Word ‘rat’ painted on mobster’s garage door where two cars were set ablaze
Hamilton police are investigating a suspected arson after two cars were found engulfed in flames outside an east Mountain home where the word rat" had been painted on the garage overnight.
The Hamilton Spectator has confirmed it is the residence of 59-year-old mobster Giuseppe (Pino) Avignone, a cousin who grew up like a brother to Mob boss Pasquale (Pat) Musitano and his siblings. He was with Musitano when the 53-year-old was murdered a week ago in Burlington.
Emergency services were called to the home on Miles Road, between Rymal Road East and Twenty Road East, around 2:30 a.m. on Friday.
Two cars in the driveway were fully engulfed, said Const. Lorraine Edwards.
Police were called to assist the Hamilton Fire Department, who quickly extinguished the suspicious fires.
The word rat" was scrawled in black, all-capital letters, covering half of the white garage.
According to property records, 196 Miles Rd. is owned by a Michele Avignone. The house was originally purchased by an Anna Maria Avignone in 2008.
It's common for organized crime members to keep properties in the names of their spouses or other family members.
Musitano was gunned down in a Burlington parking lot around 1 p.m. on July 10. Pino Avignone was one of two men with him when he was shot outside his armoured GMC Yukon Denali parked at 484 Plains Rd. E., a plaza at King Road in Burlington.
The other man, Musitano's longtime friend and bodyguard, 77-year-old John Clary, was also shot in the incident and taken to hospital with critical injuries. There has been no word on his condition since the shooting.
Halton police said they're looking for a lone male suspect who fled the scene in a four-door grey sedan that is a newer model - similar to an Infiniti Q50 - with a sunroof. It's believed to have damage to the driver's side from a collision as he fled.
Since Musitano's murder, there has been much talk about whether his death will mark the end of the ongoing violence. Former police officers have told The Hamilton Spectator that there is so much volatility in the criminal underworld it's likely more violence is to come.
Musitano's murder came more than a year after he survived being shot four times in a Mississauga parking lot.
The Musitanos, one of three original traditional organized crime families in Hamilton, have been embroiled in the Mob war since the May 2017 murder of Pat's younger brother, Angelo Musitano.
The 39-year-old Musitano's murder was the first in Hamilton, setting off a string of other attacks.
Other organized crime families have also been targeted, including the murders of Albert Iavarone and Cece Luppino.
Avignone was born in Calabria, Italy, and came to Canada to live with the Musitanos when he was 13. When Pat's father, Mob boss Dominic Musitano, died of a heart attack in 1995, Pino Avignone was listed as a son in his obituary.
Avignone pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in the 1983 slaying of Toronto mobster Domenic Racco. Dominic Musitano was sentenced to six years for accessory after the fact in the same murder.
In 1999, Avignone pleaded guilty to keeping gambling machines and was fined $3,500. Pat Musitano was also charged in the bookmaking case, but his charges were dropped.
When Pat and Angelo Musitano went to prison in connection with the 1997 death of Niagara mobster Carmen Barillaro, it was Avignone who ran the family business on the outside, according to police sources.
Pat and Angelo had originally been charged with the murder of Hamilton Mob boss Johnny (Pops) Papalia, killed in May 1997 by Ken Murdock, who told police the Musitanos ordered the hit.
But the brothers struck a plea deal that just saw them admit to conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Barillaro, Papalia's lieutenant. They were sentenced to 10 years in prison and got out in 2006 after serving two-thirds of their sentences.
Avignone's name again appeared in The Hamilton Spectator in 2018 in connection with an RCMP investigation into a Hamilton pharmacy where drugs were allegedly being trafficked.
Avignone was never charged in connection to the pharmacy, but in relation to a cheque scam at a convenience store that incidentally led RCMP to the pharmacy.
He was charged with fraud over $5,000 and uttering forged documents. That case is still before the courts.
His lawyer Asgar Manek said Avignone maintains his innocence.
He has known Avignone for a number of years as his lawyer on the fraud case and says he's always been upfront."
Manek said, in his opinion, Avignone does not appear to be a person who would be ratting anybody out."
No suspect information has been released in the overnight arson unit investigation.
Hamilton police ask that anyone with information call acting Det. Sgt. George Gallant at 905-546-2991.
Nicole O'Reilly is a Hamilton-based reporter covering crime and justice for The Spectator. Reach her via email: noreilly@thespec.com