Vito Rizzuto, the erstwhile head of the Sicilian Mafia in Canada and once the most powerful figure in Montreal's underworld, has been released from a U.S. prison in Colorado and is thought to be on his way home, possibly to Toronto.
He was released around 10 a.m. and taken into custody by U.S. immigration agents, who will be deporting him from the country, presumably back to Canada.
Rizzuto completed his sentence for his role in the 1981 murders of three captains of the Bonanno crime family, one of New York's five big Sicilian Mafia clans.
He was arrested in Montreal in 2004 and extradited to the United States, then sentenced to 10 years after pleading guilty to racketeering charges in 2007 stemming from the crime. With credit for time served during his extradition process, Rizzuto was eligible for statutory early release on Friday.
It is believed he will head to Toronto, where he has family.