Unique Italian Imports

"Mr. Cugliari is believed to be a made member of the 'Ndrangheta [accused of] Mafia-type association, fictitious ownership of assets as well as a robbery of (pounds)220,000 committed with the use of weapons, in collaboration with other individuals, against a bank branch in the province of Vibo Valentia."

"Canada is one of the strongholds of the 'Ndrangheta, along with countries such as Germany, Australia and the United States."

"Every time we investigate, there is some reference to Canada, where clans associated with the Calabrian Mafia have been operating for decades. Canada is a place to take refuge, but above all a place to invest the proceeds of illegal activities and manage shipments of cocaine bound for Europe."

Nichola Gratteri, anti-Mafia prosecutor, Italy

"Among the defendants there are also law enforcement officers, politicians, professionals, and entrepreneurs."

"It is important to remember that external relations have always been the backbone of Mafia power."

"This trial, in terms of the number of defendants, is second only to the maxi-trial in Palermo [in the 1980s]."

Antonio Nicaso, specialist on the 'Ndranghet, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario

Domenico Cugliari was arrested after arriving in Rome from Toronto on Tuesday. Photo by Interpol

Domenico Cugliari, 40 years of age, was deemed to be a member of a powerful Mafia organization, hiding in Canada while slated to stand trial at the largest anti-Mafia mega-trial in a generation. Identified at one time as a fugitive, arrested in 2020, he had claimed refugee protection on the basis of facing persecution by the Italian state. This was his defence at immigration hearings and court challenges. While Italy awaited the man's repatriation, to stand trial for criminal actions.

Finally, the Canadian justice system got around to deporting Cugliari and when the Air Canada jet arrived in Rome an honour guard of nine police officers awaited him as he deplaned, reaching out as the airplane door opened, prepared to grab this most-wanted passenger. After a three-year wait. His arrest at the airport was deemed to represent "the end of a complex administration procedure".

In charge of the mega-trial known as Operation Rinascita Scott, Nicola Gratieri, a crusading anti-Mafia prosecutor, advised that the reluctant returnee will join his Mafia colleagues in court. The 'Ndrangheta which began life in Calabria in the boot of Italy, has become so notorious it managed to eclipse the Cosa Nostra of Sicily, becoming one of the world's wealthiest, most powerful crime groups. 

Domenico Cugliari is a relative minor figure among those swept up in the wide Operation Rinascita Scott. 'Ndrangheta bosses have used Canada as a hideout for decades, living among friends and family many of whom are citizens of Canada; others are avoiding prison or rivals back in Italy, and they congregate in the Toronto area. In Sant'Onofrio, Cugliari's hometown, Italian police describe him as a "close" and "serious" member of the Bonavota clan, one of many alternately feuding and co-operating within the 'Ndrangheta.

 

Domenico Cugliari escorted through the airport in Rome. Photo by Interpol

 

He acted as a "postman", tasked to deliver messages between mobsters, frequently doing so while visiting them in prison. According to Italian police he made company with senior members of the Bonavota clan. He was tangled up in an illegal cannabis plantation, caught there in 2015, while claiming the 800 plants were for his personal use. Members of his clan, the Bonavota, have had residence in Ontario for 15 years, trusted and respected by senior mob bosses in Toronto.

Mr. Cugliani had applied online for a visitor's visa to Canada, approved the very day, arriving at Toronto's Pearson airport on November 28, 2018. He made it his business to return on a number of occasions, evading a series of police raids that swept his home province of Vibo Valentia. Hundreds of mobsters and associates were arrested in Operation Rinascita Scott. Listed on Italian arrest warrants, Mr. Cugliari was absent during the  raids, living quietly in Canada.

He marrid a Canadian woman in 2020 whose family was also from Sant'Onofrio. They lived in a modest bungalow in north Toronto. The RCMP was informed of an Interpol Red Notice for him at the time of his wedding, alleging membership in the 'Ndranghetaaa. A Red Notice signifies an internatnational request for police agencies globally to detain a wanted suspect.

 

Domenico Cugliari gets fingerprinted at the airport in Rome. Photo by Interpol

 

The RCMP's search came to nothing. Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) at the same time opened an investigation into whether Cugliari was legally allowed to remain in Canada, deciding ultimately he was not. As Cugliari was leaving his Toronto home in September 2020, he was arrested by CBSA and Toronto police. That very day the Immigration and Refugee Board ordered him held in custody as a danger to Canada and a flight risk, he made a refugee claim for protection in Canada from the Italian government.

"I find it peculiar that Mr. Cugliari, up until his arrest, did not seek asylum in Canada, if he had a genuine fear of returning to Italy."

"Only now that he has been caught, has he hinted that he is afraid to return home."

CBSA officer file

He was ruled inadmissible to Canada due to organized criminality in November of 2021 despite his tstimony that he was not a part of the Bonavota clan nor a member of the 'Ndrangheta after he was released on bond following a lengthy immigration hearing. Weeks later his refugee claim was rejected. Which led him to appeal to the Federal Court of Canada, challenging both decisions. His appeals were rejected by a Federal court judge on February 23, 2023. 

 

"Everyone ordered to be removed from Canada is entitled to due process before the law, and all removal orders are subject to appeal and procedural fairness."

CBSA spokeswoman, Rebecca Purdy