Jump to content

Giovanni Cazzetta: Difference between revisions

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit
No edit summary
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit
Line 62: Line 62:
In April 1992, Giovanni Cazzetta was arrested by police and charged with trafficking in narcotics after police found him to be in possession of three kilograms of cocaine. He pleaded guilty to four charges the following spring and would be sentenced to four years in prison. Cazzetta was be released in 1997 and briefly led the Rock Machine during the [[Quebec Biker War]] against the Hells Angels.<ref name="oocities.org">https://www.oocities.org/wiseguywally/GiovanniCazzetta.html</ref> The Rock Machine's cocaine smuggling and distribution triggered extra police scrutiny, and 1994, his older brother Salvatore was also arrested with eleven tons of cocaine.<ref name=BikerWars/> Cazzetta's detention triggered Boucher to attack the remainder of he Rock Machine.<ref name=BikerWars/> The conflict lasted eight years, and many innocent bystanders were hurt or killed. While Salvatore was in prison during the war, Giovanni would be temporarily released.
In April 1992, Giovanni Cazzetta was arrested by police and charged with trafficking in narcotics after police found him to be in possession of three kilograms of cocaine. He pleaded guilty to four charges the following spring and would be sentenced to four years in prison. Cazzetta was be released in 1997 and briefly led the Rock Machine during the [[Quebec Biker War]] against the Hells Angels.<ref name="oocities.org">https://www.oocities.org/wiseguywally/GiovanniCazzetta.html</ref> The Rock Machine's cocaine smuggling and distribution triggered extra police scrutiny, and 1994, his older brother Salvatore was also arrested with eleven tons of cocaine.<ref name=BikerWars/> Cazzetta's detention triggered Boucher to attack the remainder of he Rock Machine.<ref name=BikerWars/> The conflict lasted eight years, and many innocent bystanders were hurt or killed. While Salvatore was in prison during the war, Giovanni would be temporarily released.


Giovanni Cazzetta was released from prison in early 1997. He would return to the Rock Machine and was given the position of national president in his brother's absence, with Claude Vézina willing vacating the post. Cazzetta would lead the club through the conflict until May 1997, when was subject to a police [[sting operation]] in which a man from Alberta attempted to purchase fifteen kilograms of cocaine. This individual turned out to be an informant for [[the Crown]]. The drug mules Frank Bonneville and Donald Waite, who delivered the cocaine to the informant, were arrested and the narcotics seized by police. Vézina would return to his role as National president. Matticks, Bonneville and Waite pled guilty on 17 June 1997, and were sentenced to three, four, and two years' imprisonment respectively. Giovanni, now the leader of the Rock Machine, attempted to fight the charges brought against him, although he would lose these appeals and was sentenced to a nine-year prison term in April 1998.<ref name="oocities.org"/>
Giovanni Cazzetta was released from prison in early 1997. He would return to the Rock Machine and was given the position of national president in his brother's absence, with [[Claude Vézina]] willing vacating the post. Cazzetta would lead the club through the conflict until May 1997, when was subject to a police [[sting operation]] in which a man from Alberta attempted to purchase fifteen kilograms of cocaine. This individual turned out to be an informant for [[the Crown]]. The drug mules Frank Bonneville and Donald Waite, who delivered the cocaine to the informant, were arrested and the narcotics seized by police. Vézina would return to his role as National president. Matticks, Bonneville and Waite pled guilty on 17 June 1997, and were sentenced to three, four, and two years' imprisonment respectively. Giovanni, now the leader of the Rock Machine, attempted to fight the charges brought against him, although he would lose these appeals and was sentenced to a nine-year prison term in April 1998.<ref name="oocities.org"/>


By the time Salvatore Cazzetta had served his sentence, Boucher himself was serving a life sentence, the war was over, and the Rock Machine had been absorbed into the Bandidos, a merger with which he and his brother strongly disagreed.<ref name=BikerWars/> Salvatore Cazzetta chose to join the Hells Angels in 2005,<ref name=montrealgazette2018-07-09>
By the time Salvatore Cazzetta had served his sentence, Boucher himself was serving a life sentence, the war was over, and the Rock Machine had been absorbed into the Bandidos, a merger with which he and his brother strongly disagreed.<ref name=BikerWars/> Salvatore Cazzetta chose to join the Hells Angels in 2005,<ref name=montrealgazette2018-07-09>

Revision as of 07:55, 15 April 2022

Giovanni Cazzetta
Born1957 (age 66–67)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Occupation(s)Outlaw biker, gangster
Known for
  • Co-founder of the Rock Machine
  • National president of the Rock Machine
PredecessorSalvatore Cazzetta
SuccessorClaude Vézina
AllegianceOutlaws MC
(19??-1984)
SS Motorcycle Club
(1984–1986)
Rock Machine MC
(1986–2000)
Conviction(s)Drug trafficking (1993)
Drug trafficking (1998)
Criminal penalty4 years' imprisonment (1993)
9 years' imprisonment (1998)

Giovanni Cazzetta (born 1957) is a Canadian outlaw biker and gangster who was a co-founder of the Rock Machine Motorcycle Club along with his brother Salvatore Cazzetta. He was also formerly a longtime member of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club in Quebec.[1]

Cazzetta joined the Outlaws at a young age and was involved in the First Biker War. He remained a member of the organization in Quebec until 1984, when he left to join his brother Salvatore in the SS Motorcycle Club, also known as the SS Merciless Riders. Salvatore, along with Maurice "Mom" Boucher, was a leader the anti-immigration SS, which was under consideration for an invitation to join the Hells Angels.[2] Following the Hells Angels' internal Lennoxville massacre – which occurred when five senior members were ambushed and killed due to elements within the club's Montreal chapter suspecting they were embezzling club profits – the Cazzetta brothers and Boucher went their separate ways. According to true crime author RJ Parker, the massacre was met with distrust within other elements of Quebec's underworld. According to Parker, the Cazzetta brothers were closely related to a senior member of the Rizzuto crime family, and thus adopted the position that underworld members should not kill other members of their own gang. So, where Boucher joined the Hells Angels, the Cazzettas formed their own motorcycle club, the Rock Machine, taking over turf formerly controlled by the weakened Montreal chapter of the Hells Angels.[2]

According to Parker, the Hells Angels would not instigate any issue against the Rock Machine out of concern the powerful Rizzuto Family would intervene.[2] He wrote that Boucher worked to rebuild his chapter's ties with other chapters and other underworld groups. Parker also wrote that Cazzetta too forged alliances, principally with the Bandidos, another powerful motorcycle club, and that he forged ties with cocaine cartels, and became one of Montreal's principal importers of cocaine.[2]

In April 1992, Giovanni Cazzetta was arrested by police and charged with trafficking in narcotics after police found him to be in possession of three kilograms of cocaine. He pleaded guilty to four charges the following spring and would be sentenced to four years in prison. Cazzetta was be released in 1997 and briefly led the Rock Machine during the Quebec Biker War against the Hells Angels.[3] The Rock Machine's cocaine smuggling and distribution triggered extra police scrutiny, and 1994, his older brother Salvatore was also arrested with eleven tons of cocaine.[2] Cazzetta's detention triggered Boucher to attack the remainder of he Rock Machine.[2] The conflict lasted eight years, and many innocent bystanders were hurt or killed. While Salvatore was in prison during the war, Giovanni would be temporarily released.

Giovanni Cazzetta was released from prison in early 1997. He would return to the Rock Machine and was given the position of national president in his brother's absence, with Claude Vézina willing vacating the post. Cazzetta would lead the club through the conflict until May 1997, when was subject to a police sting operation in which a man from Alberta attempted to purchase fifteen kilograms of cocaine. This individual turned out to be an informant for the Crown. The drug mules Frank Bonneville and Donald Waite, who delivered the cocaine to the informant, were arrested and the narcotics seized by police. Vézina would return to his role as National president. Matticks, Bonneville and Waite pled guilty on 17 June 1997, and were sentenced to three, four, and two years' imprisonment respectively. Giovanni, now the leader of the Rock Machine, attempted to fight the charges brought against him, although he would lose these appeals and was sentenced to a nine-year prison term in April 1998.[3]

By the time Salvatore Cazzetta had served his sentence, Boucher himself was serving a life sentence, the war was over, and the Rock Machine had been absorbed into the Bandidos, a merger with which he and his brother strongly disagreed.[2] Salvatore Cazzetta chose to join the Hells Angels in 2005,[4] and he would rise to lead the Hells Angels in Quebec. In May 2007, Giovanni Cazzetta was conditionally released.[5]

References

  1. ^ "A who's who of the Montreal underworld: The mafiosi, bikers and gangsters swept up in police raids". National Post. 2015-11-20. Retrieved 2020-07-18. The 60-year-old is believed to be a leader among the Hells Angels in Quebec and one of its most influential members.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g RJ Parker (2015). Peter Vronsky (ed.). Hell's Angels Biker Wars: The Rock Machine Massacres. Rj Parker Publishing, Inc. ISBN 9781517198718. Retrieved 2020-07-18.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ a b https://www.oocities.org/wiseguywally/GiovanniCazzetta.html
  4. ^ Paul Cherry (2018-07-09). "Probe into West Island drug trafficking ring was sparked by gangland murder". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2020-07-18. During Project Associé, the Montreal police took note and, in some cases, video-recorded as Van Elk met with several influential organized crime figures like Salvatore Cazzetta and Gilles Lambert, both members of the Hells Angels since 2005.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ Paul Cherry (2016-08-30). "Police received tips about Montreal lawyer over a decade ago". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2020-07-18. Salvatore Cazzetta, 61, the alleged leader of the Hells Angels in Quebec, was also charged in that sweep.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Giovanni_Cazzetta&oldid=1082816180"