A Laval grandfather and former mafia associate is fighting deportation 20 years after being arrested and 49 years after arriving in Canada.
In the 1980s, Michel Torre was working as the manager for a St. Leonard pub where the Cotroni clan were regulars. When the native of Italy was sent to Toronto to pick up a container on their behalf, he was arrested when it was revealed it was a shipment of 170 kgs of cocaine.
Torre’s arrest was part of a larger investigation called Project Choke. He would eventually plead guilty to conspiracy to traffic cocaine, though he maintains he didn’t know what was in the container and that he no longer has any ties to the mafia.
He was sentenced in 1996 to nine years in prison and was granted full parole in 1999. In 2013, he applied for Canadian citizenship but was denied by Immigration Canada. That was when his struggle to remain in the country began.
“When I saw the agent, he said, ‘You’re on the list for deportation,’” said Torre. “I said, ‘For what reason?’ He said, ‘Oh, because you committed this.’ I said, ‘You’re talking about 20 years ago.’”
Though Torre has appealed, the Supreme Court of Canada recently decided against hearing his case. Though he’s disappointed with that result, he has not lost hope. Torre recently applied to renew his permanent residency status, which involves family sponsorships and which could delay his removal from the country.
The family is also petitioning the federal government. If that is unsuccessful, Torre will learn his deportation date on Sept. 9.
Immigration lawyer Neil Drabkin said the lengthy period of time it took to decide to deport Torre is unusual and the application for citizenship may have sent up red flags, with the ministry looking at the severity of his past crime and his past ties to organized crime.
“Obviously the conditions upon which someone is removed from the country after this long have to be serious,” said Drabkin.
Torre’s family said the deportation order is unreasonable.
“You can’t stereotype (like) that,” said Torre’s daughter Nellie. “We’re an honest family. We’ve lived an honest living. It’s frustrating now to be called the Mafia.”
However, organized crime expert Maria Mourani said members of the Mafia never fully leave.
“You never quit definitively,” she said. “It also depends on your level of involvement and the relationship you have. But in Mafia subculture, there is a code of silence. So you never know the whole truth.”
