‘Tony Large’ liked little crimes. Was his Hamilton grow-op big enough to provoke his murder?

There was no mystery about how Antonio (Tony Large) Sergi got his nickname.

The Etobicoke mobster sometimes tipped the scales at 350 lbs., which made him girthy, even on his six-foot-four frame.

Tony Large's weight varied through the years, but only so much. No one had ever thought of calling him Tony Small."

He wasn't called Antonio Sergi" much either. It was Tony Large," or maybe Tony L."

He moved in nasty circles, but neighbours in his quiet Etobicoke neighbourhood on La Rush Drive seemed to think he was a nice guy.

He had lived there for a couple of decades and his wife could sometimes be seen walking their dog.

Their home was a solid bungalow; nothing too flashy.

In his business world, he wasn't particularly fearsome or hated either. He certainly wasn't anything like Sal Calautti, a GTA restaurateur and hit man who truly seemed to revel in violence and who was eventually murdered outside a Vaughan banquet hall in 2013. Calautti was much smaller than Tony Large, and much more dangerous.

Tony Large, 53, was something far different.

He wasn't that major of a player," a police officer who specialized in organized crime said. He was almost like a harmless guy ... did his little crimes and made his money."

Tony Large wasn't a member of any one crime group, but more of an active freelancer

His name popped up from time to time during investigations into lucrative but essentially non-violent crimes like cigarette smuggling and cargo theft.

He was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and hashish, as well as possession of the proceeds of crime in February 2014 in Project Green Giant, which targeted illegal bulk marijuana shipped from B.C. for sale in the GTA.

Police then said they found $2.4 million squirrelled away in safety deposit boxes in the GTA. It was mostly Canadian and American dollars, packed in bundles of $100 and $50 bills, but also included a sprinkling of euros and British pounds.

Project Green Giant investigators said their total drug seizure amounted to more than 200 kg of marijuana and 3 kg of hashish. Investigators also said they shut down a large-scale hashish production lab housed in an industrial unit.

But the charges against Tony Large were eventually withdrawn.

Legal changes regarding medical marijuana were a point of concern for the underworld, as well as an opportunity.

Legislation came into effect in April 2014 which meant the federal government no longer licensed users or sold weed. Personal production also wasn't allowed.

The incoming legislation meant the prescription of marijuana would be left to doctors and nurse practitioners. The marijuana they prescribed had to be from licensed producers, who were expected to supply a high-quality, sanitary product.

The move presented a massive business opportunity for criminals - if they handled things correctly.

There had been some 37,500 licensed users in Canada at the time the law changed, but Health Canada estimated that by 2024 there would be more than 450,000 people using marijuana for medical reasons.

That projected an estimated $1.3 billion in annual sales. There was also a chance for producers to legally import and export cannabis. Gone were the days when they had to sneak pot in vehicles or boats. Now they could declare their cargo upfront to customs officials.

Tony Large already had more than a toe in the pot business when the laws changed. Aside from the smuggling charges that were dropped, Tony Large had already attempted to form a provincewide union for medical marijuana workers. That venture ultimately fizzled.

Not everyone was happy with how he channelled his ambitions.

In March 2015, a BMW SUV in his driveway was torched.

Then, around 2:30 a.m. on March 31, 2017, Tony Large was returning in his grey Range Rover when there was a loud bang.

By the time police arrived, he was lying in the driveway near some recycling bins and his Range Rover

He was shot at least once in the head.

Toronto paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Tony Large didn't stand a chance. His bulk made him a slow-moving, easy target.

The man who ended his life was considerably smaller, but he had the element of surprise and a loaded gun.

The suspect was described by police as male, about five-foot-11 to six-one, with an average build. He wore a dark blue tuque and dark clothing.

Why someone felt the need to end Tony Large's life isn't known for sure.

Educated guesses point to the burgeoning medical marijuana business.

Two weeks after his murder, Hamilton police searched a property connected to Tony Large on Kenilworth Avenue in East Hamilton. It was the former home of Boomers strip club and no one would call it pristine. It had been leased by Tony Large and converted into a medical marijuana greenhouse.

Neighbours who had learned to live with Boomers now complained about the smell given off by the new pot operation.

There was something decidedly anticlimactic when a police tactical squad raided Tony Large's former workplace.

The pot and pot-growing equipment were long gone and Tony Large was dead.

Tony Large had licensing and zoning headaches at the time of his murder.

The City of Hamilton only allows growing and harvesting marijuana in some rural and industrial areas and the Boomers site didn't fall into either category.

Tony Large was also a partner in another pot-sgrowing enterprise based in a Brampton industrial mall. That operation apparently outlived Sergi.

Det. Sgt. Stephen Matthews of the Toronto Police homicide squad declined to comment on possible reasons for Sergi's murder.

We had some co-operation from witnesses, but would still like to hear from more," Matthews said in an email. As this is still an unsolved case, I think it would be premature to speak to motive or who may have been involved in Mr. Sergi's murder. One of the challenges we faced with this case was the location, it was not a busy or well-travelled area, especially at the time of the murder."

Sergi's murder remains unsolved.

Peter Edwards is a Toronto-based reporter primarily covering crime for the Star. Reach him via email: pedwards@thestar.ca