trade, adjusting his criminal contacts and showing such skill that he is to be considered as one of the most important exponents in this sector." In July 1998, after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) amassed enough evidence from surveillance and wiretaps on Caruana's home through Project Omerta, he was arrested at his Woodbridge, Ontario home, where police also found large amounts of hidden cash and jewelry. According to police, he controlled one of the largest drug dealing networks in the world. The officer in charge of the investigation, RCMP Chief Superintendent Ben Soave, said "If organized crime were a hockey game, Mr. Caruana would be [Wayne] Gretzky." In February 2000, after associate Oreste Pagano testified against Caruana, Caruana pleaded guilty to charges of importing and trafficking narcotics, and was sentenced to 18 years in prison by the Ontario Superior Court. Alfonso's brothers, Pasquale and Gerlando Caruana were also arrested in the Project, receiving 10 and 18-year prison sentences respectively. In July 2004, Caruana was denied bail. In June 2007, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that Caruana be extradited to Italy to face prison time. On December 20, 2007, Caruana's efforts to appeal were dismissed by the Supreme Court of Canada, and was extradited to Italy on January 29, 2008, to serve a nearly 22-year prison sentence. In 2019, Caruana was convicted of running a cocaine trafficking and money laundering empire between Italy and North America, and after the Supreme Court of Cassation dismissed his appeal in November 2020, faces an additional 17 years in prison. References 1946 births Living people People from Castelvetrano Italian emigrants to Canada Sicilian mafiosi Criminals from Montreal Italian drug traffickers Canadian drug traffickers Canadian people convicted of drug offences Italian people convicted of drug offenses Canadian gangsters of Sicilian descent People extradited from Canada People extradited to Italy Naturalized citizens of Canada Canadian crime bosses Organized crime in Montreal