[LINK] The Toronto Star on possible Ontario connections to Québec organized crime

[rfmcdonald]

Multiple people have linked to Peter Edwards' Toronto Star article "Corruption in Quebec construction industry ‘far more widespread than we originally believed’". This has implications for Québec, but also for Ontario, too.

The commission heard an Ontario mafia expert from York Regional Police saying that his force may be investigating government contracts that have been awarded to organized crime groups.

York Regional Police Det. Mike Amato declined to talk about any instances he knew of in which mafia groups he had been speaking about were able to win a contract by being the lowest bidder.

“That question there is too close to something that we are working on right now,” Amato told the commission.

“The question that he asked brings something to mind in terms of a link that may exist. I’m not saying it does exist, but it’s a possible theory.”

His testimony came a week after a joint investigation by the Toronto Star and Radio-Canada highlighted the recent rise of the ’Ndrangheta, or the Calabrian mafia, which the RCMP has listed as one of its “Tier 1” threats in the GTA.

There's much more at the Star.