The FBI considers the family to be connected to the Bonanno crime family, but Canadian law enforcement considers it to be a separate crime family. Their territory once covered most of southern Quebec and Ontario. Francesco "Frank" Cotroni (born 1931- died 2004) known on the streets of Montreal as "The Big Guy", "Il Cice" and "Le Gros", was one of Canada's most colorful and flamboyant mobsters and the onetime boss of the Montreal Mafia known as the Cotroni crime family. The Cotroni crime family, originally Cotrone [1] (Italian: [koˈtroːne]) is an organized crime family based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.The FBI considered the family a branch of the Bonanno crime family. Violi's brothers were also murdered. Members of the Cotroni family are among the suspects for the murders of Rizzuto crime family members. [2] A Calabrian immigrant from Mammola, Vincenzo Cotroni established the organization in the 1940s. Cotroni and Violi got their sentences appealed to just six months, but Papalia's was rejected. [2] On January 22, 1978, Violi was murdered under Rizzuto orders while Rizzuto was in Venezuela. Cotroni crime family: | | Cotroni crime family | | | Founder |... World Heritage Encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, … The Rizzutos have dominated organized crime activities in Montreal since its inception and now their weakened organization is being challenged for … By the mid 1980s, the Rizzuto crime family emerged as Montreal's pre-eminent crime family after the turf war. The Rizzuto family is an Italian-Canadian crime family based in Montreal, Quebec.The family territory covers most of southern Quebec and Ontario. Biography Francesco Cotroni, the fifth of six children, was born in Montreal in 1931. Their territory once covered most of southern Quebec and Ontario. The senior Rizzuto becomes an associate of the Calabrian Cotroni crime family, which had strong links with New York's Bonnano family and controlled the majority of Montreal's drug trade mid-century. The Cotroni crime family, originally Cotrone (Italian: [koˈtroːne]) is an organized crime family based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.The FBI considered the family a branch of the Bonanno crime family.. A Calabrian immigrant from Mammola, Vincenzo Cotroni established the organization in the 1940s.