenzo "Jimmy Rent-A-Gun" De Santis. |
| In the summer of 1975, Nicodemo Cotroni married the daughter of Robert "Bob" Tremblay, a well known underworld figure in Montreal and top associate of the infamous Lucien Rivard. Cotroni, along with his father Frank, Anthony Volpato, Guido Orsini, and Domenic Cordeleone were tracked by police when they took a trip to Italy in the early 1980s. It is unclear whether the group was there vacationing or on criminal business, namely drug trafficking. Nicodemo Cotroni was reportedly very close with Réal Simard, a French-Canadian thug that Frank Cotroni took under his wing and transformed into a Mafia hitman. But when Simard was arrested for murder and flipped, there was no incriminating information he could pin on him. Since around this time, Nicodemo Cotroni's right-hand man has been Tony Vanelli. Vanelli and Moreno Gallo were convicted of the murder of Angelo Facchino in the 1970s. Vanelli has also become a part owner of Expotronique, Cotroni's video poker company. The two were among nine people charged on May 18, 1988, when authorities busted a gambling operation. About 200 illegal poker machines were seized from numerous bars and restaurants around the city. Cotroni and Vanelli were named by officials as the heads of the operation and Expotronique was among the establishments raided by police. Cotroni was arrested again five months later, On October 14, this time for allegedly running a gambling den. On August 3, 1993, his car, parked in front of Expotronique, exploded, causing sufficient damage to the building. The bombing was interpreted in the media as a possible warning to Cotroni. A week later, on August 11, another bomb exploded in front of the company, causing further damage. An employee, who was in the building at the time of the explosion, was not harmed. The damage caused by the two bombings was estimated at $400,000. Police arrested Bruno Boutin and Christain Caron, two reputed Hells Angels associates, on October 20, 1993 and charged them with the bombings. The two pleaded guilty and were sentenced to two years less a day and 30 months in prison, respectively. According to information published by La Presse, Boutin and Caron were reportedly hired to perform the bombings by Cotroni himself, so he could collect on the insurance. In November 2000, police again broke up a gambling ring headed by Cotroni and Tony Vanelli. More than 100 illegal video gambling machines and one kilogram of hashish was seized during raids on 52 businesses around Montreal. Police said that each machine likely generated $500-600 in profit a week, with the money being split 50/50 between the mobsters and the business owners. |