Angelo Musitano was being 'stalked' in the days before he was killed: police

Notorious Hamilton mobster Angelo Musitano was being "stalked" by multiple people in the days before he was gunned down in the driveway of his own home, according to police.

Musitano, 39,was shot in the driveway of his suburban home in Waterdown onMay 2. The gunman was never found, but Canadian mob experts have theorized that the shooting could have been retribution for an incident in Musitano's past.

Lead investigatorDet. Sgt. Peter Thom told reporters Thursday that policebelieve Musitanowas under surveillance from April 27onwards. More than one person was involved, Thom said, and they may have been checking on his lifestyle and habitsleading up to the shooting.

"We do need witnesses in this case," said Thom."We've had a lot of intelligence information, which is good for our purposes, but not necessarily good for prosecutorial evidence down the line."

No motive has yet been uncovered, said Thom.

Musitano's father was Dominic Musitano, a well-known Mafia boss in the city.

Police say the shooting victim had done jail time in connection withthree murders, but that Musitano had been mostly laying low since getting out of jail in 2007.

Musitano andhis brother, Pat Musitano, were charged with first-degree murder in the 1997 shooting of Hamilton crime boss Johnny Papalia and one of his lieutenants, Carmen Barillaro.

They reached a deal with the Crown and pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to commit murder charge in the death of Barillaro. The pair were sentenced to 10 years in jail.

Police previously released security camera video of the car investigators say was used as a getaway vehicle in the murder.

The car a stolenfour-door, 2006 Ford Fusion with rusty wheel rims was later recovered inWaterdown. On Thursday, police released photos of three other vehicles they believe were involved:

• A 2006 to 2011 black, two-door Honda Civic.
• A red 2017 Chevrolet Malibu.
• A grey or blue Infiniti sedan.

Those vehicles were either seen in the area of Musitano'shome on Chesapeake Driveor were spotted on security footage"interacting" with vehicles that had been staking out Musitano, said Thom.

"More than one person was involved in stalking Angelo Musitano, and more than one vehicle was used to accomplish this task."

In the wake of his death, friends shared stories that Musitanohadbecome religious after his time in prison, and had left behindhis old ways.

In a book of collected stories of faith calledI Found Him,Musitanotold his own story, and spokeabout how meeting his wife, starting a family and finding religion changed him.

"During my formative years and while serving [a prison sentence], I saw firsthand the worst of the human condition beatings,stabbingsand murder and it began to have a profound effect on me," he wrote. "I wanted to try to distance myself from my past but on my release it seemed there was only one life for an ex-con. Nobody seemed willing to take a chance on a man with a record."

Thom said despite that supposed change of heart,Musitano'sfamily has not been talking with police.

"Our victim here, who apparently had changed his life around, if he was out of that lifestyle, I would have expected some more co-operation from the family."

Shots were later fired into Pat Musitano'shome in Hamilton in late Junelast year, after his brother was killed.

Thom said there's no "direct evidence" linking the two incidents, but "is there an inference there? I would say there's a good chance."

adam.carter@cbc.ca