Police arrest Hamilton man in shooting deaths of mobster Angelo Musitano, Toronto woman

A Hamilton man is facing murder charges in the shooting deaths of mobster Angelo Musitano and Toronto woman Mila Barberi, and two other suspects are now the subject of an international manhunt, police announced at a news conference Thursday morning.

Jabril Abdalla, 27, of Hamilton, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Police have also had Canada-wide warrants issuedfor two more suspects who investigators believe may have fled to Mexico.

Police identified them as Michael Graham Cudmore, 37, from Hamilton, and Daniel Mario Tomassetti, 27, of Ancaster, a suburban area of the city. All three suspects are facing two first-degree murder charges, three conspiracy to commit murder charges and one attempted murder charge.

Police believe one of the suspects was the person who pulled the trigger, but won't say which one.

"This case is about traditional organized crime, the Mafia, the mob, whatever handle you want to give it," said Hamilton police Det. Sgt. Peter Thom. "Organized crime continues to thrive in our communities."

Project Scopa

The arrest was part of a multi-service effort called "Project Scopa" Italian for broom and police are urging Cudmore and Tomassetti to turn themselves in.

"Anyone assisting these individuals to escape or evade arrest will be charged with accessory after the fact to murder," Hamilton police said in a news release issued Thursday.

Thom said Cudmore's family has officially declared him a missing person as he stopped communicating with them around the time one of his associates was found bound and executed in a ditch in Mexico.

"The fact that his friend was found murdered down there, the fact that he has not been heard from since around the same time period is concerning, especially for his family," Thom said.

Police willwork with Mexican law enforcement officials and Interpol to try to bring the two menback to Canada to be tried for their alleged crimes.

Investigators announced in late January that a number of characteristics linked the shootings of Barberi in March 2017 and Musitano two months later.

Barberi, 28, was killed while she sat in a BMW SUV parked outside a business in the middle of the afternoon in an industrial area of Vaughan, Ont. She was picking up her boyfriend, Saverio Serrano, 40, who police say has connections to organized crime and may have been the intended target.

Musitano, 39, was gunned down while sittingin his pickup truck in the driveway of his home in Waterdown, Ont. His family was inside the house when he was killed.

Musitanowas the son ofDominicMusitano, a longtime crime boss in Hamilton who had close ties to theRizzutocrime family in Montreal. Angeloand his brother, PatMusitano,served nearly 10 years in prison for their roles inthe 1997 shooting death of JohnnyPapaliaarguably Hamilton's most infamous Mafia figureand one of his lieutenants, CarmenBarillaro.

Canadian organized crime experts have theorized thatMusitano'sdeath may have been retaliation for his role inPapalia'smurder.

Police have said that Musitano was "stalked" forseveral days before he was killed and that multiple people were involved. Hamilton homicide detectives previouslyreleased images of astolenFord Fusion believed to have been used as thegetaway car in Musitano'shomicide.They have also identifiedthree other vehiclesthat were seen around Musitano's home before his death.

In theBarbericase,there were at least two people involved: the gunman and a getaway driver. The gunman arrived atthe scene in a stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee. He got out of the vehicle, ran towardBarberi's SUV and opened fire, hitting her multiple times and wounding her boyfriend in the arm.

Police previously saidBarberi and her boyfriend were shot mistakenly, and the real target wassomeone elsewho was also at the Vaughanbusiness that day.

Shootings share similarities

Witnesses described a similar looking gunman in both shootings. A black Honda Civic Coupe has also been connected to both shootings, according to York Regional Police.

Thursday'sarrest announcement marks the latest twist in a string of violent incidents linked to organized crime activity in Hamilton in recent months.

Weeks after Angelo Musitano was shot, someone fired bullets into the home of his brother, Pat.

Then, on Sept. 13, 2018, real estate agent AlbertIavarone, 50 who police say had connections to organized crime and knew two of the suspects in the Musitano shooting was gunned down outside his home.

No arrests have been made in those cases, but Thom said the killings, along with a recent rash of bombings and arsons, points to unrest in the criminal underworld.

"Investigation would lend credence to the fact there are two different groups and ... there seems to be some sort of power struggle going on," he said.