TORONTO -- Six persons have been charged as a result of a five-month investigation by U.S. and Canadian authorities into three contracts to commit murder and anothere to cause bodily harm, police said late Saturday.
The investigation was a joint effort by the RCMP, the FBI's organized crime task force and the Ontario Provincial Police, as well as local Toronto authorities, the Toronto Metropolitan police said in prepared statement.
A total of 16 charges were laid, including conspiracy to commit murder, counselling to commit murder and counselling to commit bodily harm. The accused were to appear in court Tuesday, police said.
Police said the investigation, which resulted in the arrest of two persons in Stamford, Conneticut and four persons in Toronto, uncovered conspiracies to commit murder by contract for sums between $15,000 and $20,000.
In one contract, taken out in early February of this year, a gunman was hired to kill the girlfriend of a reputed mobster from Connecticut for $15,000, police said.
'Through the cooperative efforts of the FBI, the Special Enforcement Unit and the Intelligence Unit of the RCMP the proposed murder was averted and the intended victim removed into temporary protective custody,' a police statement said.
Police said after further investigation they discovered the same gunman was contracted to kill a Toronto area resident for an undisclosed amount of money. He was also hired to 'assault and cause bodily harm to the owner of a ... furniture store' in Toronto, also for an undisclosed sum.
A third contract killing involving 'another well-known Toronto resident' was also arranged by three of the accused for $20,000, police said.
Charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of counsel to commit murder and one count of counsel of assault to cause bodily harm was Cosimo E. Commisso, 36, of Toronto.
Charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit murder and two counts of counsel to commit murder was Michele Commisso, 33, of Toronto.
Rocco R. Commisso, 34, and Antonio Rocco Romeo, 32, both of Toronto, were charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit murder.
One count of conspiracy to commit murder and one count of cousel to commit murder were each laid against Vincenzo Melia, 52, and Jerry Russo, 24, both of Stamford, Conn.
Canadian authorities, through the U.S. Attorney-General's office, have requested the extradition to Canada of Russo and Melia.
