son of former mob boss frank cotroni burns down his brother's house

they are the sons of a man who was once one of the most powerful mob bosses in canada.

but now jimmy cotroni and francesco cotroni find themselves on the opposite ends of a criminal court case where the latter is a victim after his younger brother jimmy torched his home in the laurentians while it was being renovated.jimmy, 49, the son of the late mafia leader frank cotroni, who died at age 72 in 2004, faces the possibility of a lengthy prison term after pleading guilty earlier this year to an arson charge that carries a maximum 14-year sentence. last week, he was scheduled to have a date for the sentencing stage in his case but it was carried over to february next year.in 1976, a report by the quebec police commission on organized crime identified frank, and his brother vic, as the leaders of a powerful mafia family that had dominated canada’s underworld the three previous decades. vic died in 1984 and his brother frank’s influence in the mob lessened as the rizzuto organization took control of the mafia in montreal during the 1980s. among frank’s five sons, it was francesco who appeared to work under his father’s wing the most. both served time in the 1980s for the 1981 murder of a drug dealer. and both were arrested in 1996 after the rcmp uncovered a conspiracy to smuggle 180 kilograms of cocaine into canada and, as a result, ended up receiving prison sentences of at least seven years.jimmy cotroni’s criminal record does not resemble that of his father or older brother. in 2012, he was sentenced to serve 60 days in jail, on a discontinuous basis, and one year of probation, after pleading guilty to drug possession. in 2008 he was fined $200 for the improper storage of a firearm found in a vehicle. and in 2004 he was fined $1,000 for impaired driving. alcohol and drugs have been attributed as the overall cause of the current arson case.

two-storey home a total loss

on oct. 4, 2013, firefighters in ste-adèle were called to the fire, on mont-sauvage rd., but by the time they extinguished the blaze, the two-storey home was a total loss. no one was home at the time because it was undergoing a renovation. at the time, the local fire department was unable to say what might have caused the fire, but the sûreté du québec was called in to investigate and jimmy cotroni was required to make his first appearance at the st-jérôme courthouse near the end of january.he failed to show up for a court date in april and was arrested and detained when he showed up at the courthouse weeks later trying to explain his absence. on may 21, jimmy cotroni’s lawyer, pierre gauthier, told quebec court judge jean jacques gagné that his client failure to show up in court could be blamed on a problem with cocaine and alcohol. the same problem explains the fire, the lawyer added.“it involves a family problem. at the time (jimmy) cotroni had a serious problem with consuming alcohol and crack. he was under the influence of said substances when he arrived at the house — which was under renovation at the time and no one lived there — and started a fire that caused considerable damage, nearly $200,000, the loss of a home under renovation,” gauthier said. “he had a twisted perception of reality at the time he was consuming.”gauthier asked that cotroni be released to a rehabilitation centre in montreal to treat his problems and that a presentencing report be prepared before gagné considers a sentence.as part of his conditions to secure a release, jimmy cotroni is not allowed to communicate with his brother and is required to reside at the rehab centre. he is also not allowed to consume alcohol or drugs.pcherry@montrealgazette.com