A Montreal Mafia player closely linked to the Rizzuto clan is believed to have been kidnapped after his car was found abandoned and unlocked with open windows.
Paolo Renda, 70, was last seen Thursday afternoon in Montreal's northwest Cartierville district in his car while running errands.
His wife Maria grew worried as the afternoon grew late and Renda didn't come home. She went to look for him, retracing his regular route along Gouin Boulevard.
She later told police she spotted Renda's Infiniti model sedan parked on the road near Albert-Prévost Avenue. The car was unlocked, with its windows rolled down and keys in the ignition. The family decided to call police around 6 p.m.
Investigators say preliminary evidence suggests Renda was kidnapped, but did not shed light on any possible motive.
Former crime reporter Michel Auger said it's difficult to guess what happened to Renda, but ransom kidnappings have targeted various members of the Montreal Mafia in recent years. What's different is none of those abductions were ever reported to police.
"The victims of those kidnappings simply reappeared at their home a few days or a few weeks after the kidnapping," Auger told CBC. "So it is possible the same thing will happen with Renda and we will never know if someone paid the ransom."
Renda part of tight-knit family
Renda is believed to be the right-hand man to Nicolo (Nick) Rizzuto, presumed elderly patriarch of Canada's most well-known Mafia clan.
Renda's wife Maria is Nicolo Rizzuto's daughter and his brother-in-law, Vito Rizzuto, is Montreal's alleged Mafia boss, now serving time in a Colorado prison on racketeering charges related to a trio of Brooklyn cold case homicides in the '80s.
Renda himself was released from prison several months ago after he pleaded guilty to gangsterism-related charges. But after reaching a plea bargain with the Crown, Rizzuto pleaded guilty to possession of proceeds of a crime, and possession of the proceeds of crime for the benefit of a criminal organization.
He is believed to have handled finances for the Rizzuto family and was one of dozens arrested during massive sweeps in 2006 part of Operation Colisée, a drawn-out investigation authorities described as a major crackdown on organized crime.
Renda was also uncle and godfather to Nicolo (Nick) Rizzuto Jr., Vito's son, who was killed in broad daylight last December in what crime watchers described as a targeted attack on the Rizzuto clan.
