Murder charges have been withdrawn against a Hamilton man who had been accused in two high-profile mob hits in 2017 – one of which was botched, and led to the death of an innocent woman.
Instead, Jabril Abdalla pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of participating in activities of a criminal organization during a court appearance in Hamilton on Tuesday.
“I want to be able to leave this courtroom and feel that I’ve been heard. I want to feel that I’ve been vindicated, in that everyone now knows I’m not a murderer,” Mr. Abdalla told Ontario Court Justice Tony Leitch. “I have never been a part of a plan to hurt anyone. I’ve never been aware of any plan to harm anyone, nor would I participate in such a plan.”
Mr. Abdalla – who was sentenced to time-served, plus a $500 fine – was one of three men accused of first-degree murder in connection with the shooting deaths of Mila Barberi, 28, and Angelo Musitano, 39. But by the time he was arrested in September, 2018, his two co-accused had fled to Mexico. Michael Cudmore was found dead there last year, and a warrant remains active for Daniel Tomassetti.
At the time, police had alleged that the trio were involved in both the planning and execution of the two hits. But according to the agreed facts entered as part of Mr. Abdalla’s plea, he had no knowledge of any murder plots – and played only a peripheral role in a criminal organization, at the invitation of his friend Mr. Tomassetti.
Among a “range of actions,” court heard, Mr. Abdalla agreed to register two cars in his name with the knowledge that they would be used by other members for criminal purposes. On one occasion, he drove Mr. Cudmore and Mr. Tomassetti to Toronto to purchase “trackers,” which were then affixed to vehicles. He also drove members of the organization to residential addresses in Hamilton, for what was unbeknownst to him essentially surveillance.
“Unknown to Mr. Abdalla, at some point in time the criminal organization formed an intention to carry out two murders,” the agreed facts state.
The first took place in March, 2017, when Ms. Barberi and her boyfriend, Saverio Serrano, were shot while sitting in a BMW in the parking lot of his Woodbridge, Ont., lighting store. Police have confirmed that Ms. Barberi was not involved in organized crime. Her boyfriend – the son of a notorious Canadian mob figure and cocaine importer – was the target, police say. He survived the shooting, but she did not.
Three months later, Mr. Musitano, a member of the infamous Musitano crime family, was gunned down in the driveway of his Hamilton-area home.
It was within weeks of Mr. Musitano’s death, police say, that Mr. Cudmore flew to Cancun. There, he joined a former prison acquaintance, Daniele Ranieri. Mr. Ranieri – who police considered a person of interest in both the Barberi and Musitano murders – was living under a fake name, and was found dead in March, 2018. He had been tied up and executed, and his body was left in a ditch.
Mr. Cudmore’s family had reported him missing before he, too, was found dead in June, 2020. His body was found in a vehicle abandoned at the side of a rural road. Hamilton Police Service say Mexican authorities confirmed his death was a homicide.
Mr. Tomasetti, who owns a Hamilton-based company called WayV Travel, also flew to Mexico in January, 2018, according to Hamilton Police, who noted that his family has not reported him missing.
The slayings have been part of a surge of mob-related killings linked to the Greater Toronto Area over the past several years, with Hamilton exposed as an epicentre of the region’s organized crime.
In court Tuesday, Ms. Barberi’s parents and sister read out victim impact statements about the loss.
“You may not have been given a life sentence, but we sure have,” her mother said, speaking directly to Mr. Abdalla. “Mila did not deserve to die this way. She, an innocent bystander, was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and definitely with the wrong people.”
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While both Mr. Abdalla and his lawyer, Leora Shemesh, acknowledged the family’s grief and expressed their condolences, they were unequivocal that he was not responsible for the deaths.
“Mr. Abdalla was falsely accused of murder, and today the record has been set straight,” Ms. Shemesh said. “That does not minimize or detract from the very real pain and suffering the Barberi family continues to live through.”
In his sentencing decision, Justice Leitch noted that Mr. Abdalla has already served significant jail time, including many months of “difficult conditions” during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also acknowledged that Mr. Abdalla pleaded guilty, and has shown remorse for his actions.
The judge also addressed the two other men accused in the case.
“I truly hope Daniel Tomassetti faces trial,” Justice Leitch said in court Tuesday. “Michael Cudmore never faced justice for his role in the crimes. I wish he, too, had faced justice in a Canadian courtroom.”