By Canadian Press

Man facing deportation to Italy more than two decades after conviction loses stay request

Feb 26, 2019 | 1:22 PM

MONTREAL — A Quebec man convicted more than 20 years ago for his role in a Mafia-linked drug importation will be deported to his native Italy this week barring a last-minute reprieve from Ottawa.

Michele Torre was on the verge of being deported in 2016 before a ministerial reprieve saw that order temporarily stayed.

But authorities again moved to deport him to Italy earlier this year, and a Federal Court judge ruled against a stay request in Montreal today.

His lawyer, Stephane Handfield, argued that Torre should be allowed to stay because his wife has serious health problems.

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Torre, 67, was convicted in 1996 in a cocaine importation conspiracy linked to the Cotroni crime family and served part of a nearly nine-year prison sentence.

He was slated to be deported in late 2016 but was granted a two-year stay. When that expired, a new removal order was issued in January.

The federal government has sought since 2013 to remove Torre, who came to Canada more than 50 years ago, for “serious criminality and organized criminality.”

His lawyer and family have argued it is unfair to deport him so long after his last conviction, which now dates back 23 years.

Torre is slated to leave Canada on Thursday evening.

The Canadian Press