Police release surveillance video of suspect vehicle in Iavarone homicide

Hamilton police have released surveillance video of a light-coloured SUVbelieved to be thevehicle used by the killer on the night AlbertIavaronewas gunned down outside his home.

And investigators hope to track down more video evidence from the neighbourhood.

Theybelieve Iavarone's killer scouted the home and Ancaster neighbourhood prior to the ambush and areasking anyone with dashcam footage from the two weeks leading up to the Sept. 13shooting to contact them.

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"Webelieve there would have been some kind ofsurveillance or homework done on the victim's house," explainedDet. Sgt. Peter Thom, who is managing the investigation.

The 50-year-old real estate agent, who police say had connections to organized crime, waskilled at his home around 10 p.m. in what's being described as a "targeted attack."

Iavarone suspect vehicle

6 years ago

Duration 0:08

Hamilton police have released surveillance video of a vehicle believed to be connected to the murder of Albert Iavarone.

Police say the video is only suspect information they currently have. Itshows an "SUVor crossover-type" vehicle driving slowly through the neighbourhood duringnight time.

Family not speaking to police

The new information comes as Iavarone'sfamily issued a statement asking to be"left in peace" and saying they aren't speaking with police.

"Albert was a kind-hearted family man who spent his time with his family and specifically his special needs son," read a statement released by his wife, Andrea.

"The Iavarone family would like to be left in peace at this time and will not be speaking with media or police in relation to this or any other matters."

Photos shared by the family showed the 50-year-old smiling and hugging his son.

An online obituary for Iavarone describes him as a "devoted husband" who will be "greatly missed by many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends."

Connections to organized crime

Police say the homicide victim didn't have a criminal record, but was known to police because of his links to a Hamilton-based organized crime family. Investigators are still working to determine whether that alleged connection was a factor in his death.

Thom previously said a suspect driving a silver vechile drove up Iavarone'squiet Scenic Woods street then hid in the bushes and waited for him to arrive home. As he started walking toward his house, Iavarone was shot and later pronounced dead at the scene.

The killing shares some similarities with the May 2017 shooting of Angelo Musitano,a member of Hamilton's notorious Musitano crime family, who died after histruck was pepperedwith bulletsin the driveway of his Waterdownhome.

In that case, police also said Musitano was "stalked" and his familyrefused to cooperate with police.

• Mobster AngeloMusitanoshot to death outside his home

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Thom said the deaths ofMusitanoand Iavarone are the only two cases he's worked on where family members of shooting victims declined to help investigators.

"It obviously makes the investigation much harder to solve," he said, explaining loved ones can fill in basic details about who a victim was, who they spent time with and what they were doing on the night they were killed.

"Without the family it's much harder to put thosepieces of the puzzle together."

Thomindicatedpolice think it'sa "possibility" the Musitano and Iavarone killings are linked and that investigators are examining "all options."

Among those options is a theory that the recent escalation in mob-related killings, bombings and arsons could be part of an ongoing, underworld power struggle. Investigatorsare still working to determine if that unrest is related toIavarone's death.

StephenMetelsky, a criminology professor at Mohawk College, who spent more than two decades as a police officer specializing in organized crime, said Iavaroneis believedto be connected to the Musitanos.

He added that in the criminal underworld public killings are typically used to send a message and are considered a"huge sign of disrespect."

A visitation is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon andIavarone's funeral will be held Wednesday.