Pubdate: Mon, 21 May 2007 Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU) Copyright: 2007 The Gazette, a division of Southam Inc. Contact: http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274 DRUGLORD RELEASED ON PAROLE One of three brothers who headed a major international drug-trafficking ring with Mafia ties is expected to return to Montreal after being granted day parole. As part of his release, Gerlando Caruana, 63, will have to report to a halfway house north of Montreal. He is currently serving a combined sentence of nearly 31 years at a medium-security institution near Kingston, Ont. On July 15, 1998, Caruana was arrested in Montreal while at the same time his brothers Alphonso and Pasquale were being rounded up in Toronto. They were among more than a dozen people arrested as a special police unit ended Project Omerta, a lengthy investigation into the Caruana brothers' drug trafficking. The brothers, in particular Alphonso, have long been described as the heads of one of the largest organized crime families in the world. Pasquale Caruana was paroled in 2003 and Alphonso is being held in custody while he continues to challenge an extradition request from Italy. When he was arrested nine years ago, Gerlando Caruana was on parole while serving a 20-year sentence he had received on March 7, 1986. He had been linked to a $55-million shipment of heroin that was stored at a warehouse in St. Laurent. The 18-year sentence Gerlando Caruana received in 2000 - after pleading guilty to conspiracy to import and traffic in cocaine - was combined with his previous sentence. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek