Vaughan cafe among 11 bars targeted by police for illegal gaming
74 machines, $200,000 in cash seized
The Moka Cafe in Vaughan was the scene of a shooting which left two dead and two injured in June of last year. Police targeted 11 bars and cafes in Toronto, including one in Vaughan, yesterday for illegal gambling.
Vaughan Citizen
By Jeremy Grimaldi
A slew of bars and cafes have had what police say are illegal gambling machines, confiscated during a number of search warrants executed in Toronto and Vaughan on Thursday, according to police.
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In all, 11 cafes — one in Vaughan — which contained illegal gaming machines, were targeted during the seizures, which landed 74 machines and some $200,000 in cash, a combined forces special enforcement probe from RCMP said.
Investigators noted they have noticed a correlation and increase between “acts of violence” and even murders at such establishments.
“The seizure of the illegal gaming machines will have a significant impact on the criminal organizations’ flow of money and operations,” the RCMP press release read.
“Illegal gaming machines are a major source of revenue for organized crime groups and this revenue facilitates further criminal activities that pose a pervasive threat to Canadian communities.”
One of the most recent acts of violence in York that might have been related to gambling was the shooting at Vaughan’s Moka Cafe, which left two dead and two seriously injured.
It came out after the shooting that the Islington Road and Hwy. 7 venue was an illegal gambling den.
Mob expert Antonio Nicaso has in the past explained to yorkregion.com that it’s common knowledge on the street that the ‘Ndrangheta is buying up small cafes and bars and running gambling businesses out of them.
One private residence was also targeted, police added.
The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU), involving a number of different police forces, including York Regional Police, said the following bars were involved in the search warrants:
Via Consenza Bar Café, 14 MacKay Ave., Toronto
1248 Cafe, 1248 St. Clair Ave. W, Toronto
Capri Café, 1703 St. Clair Ave. W, Toronto
York Centre Café, 2408 Dufferin St., Toronto
Azzurri Social Club, 2184 Eglinton Ave. W, Toronto
Per Tutti Café, 1988 Eglinton Ave. W, Toronto
Tre-Sette Social Club, 1974 Eglinton Ave. W, Toronto
In Tre Café, 351 Marlee Ave., Toronto
Cafe 513, 513 Marlee Ave., Toronto
Prima Tazza Sports Bar, 1310 St. Clair Ave. W, TorontoN
Cafe Corretto, 120 Winges Rd., Vaughan