IANIERO
IANNETTA
IANNI
IANNRELLA
IANNUCCI
IANIERO o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2006-03-07 published
Family says farewell to slain couple
'You shouldn't have to defend your name,' niece says, reacting
to Mexican allegations
By Jeff GRAY/GREY with a report from Timothy
APPLEBY and Canadian
PRESS,
Page A9
Woodbridge, Ontario -- At a funeral in front of hundreds of mourners,
the grieving niece of the suburban Toronto couple found slain
in their Mexican hotel room said her uncle should not have to
defend his name from beyond the grave.
"At this time, you shouldn't have to defend your name," Rosanna
IANIERO said in a eulogy at St. Clare of Assisi Church in Woodbridge,
addressing the late Domenico
IANIERO. "… There is only goodness
attached to it."
Her remarks, made in a brief, emotional speech about the
IANIEROs,
grandparents from Woodbridge whom she described as loving and
caring, appeared meant to respond to reports that Mexican investigators
have suggested the victims may have had links to "illicit activities."
On February 20, Mr.
IANIERO, a 59-year-old real-estate agent,
and his 55-year-old wife, Annunziata, were found with their throats
slit at an upscale Mayan Riviera resort near Cancun where their
daughter, Lily, was to have married on the beach.
While initially suspecting two Canadian women staying at the
hotel, Mexican investigators have shifted their focus to the
family and to people who knew the victims. York Regional Police
have been asked by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who are
working with Mexican authorities, to assist in the investigation,
and say they hope to start interviewing the 16-member wedding
party today. Others may be questioned as well.
As recently as Friday, Mexican lead prosecutor Bello Melchor
Rodriguez y Carrillo suggested that the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police had said "the slain person had ties with illicit activities."
The Mounties have said they have no evidence to link Mr. and
Mrs. IANIERO to organized crime.
Yesterday began with a ceremony at a funeral home. Outside, as
pallbearers prepared to lift the two wooden coffins into waiting
hearses, two white doves were released from a wicker basket to
symbolize the couple's souls ascending to heaven, followed by
the release of two dozen more doves meant to symbolize their
Friends and family.
Later, outside the large, recently constructed church, more than
a dozen television cameras and newspaper photographers with stepstools
and telephoto lenses captured mourners as they arrived.
More than 300 people filed into the church for the hour-long
service. The immediate family sat up front. son Anthony
IANIERO,
who spoke to the media after the killings, and his wife were
the first to take communion.
The couple's niece, a slender blond woman in a black dress and
the only direct member of the family to speak at the ceremony,
said that the
IANIEROs "dedicated their lives to the well-being
of their children" and touched many lives with their kindness.
"They loved nothing more than to be in a room filled with music,
laughter and the people they cared about," she said.
She described her aunt as an angel, her voice cracking: "I will
never forget how you loved my son… as though he was your own."
The slain couple, married for 37 years, had been "graceful" when
they danced. They both had been born in Italy but met in Canada
in 1964 after their families immigrated. They were married in
1968, and had one son and three daughters.
During the service, Reverend John
BOREAN alluded to the tragic nature
of the couple's deaths, and urged mourners to remember the Christian
ideal of forgiveness.
"I think we need to put forgiveness in our hearts for those people
who would have committed such a crime," he said, adding that
the criminals must be prevented from killing again.
Outside the church, however, many said the path to reconciliation
would be difficult to forge.
"We really celebrate the lives of two people today, but hopefully
one day we'll also celebrate justice," Liberal member of Parliament
Maurizio BEVILACQUA, who represents the riding of Vaughan, where
Woodbridge is located, said after the service.
There has been intense scrutiny of the Mexican authorities' handling
of the case. Witnesses: at the Barcelo Maya Beach Resort at the
time of the killing have raised concerns about the professionalism
of the Mexican police, some alleging that the crime scene was
contaminated. Mexican authorities had suggested two Thunder Bay
women were the killers, but no longer see them as suspects, sources
say.
Peter Van Loan, parliamentary secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister
Peter MacKay, attended the funeral and told reporters he was
satisfied with the investigation's progress.
York
Police
Inspector Les
YOUNG, who attended the funeral in
uniform, said the family is anxious to speak with police about
the case. "They're very concerned about the rumours and innuendoes,"
he said.
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IANIERO o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2006-03-07 published
600 mourn Woodbridge couple
Four employees of resort are now considered suspects
By Linda DIEBEL in Toronto with files from Gail
SWAINSON and
Jim WILKES
The victims can't speak for themselves and so, yesterday, the
most poignant moment at the funeral of Dominic and Nancy
IANIERO
came when their niece spoke for them.
"At this time, you should not have to defend your name because
you can rest proud behind (the name of)
IANIERO," said Rosana
IANIERO, standing before their coffins and struggling to hold
back tears.
Her meaning was clear. There was an audible sigh among more than
600 mourners, packed into St. Clare of Assisi Catholic church
in Woodbridge and spilling over from pews to standing room only.
Since the couple was murdered at a deluxe resort on the Mayan
Riviera two weeks ago, the case has been mired in speculation
in Mexico about ties to organized crime. The top prosecutor in
the state of Quintana Roo leapt to the early conclusion that
the double murder was a "professional hit" by Canadian women,
his investigation has seemed disorganized and leaks have flowed
almost daily from his office.
But maybe Bello Melchor Rodriguez, attorney-general of Quintana
Roo, has changed his mind. Although he told a state legislative
committee Friday that two Thunder Bay women remain his prime
suspects, other leads appear to be surfacing.
Yesterday, a Quintana Roo newspaper reported that police now
consider four hotel employees as suspects because they haven't
shown up for work at the Barcelo Maya Beach Resort since February
20, the day the
IANIEROs were found in their room, their throats
slashed.
Rodriguez had quickly ruled out robbery as a motive, saying their
room was in disarray but nothing was stolen. Over the past week,
however, several tourists and a travel agent have contacted the
Toronto Star to cite problems with security at the Barcelo Maya
and to ask why Rodriguez was so sure that Mexicans, including
hotel employees, were not involved.
Reports posted on a travellers' website described a broken lock
on terrace doors at the hotel, problems with safes and one room
key that turned out to be a master key for the entire resort.
Wrote one reader: "Has it occurred to anybody that this was a
robbery gone wrong?"
Whatever the outcome of the shifting police investigation, the
damage has been done to the grieving family and its name.
And there is more stress to come.
The IANIEROs had travelled to Mexico, along with 16 family members
and Friends, for the planned beachside nuptials of their daughter,
Lily. While York Region police officers allowed breathing space
for the funeral, Insp. Les
YOUNG said police will begin today
to talk with members of the wedding party who, by all accounts,
were not questioned before leaving Mexico by Quintana Roo state
police.
YOUNG declined to say what police are looking for in wedding
party interviews, saying "it's a little soon for that. But we
will deal with the facts and reality, not rumours and speculation,
as we do in any investigation."
He attended the funeral, while 12 York police officers made up
a security detail and honour guard. He added that the family
has information it wants to share with Canadian police but he
didn't elaborate.
York police had been asked to join the investigation by Interpol,
acting at the request of Mexican authorities. York Police Chief
Armand LA BARGE said two detectives were in Ottawa yesterday,
gathering information to help focus their probe.
But yesterday at St. Clare's church, it was a time to remember
Nancy, 55, and her husband, Dominic, 59. Born in Italy, they
met and courted in Canada and would have celebrated their 38th
wedding anniversary on July 13 with their four adult children
Rosina, Anthony and twins Lily and Nancy -- and their grandchildren.
At the funeral, with the couple lying in dark and gleaming caskets,
Rosana IANIERO talked about "how special they were, how very
loved by so many." She added that "we can all cherish the way
Dominic and Nancy touched our lives."
She described her aunt and uncle as a "wonderful, kind couple"
who "dedicated their lives" to their children.
The four
IANIERO children sat with heads bowed. Before the service,
they had followed the long, slow wheeling of the caskets down
an aisle, Anthony carrying a single photograph. One friend described
him as "completely destroyed" by his parents' murder.
"Everybody says we lost an angel," said Rosana about her aunt.
She said of her uncle: "I will never forget how you loved us
all."
In his sermon, Father John
BOREAN sought to offer peace. Death
always brings sorrow, he said, and then referring to the couple
by their Italian names, he added, "and especially death as tragic
as this one for Dominico and Annunziata."
However, he stressed that they had been baptized in their faith
and would, on the Day of Resurrection, be restored to eternal
life. He urged the family not to think that God had forsaken
them. "Over and over again, God has told us, 'You are my creation.
You are special.'"
Although "we are all crying," he urged people to "have forgiveness
for the people who have committed such a crime." And he told
the IANIERO family to "take care of each other and love each
other."
As the funeral procession made its way to the cemetery, politicians
in Vaughan (which includes Woodbridge) passed a motion yesterday,
calling on Ottawa and Queen's Park to "play an active role" in
the investigation in Mexico.
Quintana Roo authorities passed on a request for assistance in
the investigation to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police last week,
through Interpol. However, it's still unclear how involved Canadian
police officers will be on the ground.
LA BARGE said it hasn't been decided if any of his detectives
will go to Mexico. And the Royal Canadian Mounted Police hasn't
determined whether more Mounties will be dispatched to help the
single liaison officer already in Mexico.
"It's an active investigation in Canada right now but I can't
say more than that," said Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt.
Martin BLAIS.
In Quintana Roo, Gov. Felex Gonzalez Canto told reporters the
case must be resolved "quickly, efficiently and with transparency."
Denying there has been a cover-up to protect tourism, he added:
"Our tourist image is important but, above all, we have to signal
to the world that, in Quintana Roo, no crime against tourists
will go unpunished."
That's the hope of Vaughan Region Councillor Joyce
FRUSTAGLIO,
who sees it as a "moral obligation" to push the federal and provincial
governments to get involved. "We need to let the
IANIERO family
know we are here to support them."
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IANNETTA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2006-03-31 published
DI MARCO,
Francesca
It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Francesca
DI MARCO on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 at the age of 85. Francesca
arrived in Canada in 1953 with her 6 children to join her husband
Antonio who had arrived before her in preparation of a new start
in Canada. Together they raised a loving family of 10 children.
Her love, devotion, strength and determination will forever be
remembered and will always remain a guiding light for us. Loving
wife to Antonio, devoted mother to Rosie and Paul
MILITELLO,
Russ and Sarah DI
MARCO,
Josie and Jim
GROOM, Mary and Steve
VERNOLA, Sally and John
IANNETTA, Lina DI
CARLO, John DI
MARCO,
Tony (predeceased) and Frank (predeceased); grandmother to Mimmo
and Yvonne, Anthony and Josie, Francine and Tony, Joanne, Marisa,
Francesca, Katherine and Anthony, Stephen and Adriano, Giancarlo,
Christina, Julian, Barbara (predeceased), and a legacy to many
great grandchildren. Family and Friends may call at the Turner and
Porter "Peel" Chapel, 2180 Hurontario Street, Mississauga (Hwy. 10
North of Queen Elizabeth Way) from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, and 2-4 and
7-9 p.m. Friday. Funeral Mass to be held at St. Catherine of
Siena Church, 2340 Hurontario Street, on Saturday, April 1, 2006
at 10 a.m. Entombment Glen Oaks Memorial Gardens. If desired,
memorial donations may be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
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IANNI o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2006-12-19 published
CARRIÈRE,
Marylyn
R.
(HILL)
At her home in Birr, Ontario surrounded by her loving family
and Friends, Marylyn R.
(HILL)
CARRIÈRE, formerly of Sault Ste. Marie,
in the arms of her loving husband René, on Monday, December 18,
2006 in her 60th year. Proud and loving mother of their son Jeromy
and his special wife Jeannie of Boston. Doting Grammie of Julia
and Nathan. Dear sister-in-law of Lillianne and Doug
KING,
Pauline
MYKULAK and Claude and Kelly
CARRIÈRE all of Thunder Bay. Missed
by cousins Doctor Charles and Jeanne
SMITH of England and Irja and
Art DEWAR and Harold
SALMINEN all of Sault. Ste. Marie. Also
missed by several nieces and nephews. Cherished lifelong friend
of Brian Middleton and his special partner Carl McLuhan of British
Columbia, very dearest friend of Frank and Mary
IANNI of Sault
Ste. Marie, buddy and confidant of Sherri Jo King of England
and special new friend of Terry and Eileen
HORTH of Birr. Predeceased
by her parents Lily and Ernie
HILL and her mother and father-in-law
Jeanne and Archille
CARRIÈRE.
Friends may call at Saint_John the
Divine Anglican Church, Arva from 11: 30 a.m. until the time of
a memorial service which will be held on Saturday, January 6th
at 1 p.m. with The Rev. Wendy
MURRAY officiating. Inurnment Saint_John
the Divine Columbarium. Donations to Saint_John the Divine Anglican
Church, Arva, or Middlesex Elgin Victorian Order of Nurses Palliative
Care would be appreciated by the family. Condolences may be forwarded
through www.haskettfh.com. Arrangements entrusted to C. Haskett
and son Funeral Home, Lucan, 1-877-227-4211. Book of Proverbs 31: 10-31
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IANNRELLA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2006-07-15 published
Four homicides, one long night
Police chase leads in garage slaying of man, woman
Other victims are man who was shot, Brampton mother
By Thulasi
SRIKANTHAN,
Meghan
HURLEY and Betsy
POWELL, Staff
Reporters with files from Jim
WILKES
Virgilo CUEVAS often used the garage of his home for refuge,
and to smoke -- and that's where he and a female "acquaintance"
were shot dead, leaving Toronto police searching for a motive
and the killers.
"We're still working on a couple of theories, but there's nothing
concrete that I can say yet," homicide Det. Wayne
FOWLER said
yesterday.
CUEVAS, 31, and a 56-year-old woman were found lying on the concrete
floor of the attached garage of a house near Steeles Ave. E.
and Markham Rd. on Wednesday night. Police were waiting to notify
next of kin yesterday before releasing the woman's identity.
Meanwhile, police on the other side of Toronto were investigating
the Wednesday evening slaying of a man in his 40s, and Peel Region
police were probing the death of a 31-year-old mother of two
whose body was found early yesterday.
A man identified by Friends as Gerald
McDONALD may have been
killed over the cash he was carrying when he was shot in an apartment
building on Weston Rd. near Eglinton Ave. W., a friend speculated.
"He had $1,700 in his pocket. Maybe someone knew that he cashed
his cheque and that he had this money," said Nancy
IANNRELLA,
owner of Nancy's Bar and Grill, next to the apartment.
McDONALD had been released from jail just two hours before he
was killed, she said, and had dropped into the bar before going
to cash the cheque.
Police were called to the building at about 7: 23 p.m. Wednesday
after someone reported hearing gunshots.
The victim died in hospital yesterday.
About 90 minutes later, in Scarborough,
CUEVAS' wife, Maria,
found her husband and his friend after she drove up to the house
around 8: 45 p.m. Wednesday.
The garage door was partly open, and when she drove in she could
see one of the bodies,
FOWLER said.
She then went inside, where the couples' three young children
were with their grandparents.
FOWLER said no one in the house is a suspect.
CUEVAS was home all day and had gone on his own into the garage,
where he was joined by the woman.
"The purpose of her visit, I don't know,"
FOWLER said. She doesn't
live nearby and was driven to the address. The wife knows "her
husband's friend" by sight.
There was no romantic relationship, he added.
witnesses: described two men, of Asian or Filipino descent --
as were the victims -- wearing light-coloured jackets or jerseys
running away from the scene.
No firearms were located.
The wife's father, who asked not to be identified, said he saw
his distraught daughter early yesterday morning.
The only thing she would say was that her husband was gone. "That's
all," her father said. "She was crying really hard."
The children do not really know what is going on, he said. Two
of them are staying with him. "They are sad, they cannot sleep."
Neighbours say they often saw the children running around the
red-brick home, cycling and spending time with their father in
the backyard, where they often barbecued.
Yesterday, a shiny blue bicycle with training wheels sat on the
freshly cut lawn.
"Nothing like this ever happened on this street before," said
Darrell RUBIO, who has lived there for three years. He said the
family held a lot of parties, and there were always people coming
in and out.
Rayne DOOKIE was in her home relaxing when she thought she heard
a loud noise.
"I heard a shot. I thought it was a car backfiring." She said
she quickly dismissed it because she couldn't imagine anything
like a murder happening in their quiet neighbourhood.
Councillor Raymond
CHO was going door-to-door in his ward to
reassure citizens.
"I was totally frustrated, shocked and angry, because this is
a good community," he said.
Meanwhile, Peel Region saw its fourth homicide this year with
the death of Malena
MORALES, whose body was found in a 12th-floor
Brampton apartment early yesterday.
Police found
MORALES's body showing "obvious signs of trauma"
when they responded to a call at about 2 a.m., said Const. Jennifer
BRYER.
Homicide detectives sealed off the building, on Steeles Ave. W.
near Hurontario Street, and officers canvassed other residents throughout
the day.
Residents said the woman lived with a man and two children, but
it was not known whether she was married.
Two boys, a 10-year-old and his younger brother, were being cared
for by relatives as police searched for a male suspect.
"This used to be a good building," said a woman who has lived
there 16 years.
"But it's been going downhill for the last year or so. There
have been a lot of drugs and dealers and the police have been
here many times."
An autopsy is planned today at the Centre of Forensic Sciences
in Toronto.
The gunning-down of the man Friends called
McDONALD, whom police
have not officially identified, makes him the fifth homicide
victim killed somewhere along Weston Rd. in just a few months.
On July 2, a 25-year-old man was gunned down outside a bar on
Weston south of Rogers Rd.
Three men tried to steal the money being collected at the club's
front door, police said. A second victim caught in the crossfire
was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
On June 13, police found Clive
McNABB, 39, stabbed to death in
his Weston Rd. and Eglinton Ave. W. apartment, just steps from
the scene of Wednesday's shooting.
A week before
McNABB's death, 22-year-old Gabriel
JARAMILLO was
shot dead in the area around Weston Rd. and Lawrence Ave. E.
Peyton BADIRU, 26, has been charged with second-degree murder
in that case.
And at the end of March, Romaine
LAWRENCE, 18, was killed when
bullets tore through the window of a pizza parlour at Weston
Rd. and Eglinton Ave. W.
"We've been directing our resources along that stretch of Weston
Rd.,"
Staff
Sgt. Gary
MULHOLLAND, of 12 Division, said in response
to a question about the cluster of homicides.
"Over the past few years we've had initiatives to lower violence
and we will continue to do so."
MULHOLLAND said that while it is "unsettling for the neighbourhood,"
the violence mostly seems related to activities of criminals
in the area. "It's not just the average citizen walking down
the street."
That's little comfort to
McDONALD's bar-owner friend, since he
was shot steps away from where she works.
Someone came running into the bar screaming to call the police
after the shooting,
IANNRELLA said.
She was working when it happened and saw the victim in the hallway
when she went upstairs.
"I can't sleep because I'm in such shock because it happened
in my neighbourhood,"
IANNRELLA said.
"I know when I go home in the night I get scared."
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IANNUCCI o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2006-01-18 published
ACORN,
Les
Royal Canadian Legion Member, Branch 345. Suddenly on Sunday,
January 15th, 2006, in his 88th year. Beloved husband of Doreen.
Loving father of Sharon, Nancy and her husband Charlie
BANAVAGE,
and Cindy and her husband Mike
IANNUCCI.
Proud
Grandpa of Jason,
Jessica, Sinclair and Dean. Les will be fondly remembered by
his brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and his many Friends.
Friends may call at Pine Hills Visitation, Chapel and Reception
Centre (625 Birchmount Rd., Scarborough, south of Eglinton, 416-267-8229),
on Friday, January 20th, from 12 p.m. until time of funeral service
at 1 p.m. Cremation. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Heart
and Stroke Foundation or to a charity of your choice would be
appreciated by the family.
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IANNUCCI o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2006-04-15 published
SCOZZIERO,
Maria
Rosa
Peacefully at home on Wednesday April 12, 2006. Maria Rosa
SCOZZIERO,
dearly beloved wife of Sergio. Loving mother of Walter, Denise
and her husband Christopher
SPATAFORA and Vivian and her husband
Rick IANNUCCI. Cherished grandmother of Michael, Natalie, Laura,
Julia and Liana. Loving sister of Lina
BRESSANUTTI of Toronto
and Angelo and his wife
Clelia DE
PAULIS,
Marisa and her husband
Orazio MARCHETTI,
Mirella and her husband Sergio DE
TINA and
Nino Mario and his wife
Ines DE
PAULIS all of Italy. Maria Rosa
will be lovingly remembered and sadly missed by her nieces, nephews,
cousins, family and Friends. Family and Friends will be received
at the Demarco Funeral Home "Keele Chapel" 3725 Keele St. 416-636-7027
(between Sheppard and Finch Aves.) on Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m.
and Sunday from 7 to 9 p.m. Funeral Mass will be celebrated on
Monday at 9: 30 a.m. in Saint_Jane Frances Roman Catholic Church
(2747 Jane St.) Entombment to follow at Beechwood Mausoleum.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation
or Sisters of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Missions (2700 Jane St.)
would be appreciated by the family.
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