| abstract | - Paolo Violi was born as one of 7 brothers in Sinopoli, Italy. The family moved to Hamilton, Canada, in the 1950's. Paolo and his brothers soon became affiliated with local gangs and got themselves into a life of crime. In 1955 he murdered a man named Natale Brigante after a dispute. He was charged with manslaughter but escaped conviction after he proved it was in self defense by showing a knife wound he got out of the fight. During the early 1960's Violi went to Montreal and got associated with the Cotroni Family. Frank Cotroni appointed him to lead a counterfeiting ring and to smuggle liquor from Montreal to Ontario. In 1965 he married the daughter of Ontario boss Giacomo Luppino, strengthening the family ties. Fellow Hamilton mobster John Papalia was the godfather to one of Violi's children. During the 1970s he spent more and more time with Vic Cotroni, the family boss, and became his second in command. When Cotroni retired he chose Violi to become his successor.
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