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HAMILTON, Ont. — The day after Angelo Musitano was murdered in his driveway, his older brother — believed to be the boss of a Mafia clan that bears the family name — exchanged his flashy Ferrari sports car for something less likely to draw attention.

Further, about two months before Tuesday’s targeted shooting, the elder brother, Pasquale “Pat” Musitano, inquired about having his cars bulletproofed, sources in the auto industry tell the National Post.

Taken together, the two alleged incidents suggest not only that the Musitano family was bracing for violence prior to the shooting, but remain concerned the violence is not over.

The revelation comes as Angelo Musitano had a discreet and private funeral service, Friday, at St. Mary’s Church, his family’s longtime parish, close to the house he grew up in.

The Mass of Christian burial was offered to Angelo Musitano on what would have been his fifth wedding anniversary, in the same church in which he was married.

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“It was very emotional, especially for his wife” said Monsignor Edward Sheridan, who presided over the service. “Five years ago she came down the aisle in the same church for her wedding, full of joy and happiness and today, five years later, she was coming down the same aisle behind the casket of her husband.”

Det. Sgt. Peter Thom of Hamilton police, who is lead investigator of the murder, declined to comment on the car information.

Angelo Musitano, 39, was shot repeatedly at close range on Tuesday while inside his white pick-up truck after arriving at his suburban home in Hamilton’s Waterdown community.

The attack was “a very specific, calculated, close-up shooting,” said Thom earlier this week; when he was asked if Pat Musitano was in danger, Thom said: “We have been in touch with the family and they haven’t asked for any assistance from police.”

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The family is used to dealing with things on their own, in their own way. It has a colourful history as a well-connected, active and influential Mafia family stretching back more than 80 years.

They always had stuff like that — muscle cars that were ridiculously fast — as toys but were generally kept hidden away

On Wednesday, as news of the murder was making headlines, Pat Musitano returned his grey Ferrari California hard-top convertible with orange and beige interior to a leasing agent. He allegedly said his reason for returning it early was he was trying to stay low key, according to a source with knowledge of the transaction.

The Ferrari California, made by the famed Italian manufacturer Ferrari, is a grand touring sports car.

The car’s return could not be independently verified.

In March or April, Pat Musitano made inquiries about the cost and ability to add bulletproofing protection to some of the cars he uses day-to-day, according to a source in the industry.

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He was interested in adding bulletproof shielding in the doors, replacing the windows with resistant glass, and having steel reinforcements in the tires that allow cars to drive even if the rubber tires are blown or shot out.

This too could not be independently verified. The family could not be reached for comment.

In keeping with his family’s tradition, Pat Musitano’s sports car was an occasional show vehicle, mainly used on weekends or for business meetings where he had a certain image of financial success to maintain, according to a longtime family friend.

Pat Musitano used more modest vehicles in his daily routine, in keeping with the humble, working-class image the family has always maintained.

It was a lesson the Musitanos’ father, Dominic, who forged a prominent place for the clan in Ontario’s underworld, taught his sons, leading by example, the family friend said.

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Dominic Musitano would often say — usually with a dismissive shrug — that he’s only a modest businessman who runs a scrapyard and owns some property, whenever he was asked what he did for a living. But he, too, had hidden indulgences, including spontaneously buying powerful but not flashy cars for his sons, including for Angelo.

“They always had stuff like that — muscle cars that were ridiculously fast — as toys but were generally kept hidden away,” the friend said.

Dominic Musitano remained an old-school, traditional mafioso, eschewing the outward glitz and flash of many modern gangsters. It is the way of the old mafiosi in Calabria, the region in southern Italy where the ’Ndrangheta (the proper name of the Calabrian Mafia) was first formed.

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Pat and Angelo Musitano, and a third brother, were extraordinarily close, which often occurs in mob clans, which tend towards the insular when it comes to trust and bonding.

Mourners at the funeral Friday said it was emotional.

The hour long service focused on God’s mercy and compassion. It also spoke of Angelo Musitano’s transformation, turning from a gangster life to a Christian life.

“He was very sincere and open hearted about that,” said Sheridan.

After Angelo Musitano’s murder, several friends from his Christian men’s group came forward to say he had broken from his criminal past, reconfirmed his life to Jesus Christ and committed himself to living to please God.

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Members of the non-denominational Christian men’s group said he attended their weekly Bible study group for about four years.

The irony for them is that the day he was killed was the same day his first-person testimony of his transformation appeared in a published religious book. The authors who collected the stories from 13 men and women received their copies that same day, but never had a chance to deliver a copy to him before his death.

Excerpts from his published testimony were read at his funeral service.

After the church service and communion, his casket was carried past the tombstone of his father at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, in neighbouring Burlington, for entombment nearby, with his three young sons watching on.

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