Johnny Papalia

His father, Antonio "Tony" Papalia, who had early Picciotteria values, was a bootlegger who immigrated to Canada from Delianuova, Calabria, Italy, in 1912.

Maria Rosa initially married Antonio's younger brother Giuseppe Papalia Jr., giving birth to two sons in Italy, however when Giuseppe died, she immigrated to Canada with her two sons in 1913 to live with Antonio, whom she married at some point, although it remains unclear when the wedding actually took place.

Papalia's parents were not married at the time of his birth, which was a source of much shame for him.

Moon stated, "John was a bastard. He was born out of wedlock. And he as always very self-conscious about it. You have to remember, he grew up in an era when it was a terrible thing to be conceived out of wedlock. Apparently it bothered him all his life and you had to very careful about calling John a 'bastard'."

Johnny, the oldest brother to Frank, Rocco and Dominic Papalia, half-brothers Joseph and Angelo Papalia, brother-in-law Tony Pugliese, and associates, all worked in running his clubs and gambling operations.

Papalia attended St. Augustine Catholic School on Mulberry Street, dropping out in grade 8 after he suffered from a case of tuberculosis that put him in a sanitorium for several months.

He first came through New York City before moving on to Montreal, Quebec, then to New Brunswick to work in the coal mines, before finally settling on Railway Street in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1917.

His father became associated with Calabrian compatriot and notorious bootlegger Rocco Perri, and later Guelph mobster Tony Sylvestro, working as a bootlegger who operated speakeasies.

Tony Papalia was working as a driver for Perri's bootlegging operations at least by 1922, if not earlier.

John Joseph Papalia (March 18, 1924 – May 31, 1997), also known as Johnny Pops Papalia or "The Enforcer", was a Canadian crime boss of the Papalia crime family based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

The Papalia crime family is one of three major crime families in Hamilton, the other two being the Musitano crime family and the Luppino crime family.

Papalia was born in Hamilton, to Italian immigrants who also had a history in organized crime.

Papalia was born on March 18, 1924, in Hamilton.

He was suspected in playing a role in the murder of Perri's wife Bessie Starkman in 1930.

Papalia had "a reputation for extreme violence" from the start of his criminal record as a teenager in the 1930s, and despite being only 5 ft with a slender build, was widely feared.

In 1940, Papalia's father was arrested and sent to internment at Camp Petawawa as part of the Italian Canadian internment, as potentially dangerous enemy aliens with alleged connections to Benito Mussolini's fascist regime, causing his son to have a grudge against the Canadian government.

Papalia later gave his father's internment as the reason as to why he did not serve in the military during World War II.

When Antonio Papalia was interned, his profession was listed as "bootlegger."

Antonio Papalia was released in 1941 after he convinced the authorities that he was not a Fascist.

The authorities imposed conditions upon his release such as he stay out of Hamilton and regularly check in with the police.

After his release, the Papalia family aligned with the Buffalo crime family, causing tensions with the still interned Perri who saw this as a betrayal.

The Papalia family were still angry with Perri for his refusal to support the Italiano family and made an alliance with Stefano Magaddino against him.

In 1943, Papalia moved to Toronto, where he joined a gang that specialized in burglaries.

During this period, Papalia started to work for Harvey Chernick, one of Toronto's biggest heroin dealers.

During his time in Toronto, Papalia served with a youth gang consisting of Paul Volpe, Pasquale Giodrano, Roy Pasquale, and Alberto Mignacchio.

Many of the members of the gang such as Volpe remained long-time associates of Papalia.

One who knew the gang stated, "They were a very tough bunch. They had a lot of balls. John himself talked tough, although he wasn't tough himself. He was smart enough, though, to make sure he was with people who were. John was the type of guy-even back then-that if he sensed fear in you, he tried to prey on it."

Johnny Papalia did not volunteer for overseas service (until November 1944, Canada only sent volunteers overseas to fight in World War II).

He later claimed that his reputation for violence dated back to the war years when he was the subject of anti-Italian bullying and insults, leading Papalia to engage in violence for self-defense.

On January 27, 1944, Papalia was arrested for failing to register for conscription for the defense of Canada as he was legally obliged to do in 1942 when he turned 18.

Papalia's criminal record, health problems and his anger at the Canadian government for interning his father ensured that he was not conscripted.

At a young age, he was involved in petty crimes, but by the 1950s, moved his way up to drug trafficking and formed a powerful alliance with the Buffalo crime family.

Papalia also operated various gambling bars and vending machine businesses.

In the 1960s, he played a role in the French Connection drug smuggling operation, for which he was extradited to the United States and served five years of a 10-year prison sentence.

Papalia said of his father, in a 1986 interview with The Globe and Mail's Peter Moon, "I grew up in the '30s and you'd see a guy who couldn't read or write but who had a car and was putting food on the table. He was a bootlegger and you looked up to him."

Papalia's mother, Maria Rosa Italiano, also came from a Mafia family, the Italiano clan, who also participated in Perri's gang.

In 1986, Papalia stated that his biggest regret in life was never attending high school, saying of his life, "It's been an interesting one. But maybe I'd liked it to be different."

As a teenager, Papalia was a member of a gang that staged burglaries in Hamilton, with the icehouse at the corner of Railway and Mulberry streets serving as their base.

Papalia later described himself as a "wild kid" who was known for his womanizing, and who had contracted syphilis by the age of 19.

On May 31, 1997, Papalia was shot to death outside his vending machine business by Kenneth Murdock, a hitman hired by Angelo and Pat Musitano of the Musitano crime family.