After escaping death for years, Montreal businessman linked to Rizzuto crime family gunned down in street

Toni Magi seemed to be the man who couldn’t be killed. He was kidnapped in 2005, but survived. He was shot three times in 2008 but woke up from the coma

Author of the article:

Brian Platt

Publishing date:

Jan 24, 2019  •  January 24, 2019  •  4 minute read  •  Join the conversation

Montreal businessman Tony Magi outside a Montreal court in 2010.
Montreal businessman Tony Magi outside a Montreal court in 2010. Photo by Phil Carpenter/Postmedia/File

Tony Magi could only escape death for so long.

Story continues below

A Montreal construction magnate with close ties to the Mafia, Magi seemed to be the man who couldn’t be killed. He was kidnapped in 2005, but survived. He was shot three times in 2008 while sitting in his Range Rover, but woke up from the coma.

In 2009, Magi’s business partner Nick Rizzuto Jr. — son of the infamous mob boss Vito Rizzuto — was assassinated near the Montreal offices of Magi’s company, FTM Construction. Two years later Magi’s wife was shot at while driving her SUV, but emerged unscathed.

In 2013, Magi’s security guards chased off an armed man approaching his home.

But on Thursday morning, Montreal police responded to a 911 call reporting gunshots in the west-end neighbourhood of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. Upon arrival, they found Magi lying unconscious on the sidewalk outside a construction site, shot at least once. He died shortly afterward.

Story continues below

Magi and his brother Rino were prominent developers in Montreal for many years, but in the early 2000s their real estate business fell into financial trouble. While Rino became embroiled in a telemarketing fraud case, Tony’s problems started with an ambitious luxury condo project in Montreal’s Old Port, a $71-million project to convert an old warehouse on the waterfront.

  1. Montreal's L’Héritage du Vieux-Port was considered a prestigious address when it first opened but the Charbonneau inquiry into corruption revealed the building’s seedy side.

    Supreme Court judge in legal battle over Montreal luxury condo project linked to Mafia

  2. Phil Carpenter/Postmedia News/File

    Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto’s revenge plot against rivals ran deep

  3. Phil Carpenter/ THE GAZETTE

    Tribunal rejects Montreal developer’s auto insurance claim after would-be assassin shot him in his car

The 2014 Charbonneau Commission, a public inquiry into corruption in Quebec’s construction industry, heard evidence that when the condo project’s financing fell apart, it was Vito Rizzuto — the Sicilian Mafia don who died in 2013 — who came to the rescue. The commission heard wiretaps of phone calls between Rizzuto and Magi, with Rizzuto promising the condo project would be “one of the hottest places in the city.”

Story continues below

(Among those who bought in the building was Clément Gascon, now a Supreme Court of Canada judge; in 2016 

Story continues below

Magi was in a coma for weeks after the shooting, but survived. He later Police examine a car in front of home of Montreal businessman Tony Magi, on July 3, 2013. A manhunt was sparked after a man was spotted with an automatic weapon.

Police examine a car in front of home of Montreal businessman Tony Magi, on July 3, 2013. A manhunt was sparked after a man was spotted with an automatic weapon. Photo by Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press/File

His claim was rejected, with the insurance board concluding that “all of the injuries sustained in the accident are the direct result of the bullet wounds.” He sought review at the provincial insurance tribunal, the court of last resort in such matters, but that also failed. “In fact, the evidence clearly demonstrates that the injuries result from a fact completely separable from the use of a motor vehicle as a means of transport,” the two-member panel wrote.

Story continues below

In 2010, Magi was arrested on five firearms charges as part of an organized crime operation by Montreal police. Court documents later showed that police acted on information his bodyguards were carrying illegal weapons. Magi avoided a criminal record by pleading guilty to improperly storing a restricted weapon, receiving an unconditional discharge.

For a period of time, it seemed as if everyone in Magi’s orbit was in danger.

Nick Rizzuto Jr. was murdered in a 2009 shooting within sight of the office he worked at with Magi. Ducarme Joseph, an enforcer for Magi, barely escaped a 2010 shooting at a clothing boutique that saw two others killed; Joseph was arrested the next day at Magi’s office. Richard Zarbatany, a former boxer, was a bodyguard and chauffeur for Magi when he was arrested in 2011 for impaired driving; he alleged police were harassing him, looking for a reason to throw him in jail.

Story continues below

Magi’s wife, Rita Biasini, barely escaped death in 2011 when a gunman opened fire on her car at 8:40 a.m. in a residential neighbourhood. She sped away and hid at a police station. By that point, according to one news report, Magi was travelling in an armoured car.

Thursday’s shooting, as with the past attempts on the life of Magi and his wife, came in broad daylight. A Montreal police spokesperson said they’re looking for witnesses, and will review security camera footage from the area. Nobody who has attempted to kill Magi in the past has ever been found.

— With files from Adrian Humphreys and Graeme Hamilton

• Email: bplatt@postmedia.com | Twitter:

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

This article was originally posted here