A convicted Mafia boss from Bradford West Gwillimbury has been sentenced to 11 ½ years in jail for trafficking cocaine and conspiring to import the drug.
Giuseppe Ursino, 65, was sentenced in a Toronto court Feb. 28 after an investigation stemming back to 2014.
“Their motive was greed. The product they trafficked and conspired to import is a blight on society,” wrote Superior Court Justice Brian O’Marra in his sentencing decision.
Based on evidence in the trial, Ursino is a “not only a member of the ‘Ndrangheta but he was a local ‘boss,’” according to court documents.
The ‘Ndrangheta is an organized crime group based in Calabria, Italy, which has expanded internationally, including in the Greater Toronto Area and Thunder Bay, the documents read.
The key witness in the case against Ursino was a paid agent of the RCMP, who is a “career criminal who surprisingly has no criminal record,” read the documents.
As well, the main evidence used against Ursino, and co-accused Cosmin Dracea of Toronto, was their own recorded voices, speaking English and Italian, and images, according to the documents.
“There was no dispute at trial as to the authenticity or accuracy of the interceptions and translations,” it read.
“Giuseppe Ursino introduced the police agent to Cosmin Dracea. … The police agent had known Giuseppe Ursino for many years. The imposing physical stature and criminal reputation of the agent gave confidence to both accused that they were dealing with a serious criminal player.”
Dracea, a manager at a Sunset Grill Restaurant from 2015 to 2018, was also convicted in the trial and sentenced to nine years in jail.
He is not a member of the ‘Ndrangheta, rather associated with the organized crime group, according to court documents.
He and Ursino, neither of whom previously had criminal records, pled not guilty.
“Giuseppe Ursino denied in testimony that he was a member (of the ‘Ndrangheta), let alone a ‘boss.’ He admitted in his testimony that he referred to himself as such but said he was only bragging to string the police agent along,” read the documents.
“He said he wanted to keep the police agent close to him in hopes of collecting some or all of the $6,000 owed to him by the police agent related to a prior unsuccessful joint venture running a social club.”
Richard Avanes was also named in the case as a co-conspirator, and he was separately charged for importing 53.5 kilograms of cocaine into Canada in 2013, as well as conspiring with Ursino and Dracea.
Avanes, who also did not have a criminal record, pled guilty to those charges and was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2015, the same year Ursino and Dracea were charged.
Ursino was born in Italy and moved to Toronto in 1971, according to court documents, before moving to BWG.
From 1992 to 2002, Ursino owned his own business distributing food products to restaurants and banquet halls. He has been fully retired for two years, and claims he is supported financially by his old age pension and family members, they read.
He has been married for 40 years and has had “strong family support through this process,” read the documents. “He is described by his family members as ‘a good-hearted, caring and gentle husband, father and grandfather.’”
Ursino denied any first-hand knowledge or involvement in the crimes, according to court documents.
“He maintains he simply said the wrong things to the wrong people and got caught up in feeling important. He denies he received any financial benefit related to the charges he faced,” they read.
“Counsel for Giuseppe Ursino filed materials on sentence related to ongoing medical issues, specifically cardiac issues, that will require ongoing medication and further medical intervention including surgery.
As per the sentence, Ursino must comply with a DNA order, and be prohibited from possessing any prohibited or restricted firearms, weapons, devices or ammunition for life, as well as be forbidden to possess any other type of firearm, crossbow, restricted weapon, ammunition, or explosive substance for 10 years.
In total, Ursino was convicted on five charges: conspiracy to import cocaine (six years in jail), conspiracy to import cocaine related to a criminal organization (four years), trafficking one kilogram of cocaine (five years), trafficking one kilogram of cocaine related to a criminal organization (2 ½ years), and possession of proceeds of crime (one year).
He was given a one-year credit for 28 days of pretrial custody and “stringent bail terms,” read the documents.
“A criminal conspiracy when proven beyond a reasonable doubt does not involve ‘just talking’ or ‘just words.’ It involves an agreement of two or more persons for an unlawful purpose and the intent to carry through on the scheme. The fact that cocaine was not actually imported is the absence of what could otherwise be a further aggravating feature,” wrote O’Marra.
“ I am satisfied that significant penitentiary sentences are required in this case for both accused.”
