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Mafia: Most Wanted on Netflix tells the stories of gangsters who lived large, broke rules, and often paid the price. Among them was Paul "The Fox" Volpe, a Toronto mobster whose life was as happening as it was dangerous.
Volpe was once one of the most talked-about crime personalities in Canada, linked with the Buffalo crime family and feared by rivals. In 1983, he was killed, and his body was found in the back of his wife's car.
Here's a look at Volpe, his life, and how it was taken away from him, as seen on Mafia: Most Wanted.
The rise of Paul Volpe and his unusual place in the Mafia, as told on Netflix's Mafia: Most Wanted
Here's a fun-fact: Paul Volpe's journey into the crime world did not start with violence but with scams. He was born in Toronto in 1927 to Italian immigrant parents, and due to the immigration history of his family, he had no choice but to grow up in difficult surroundings and learn early how to make the most of what was given to him.
However, the hustling did not take him too far. In the late 1950s, he was knee-deep into fraud schemes and linking with mobsters from Hamilton and Toronto. Over the course of time, he started to become more connected with the Buffalo crime family, gaining his influence with gambling and construction rackets.
What made Volpe's story stand out in Mafia: Most Wanted wasn't just his quick hustling ability to make money but the way he lived. He didn't stick to the typical mob lifestyle of keeping a low profile.
Instead, what was interesting is that he built a Tudor-style mansion he called Fox Hill, flew a massive Canadian flag on the lawn, and even had appearances in TV documentaries. In the secretive Mafia world, this was risky behavior.
Volpe also surrounded himself with dangerous people. He and his gang ran everything from jewel heists to crooked card games, and he built a reputation for being clever, ambitious, and sometimes reckless.
To outsiders, he appeared to be a man who had it all, but within mob circles, he was always seen as somewhat of an outsider, and it is exactly that reputation that would one day work against him.
Betrayal, revenge, and the final act of Paul Volpe
As much as Mafia: Most Wanted showed us all of his ambition, it also showed us what happens when loyalty breaks down. By the early 1980s, Volpe had made too many enemies.
He had cheated rivals in real estate, created trouble with union contracts, and allowed talks to spread that he was cooperating and was in the hands of the police. Now, in the underworld, even a hint of betrayal could mean a death sentence.
The Commisso brothers, who were powerful mobsters in Toronto, once even put out a contract to end Volpe's life, as they hired a hit-man named Cecil Kirby. That plan, however, fell apart when Kirby turned out to be an informant, but it proved just how badly so many people wanted him dead and gone.
Volpe also rubbed American mobsters the wrong way, especially after investing in Atlantic City real estate without cutting others' profits. By this time, he was truly roaming around the streets as a marked man.
On November 13, 1983, Volpe suddenly vanished after leaving a cafe in Woodbridge with his driver. The next day, his body was found in the back of his wife's BMW at Pearson International Airport. He had been shot twice in the head. The message was clear about how his life of double-crossing mobsters had finally caught up with him.
Even today, his murder remains unsolved. Some believe one of his associates, named Enio Mora, helped lure him to his death. Others point fingers at hit men or other mob bosses, who may have ordered the killing over debts.
Paul Volpe's greed, boldness, and willingness to break Mafia codes ultimately led him to one of the coldest ends in Canada's mob history.
Paul Volpe's story is a reminder of how unforgiving the mob world can be. He rose in ranks, living in the spotlight when most mobsters preferred the shadows, but his daring personality made him a target from all sides.
In Mafia: Most Wanted, his legacy stands out as both fascinating and tragic, and as a man who built power in Toronto but couldn't escape the enemies he made along the way. His death remains one of Canada's most notorious unsolved Mafia murders.
Stay tuned to SoapCentral for more.
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