Alleged Italian Mafia boss poses 'danger' to Canada, says immigration board

Alleged Mafia leader Giuseppe Coluccio fled Italy in 2005 and was convicted in absentia for drugs, weapons, and conspiracy charges. Italian authorities have named him one of the country's 30 most dangerous people.

If sent back to Italy, he faces up to 16 years in jail.

The 41-year old was arrested outside a Toronto-area strip mall last Thursday, the culmination of a joint investigation by the RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency and Italian police. He has been held at the Toronto West Detention Centre since his arrest.

"I believe that releasing you now would pose a danger to the Canadian public," board member William Willoughby told Coluccio through an interpreter during a detention review.

"I believe that you are involved in organized crime, and specifically, the head of a Mafia organization."

Willoughby also voiced concern that Coluccio would likely not appear for his admissibility hearing if released.

An unshaven and tired-looking Coluccio appeared at the hearing via video link from the detention centre. Wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and standing beside boxes and cleaning supplies in what appeared to be a small room, he seemed solemn and intent.

He often leaned towards the camera, nodding slightly.

Coluccio's lawyers, Michael Galluzzo and Mike Caden, said they hadn't had the time to review the case.

Heather Pearson of the Canada Border Services Agency told the hearing that Coluccio, the son of a reputed Mafia member murdered in Siderno in the seventies, was convicted of trafficking narcotics in Italy in 1993.

He served 10 years of a 12-year sentence.

When he was arrested in Markham last week, Coluccio was found with a French driver's licence bearing his picture and the name Agostino Bertolotti, Pearson said. It's alleged that he was also found with two credit cards, one under the name Giuseppe Scarfo and the other under the name of his wife, a Canadian citizen.

"Your use of an alias and possession of other documents that were not yours... shows me that you are willing to deceive officers and others about what you are doing," Willoughby said.

According to court documents forwarded from Italy, Coluccio fled to Canada after he became the subject of an Italian investigation called "Nostromo," which translates as "our man."

The documents allege that Coluccio was monopolizing the fishing industry along the Ionian coast and forcing local fishermen to hand over their catches. They also say that Coluccio exerted his power along the coast to traffic drugs.

Coluccio's next detention review was scheduled for Friday.