Dark Side of the Ring 2x6

1. Dino Bravo was an icon in Quebec. He was an idol.

2. Bravo!

3. I'm proud of my heritage!

4. He was big, he was strong. He could bench-press 500 pounds.

5. He had the size and he had the weight.

6. He was really like the Hulk Hogan of Montreal.

7. Dino appears to be in great physical condition.

8. - I mean, he could do no wrong. - I feel at my best

9. - when I enter the squared circle. - Can't turn your back on Dino Bravo!

10. Dino Bravo combined relentless ambition with a fiery intensity

11. that made him a superstar in Montreal, Quebec,

12. and saw him wrestle the biggest names in the WWF.

13. He did work with Hogan.

14. - He did work with Ultimate Warrior. - Look at this!

15. Did you see that power move by Dino Bravo?

16. With Dino Bravo, either he liked you or he doesn't like you.

17. He loved to live dangerously.

18. He thought nothing could touch him.

19. For me, the word "Mafia" scared me.

20. I said, "I don't know if you're doing

21. the right thing," but it's not for me to judge what he did.

22. His world was the wrestling world.

23. It wasn't the organized crime world. He screwed up!

24. Analysis of the scene allowed for the recovery of.22

25. and.380 caliber bullet casings, fired from two automatic weapons.

26. On this episode, we'll examine the tragic consequences

27. when a wrestling enforcer is pushed out of the spotlight and into crime.

28. Let it be a lesson for everybody, me included, that everybody's touchable.

29. On March 10th, 1993, the family of Dino Bravo came home

30. and discovered his dead body.

31. Police said he had been struck by 11 bullets.

32. Within days, rumors began to surface

33. that it was a Mafia-style execution.

34. Thirty years later, Dino's unsolved murder

35. remains one of wrestling's darkest mysteries.

36. Those closest to him have never spoken openly

37. about what led him down such a dangerous path, until now.

38. My father was the spark of the family,

39. he brought everyone together.

40. When I look at pictures of him, I remember his voice.

41. So, I look at them often.

42. I'm Claudia Bresciano, the daughter of Dino Bravo.

43. He would bring me into the locker room,

44. with all the wrestlers, I was just little.

45. It was really impressive for me because they were really big.

46. They had some pretty spectacular costumes

47. with sparkles and others with masks.

48. It's my favorite. I never want to give him a kiss,

49. and when he gave me a kiss, I was always, like, swiping,

50. so he said, "Okay, give me a kiss with your nose."

51. Dino Bravo, that was his wrestler's name,

52. because his real name is Adolfo Bresciano.

53. My name is Diane Rivest, I live in Montreal.

54. I met him where I was working, in a bar.

55. And the manager of the place, who also knew boxing and wrestling,

56. was in love with Dino and he always told me

57. when I got there, "Dino's coming, Dino's coming,"

58. and I would say, "Who is Dino?"

59. Weighing 230 pounds, Dino Bravo!

60. I was barely 19,

61. and so he offered to drive me home.

62. So that's kind of how the story started.

63. My name is Patric Laprade.

64. I'm a wrestling historian.

65. I first started watching wrestling when I was six years old

66. and Dino was just that superhero to me.

67. He was big, he was strong, full of muscle.

68. He was really like an action figure come to life.

69. In the early '80s, Montreal's International Wrestling

70. is the leading promotion in Quebec, and Dino Bravo is its premier star.

71. We had almost two million people watching the TV on Sunday morning.

72. It was very, very big.

73. My name is Tony Mule, and I was a wrestling promoter

74. from 1971 to 1986.

75. During International Wrestling, we had Rick Martel, King Tonga.

76. We had Raymond Rougeau, Jacques Rougeau, and the Giant.

77. But listen, Dino Bravo, he was the biggest star here in the '80s.

78. Dino Bravo was very hard to get to be friends with,

79. but once you were, he stood by you, he had your back.

80. That's what I liked about Dino.

81. My name is Gino Brito.

82. I'm not wrestling now, but I started wrestling

83. in 1961, so I think I know a bit

84. about wrestling.

85. Well, Dino Bravo, he was more than a friend. He was almost family.

86. Other wrestlers saw us getting into the arena, me, Gino and Dino.

87. "Oh, here's the Italian connection."

88. With his two business partners by his side,

89. Dino isn't just International Wrestling's top draw,

90. he's also co-owner and matchmaker.

91. Dino was the boss here of the company in Quebec.

92. And we were like superstars in our own home,

93. in our own province, and Dino created all that.

94. Maybe give us a introduction of who you are.

95. Do you know who I am? I'm The Mountie!

96. The Mountie!

97. My name is Jacques Rougeau. I've been wrestling for 41 years.

98. But, Dino Bravo, I've known him

99. since I was 18 years old.

100. Dino was the booker. It's like when you watch a sitcom

101. on TV, they have storylines.

102. Well, the booker creates the storyline.

103. Dino, how was it to have that packed house behind you

104. - during that main event? - And he created himself.

105. He beat everybody when they came in

106. and he worked around his image and his future.

107. The fans here, obviously, solidly behind Dino Bravo.

108. I think he was so passionate, he was so hungry for wrestling,

109. that he just wanted to become more and more famous.

110. Over my shoulder, the belt emblematic

111. of the International Heavyweight Wrestling Championship.

112. This belt, worn so proudly,

113. for four of the last five years by, of course, the great Dino Bravo.

114. - One, two, three! - Casting himself as

115. the main attraction doesn't always sit well with the other wrestlers,

116. especially those looking to make a name for themselves.

117. He'd book himself a main event, and he'd put my brother

118. and I in a third or fourth match before intermission.

119. But in my head, I was a main eventer. There wasn't always sunshine

120. between me and Dino. I wanted his spot. He was the boss.

121. Me being unhappy, Pat Patterson and Vince were calling me.

122. They said, "Would you like to join the WWF?"

123. I said, "I don't know. It's a jungle out there.

124. Do I want to go out alone, in that jungle?"

125. As part of its plan for global dominance,

126. the emerging WWF

127. set its sights on Montreal

128. and is intent on poaching the town's top stars.

129. It was unheard of to have wrestlers make the kind of money

130. Vince McMahon could make these people.

131. By the '90s, it was a new wave, something new.

132. It was fun

133. to see Hacksaw Jim Duggan... and Koko B. Ware with his birds,

134. and it was "Ooh, yeah," with Miss Elizabeth.

135. It was an era that came and just... It was fun to watch.

136. Welcome to WrestleMania III!

137. Vince is a very intelligent individual

138. and he knew that he needed Dino Bravo on board

139. if he really wanted to draw good crowds in Montreal,

140. and, in 1985, early 1986,

141. there was a big match that was teased here in Montreal.

142. It was a dream match. Hulk Hogan against Dino Bravo.

143. That would have been a match

144. you could have put in the Olympic Stadium

145. and draw at least 40,000 people, and it never materialized.

146. They got scared that Dino Bravo would actually be

147. more popular than Hulk Hogan in Montreal

148. and, at the last minute, just decided to cancel the match.

149. So, Dino was not happy with WWF and decided to actually

150. try to bring International Wrestling to a level of popularity

151. where they could actually compete with WWF.

152. He was in a mood where, "I'm not gonna let him ruin my business."

153. He was fooling himself, and there's nothing that he could have done

154. to match what WWF was coming with.

155. Despite Dino's blind ambition,

156. International Wrestling is no match for the WWF's showmanship.

157. He's outclassed in almost every single way.

158. Now, either you get out of the way, or you compete against an elephant.

159. When I left to go to WWF, I did what I had to do,

160. and my dad and Dino, they both begged me,

161. I swear to God, begged me, "Don't go!

162. Don't go, because if you go,

163. the WWF's gonna come in here and kill everybody."

164. It was too late, the damage was done.

165. The talent all went to Vince.

166. The Rougeaus worked for Vince. Martel, Tonga, everybody went there.

167. Once your talent's gone, you can't eat. And that was it.

168. It was a downfall, I think, that you couldn't avoid.

169. Yes, at certain moments, he had his frustrations with the WWF.

170. And obviously, he was questioning himself.

171. He didn't really know where to go, he didn't know what he wanted to do.

172. By the end of 1986,

173. Dino Bravo's once thriving company is on life support.

174. Now, he must decide whether to continue

175. to fight for his independence or to side with the enemy.

176. This photo's from when he got the championship title

177. from International Wrestling

178. and I think he was very proud, you can see it in his face.

179. I can do the same pose with the magazine like it's a wrestling belt.

180. A joke, off record, please.

181. In order to support his family, Dino Bravo must decide

182. if he can let go of his pride and join the opposition,

183. Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation.

184. Like all Italians, the head

185. of the family has to represent the family,

186. to support the family, to protect the family.

187. So, he was looking to take care of his family

188. and Vince McMahon offered Dino money that Dino couldn't refuse.

189. It was something like $300,000 guaranteed,

190. and with everything else, he could've made over a million,

191. something that he could have not dreamed of doing

192. if he would have stayed in Montreal.

193. And I think Dino came to his senses and he came to WWF.

194. And that was funny 'cause when he walked in the room,

195. "Hey, how you doing, Dino? See?

196. You did the same move we did." But, there was never animosity.

197. It was almost like when Dino came, he put that behind him

198. and he says, "Okay, let's move."

199. I remember when he was in the WWF.

200. I met Jake the Snake, he came to the house, on our porch.

201. He brought his bag with his enormous snake,

202. which came out.

203. And then, no, I think I started crying, because I was really scared.

204. But, he started laughing. My dad, when there was anything that

205. had to do with emotions or intensity, it got a reaction out of him.

206. It was like a new life as a wrestler, a whole new step for his career.

207. To make a French-Canadian strongman fit

208. within the cartoon world of the WWF, Dino was paired

209. with one of American wrestling's most iconic personalities.

210. Can you tell us who Jimmy Hart is?

211. My God. The best man in the business.

212. Some managers took credibility from their boys.

213. Jimmy was the guy who knew how to give credibility to his wrestler.

214. Look at him. Look how strong he is.

215. I went to the ring, I was a baritone. I came out, I was a soprano.

216. He's the world's strongest man, I guarantee it.

217. The wrestler was the Cadillac.

218. We were the hood ornament on a Cadillac.

219. He was in great shape, man. He could go 30-minute matches.

220. He could go against Hogan, André the Giant or any of them.

221. It was a big man's territory, and he had the size and weight.

222. By being with me, it put a rocket on his career.

223. And all of a sudden, he started moving up the card a little.

224. Of course, when you make a lot of money, your lifestyle goes up,

225. and he had the Mercedes,

226. that big million-dollar house. He had this, he had that.

227. We had our houses built at the same time.

228. That's how we got to be next to each other.

229. I asked him, "Why a house, a big house in Laval?"

230. There was a garage with a red car.

231. He brought me to the garage and told me, "That right there is your car."

232. And I will remember that for the rest of my life. I was 4 years old.

233. I think he wanted to show

234. that he was succeeding in terms of his career, you know?

235. Not for the public, but, deep down,

236. I think it was a personal satisfaction

237. for him to wanna have more.

238. Dino's lavish new lifestyle comes at a cost.

239. As Vince McMahon makes radical changes to his character.

240. From all-round Canadian hero,

241. to an anti-American bleach blond villain.

242. For someone unfamiliar, how would you describe who Vince McMahon is?

243. That's a question I didn't expect.

244. Vince likes to test the boys who stick up to him.

245. You don't see an Italian with blond hair,

246. you know, not in Quebec.

247. I'm not a hairdresser, but we tried, and we bleached his hair,

248. and we even burned his skin because the bleach was so strong,

249. so then he became mean and blond.

250. So, it really wasn't nice to look at, it was like a mop on his head.

251. Everybody thought it was funny when he came in with blond hair.

252. And then Dino was pissed. It was 'cause Dino's a very proud guy.

253. He was embarrassed. He had to do it because that's what they wanted.

254. That's the difference, when you're in a small-time league,

255. you believe in yourself, create yourself.

256. When you go to WWF, you're a number, you're a character,

257. you're just part of a show.

258. Competing with the WWF's all-star roster,

259. the French-Canadian flare that worked for Dino back home

260. gets lost in translation.

261. I think everybody looks at merchandise

262. and looks at sales and what they can do with you.

263. Let's just say, Dino, he had broken English.

264. You've never said and try under... Brother Love.

265. Then they wonder why I hate this country!

266. It was hard to understand what he might be saying,

267. - and so, that held him back a little. - I'm gonna teach you a lesson!

268. Dino had his routine.

269. He had his punches, he had his boots, he had his routine.

270. He was never the guy to discover something new.

271. I think the hardest thing for Dino was doing jobs

272. for guys that were on top. You want to talk about getting beat?

273. The most important thing in wrestling is your "valeur marchande,"

274. which means "what you are worth on the market."

275. And if you were a guy that the fans see on TV week after week

276. getting beat, getting beat, even if it's a show and it's fake,

277. and it's organized, people don't believe in you.

278. He was getting older. Gotta remember that

279. when he was, like, at his peak of his career

280. back in International Wrestling,

281. he was in the early to mid-30s.

282. Now he was late 30s, early 40s.

283. He still saw himself as a top guy.

284. When you go to WWF, there's one thing you don't bring, an ego.

285. The shames and things you're afraid of, it'll happen.

286. Unfortunately, Dino had bigger plans for himself than Vince had for him.

287. Vince figured, you know, bring in new talent,

288. new face, new blood, and you're out.

289. By the end of 1992, Dino's days

290. with the WWF are over

291. when his contract expires and is not renewed.

292. No, he told me, "I'm leaving.

293. I'm burnt out. I've done everything I can.

294. I want to spend time with my family." We hugged, and that was basically it.

295. All of a sudden, it stops. There's no more income.

296. And you don't have a pension in wrestling.

297. That's where the trouble starts.

298. With his career over, Dino has lost his life's passion

299. and his livelihood and is left staring into an abyss.

300. After six years on wrestling's biggest stage,

301. Dino Bravo's career is over.

302. He must find other ways to support his family and decadent lifestyle.

303. I think that once you get with the WWF

304. and you leave, where could you go?

305. It's like playing pro baseball

306. then dropping to a minor league contract.

307. As soon as you drop down, it's like, "Oh, his career's over."

308. Everybody has good times in life,

309. makes money, and everybody has

310. bad times in life where they need money.

311. I've been there, done that many times.

312. He was a little worried, about his future.

313. The house was huge, there were a ton of bills stacking up,

314. you could say, and we had to survive.

315. This was someone who had been in wrestling all his life,

316. and then, it was like, "Okay, what am I going to become tomorrow,

317. or what will I become, what am I going to do

318. to make a living with my life, as a career?"

319. He was in survival mode and he wanted to make money. So...

320. With no professional experience outside of wrestling,

321. Dino has very few options.

322. What he does have is connections.

323. Montreal is not far from the United States.

324. And the corruption is widespread for the police

325. and the government in Quebec.

326. That's why the mafiosi like Montreal.

327. I am a journalist with interest in Mafia and organized crime.

328. The Cotroni family was very active

329. under the authority of the Sicilian family Rizzuto.

330. Vic Cotroni was the leader

331. of the first Mafia family in the history of Quebec.

332. Everyone knew who Vic Cotroni was.

333. He was like the so-called father of the mob here in Montreal.

334. He was also a former wrestler.

335. He wrestled back in the 1930s under the name of Vic Vincent.

336. Dino Bravo was related to the Cotronis

337. because Vic was Dino's uncle.

338. Who's that? Isn't that Cotroni?

339. - This is Cotroni if I'm not mistaken. - Another family dinner.

340. For me, the Cotronis were our family,

341. they were in our family, in fact.

342. I want to emphasize, he wasn't someone with a criminal record.

343. He was a guy who had connections.

344. There are people who say, "Just because you're seen with people

345. doesn't mean you're involved." But it depends.

346. The Cotroni clan was powerful during this period

347. with regard to cigarette smuggling and alcohol smuggling.

348. Dino was an imposing figure, he was a guy with a nice personality,

349. and I think people

350. from the Italian Mafia had wanted to find a way to approach him.

351. I suspect he was maybe naive. And often, money does certain things.

352. - What was his role? - Enforcer.

353. The fact he was debt collecting, it was... it was worrisome.

354. Bravo had a very imposing stature.

355. When you have two guys like that in the doorway and you owe?

356. You'll nicely let them in.

357. He was the strong arm who wasn't afraid of anything,

358. so they had put him in that role.

359. He was like a Six Million Dollar Man.

360. He had no fear of anything

361. and no consequences.

362. There's nothing could happen to him.

363. Dino's past life as a wrestling powerhouse

364. means he has all the brute force a debt collector requires.

365. We've heard stories about Dino had a temper.

366. - Is that true? - Yeah.

367. Oh, temper. Oh, no, yeah, he had a hot temper. Very, very hot temper.

368. Dino Bravo was a big Montreal Canadiens fan.

369. If you're a Montreal Canadiens fan,

370. you hated everything about the Quebec Nordiques.

371. I'm not gonna name you the player,

372. but one time in a bar in Quebec City, there's a player that said something.

373. I'm 18 years old. I'm drinking, drinking, and I come down the stairs

374. and Dino says, "Hey, that's a hockey player from the Nordiques."

375. And me, with my loud mouth, I'm drunk, half drunk, I go,

376. "The Nordiques! That's all bullshit!"

377. So, he backs up against the wall and gets in position, like that.

378. I start running with my fist,

379. but I'm running towards the wall and he ducks and I hit the wall.

380. He grabs me by the shirt,

381. and I swear, I would have had the beating of my life.

382. Dino took him and said, "Let him go," and he made a... something to Dino.

383. He said something about phony, and the guy had a nice Corvette.

384. Dino picked him up like you'd pick up a rag doll

385. and ran his head right into the Corvette.

386. Just out of nowhere. The guy just went down like a sack of potatoes.

387. He said, "You think I'm phony, try me out." Believe me,

388. you didn't want to be around him when he got mad.

389. You would have put a gun to his head, he says,

390. "Don't point a gun at me. Shoot right away because I'm coming for you."

391. As Dino heads down his new career path,

392. his wife, Diane, senses trouble.

393. He started having new friends

394. that we had never known in our entire life.

395. I didn't feel that the vibe was very good.

396. They weren't really friends, they were acquaintances

397. that he wanted to do business with.

398. It wasn't a good environment. He was entering an unknown world.

399. I started to be very worried

400. for him and his life, and for our lives as well.

401. It was very dangerous because if you don't know the rules,

402. you're in trouble.

403. One night, Dino calls me. "Hey, Jacques, can you come see me?"

404. I'm like, "Dino's calling me to go see him?"

405. We're not that close of friends.

406. We respect each other, but we're not close friends.

407. I said, "Okay, I can't go today, but I'll go tomorrow."

408. He says, "Come and see me as soon as you can."

409. - That was his last words to me. - That night,

410. there was a hockey game.

411. I called him, I said, "Dino, what are you doing?"

412. He says, "I'm gonna watch the hockey game."

413. Next morning, I'm at the gas station. I'm going to see him.

414. At the pump, the guy says,

415. "Yeah, your friend, your buddy there, he got it, huh?"

416. I looked at the paper, it was front page.

417. He got 11 bullets in the body and seven bullets in the head.

418. That's a rough way to go.

419. Are there any details that you wish to share on that final day?

420. No, I'd rather not talk too much about...

421. not go back into that energy,

422. those emotions that were tragically difficult.

423. Close to midnight on March 10th, 1993,

424. Dino Bravo's wife, Diane, pulls into the driveway

425. with 6-year-old Claudia sleeping in the back seat.

426. There was a storm that night,

427. one of the biggest storms of the winter.

428. That night I was with my mom at ballet.

429. It was his wife, Diane Rivest, 28 years old,

430. who left the home at 9:00 p.m. with her 6-year-old daughter,

431. who discovered the body

432. when they returned a bit before 12:30 a.m.

433. I was the first one to know because his wife got back home

434. and we had the house, one beside the other one.

435. She rings at the bell, and I see her crying with Claudia in her hand.

436. They come in the house. I said, "Why are you crying?"Dino is dead."

437. I said, "What did you say?"

438. It's like the biggest shock I ever had in my life.

439. If you would have taken a 2-by-4 and hit me in the back of my head,

440. it wouldn't have hurt more. I said, "Are you crazy?"

441. - "Yeah, he was shot." - I went to the scene of the crime.

442. He had been sitting in his armchair.

443. He was in the middle of watching TV.

444. It wasn't no scuffle. His wife and family were sent away

445. and he was just sitting there, like he was waiting for it to happen.

446. And you hear all kind of different stories about what happened.

447. Was it a robbery? Was it a break-in? It was so sketchy on everything.

448. Dino had been shot 11 times,

449. seven bullets to the head, and four to his body.

450. A pistol and a machine gun are found at the scene,

451. but strangely, there is no sign of forced entry,

452. and the door is unlocked.

453. The circumstances surrounding the death

454. of Dino Bravo are still unclear.

455. It seems that he knew his attacker, or attackers,

456. as there was no sign of a break-in or that he tried to defend himself.

457. It also seems that this was the work of professionals,

458. as only this window hit by a bullet

459. indicates any sign that something happened inside.

460. The mysterious and brutal circumstances

461. of his death leaves Dino's family and friends in a state of shock.

462. I waited and, the funeral, went to the funeral.

463. I don't know what to tell you. It was the worst time of my life.

464. It wasn't easy, because I also realized who his friends really were,

465. those that were there.

466. And obviously there were some disappointments.

467. Some other theories and leads cross your mind.

468. You ask yourself, "Is it him? Is it this? Is it that?"

469. I made a drawing of my family.

470. I drew my mother, my father and myself...

471. and I brought it to him, to his tomb.

472. All the people behind me stood up

473. because they thought it was

474. so pure that a child...

475. But I didn't recognize him at first.

476. But I recognized his fingers, his hands.

477. His hands were crossed

478. and my father had such big fingers, big hands

479. and his nails were chewed down to the bone, so I said,

480. "That's Daddy."

481. To see his daughter there, and so young,

482. that she didn't understand exactly. You know how sad it is.

483. They explained that my father had gone to heaven to join the stars,

484. that I wouldn't see him anymore.

485. It was hard for me to realize that he really was not there anymore.

486. She realized more when she started going to school, through friends,

487. that people knew who her dad was, things like that.

488. So that's when we sat down with her and explained it

489. in a bit more detail, but even then, in a child's mind,

490. there are only a certain number of things that you can...

491. that you can say and they'll understand.

492. The details of Dino's murder dominate the headlines in Montreal.

493. Yet, despite all the coverage pointing to a Mafia-style execution,

494. questions surrounding who did it and why, remain.

495. This is a guy who had a successful career as a wrestler.

496. He represented the people of Quebec.

497. But to come to an end that way...

498. Mr. Bravo confided in a close friend,

499. who informed us tonight that he feared for his life.

500. And that's where we're at in this case.

501. Oh, my God, my dad didn't have enemies.

502. Everyone loved him. He loved people.

503. I don't know how he could have made enemies

504. unless someone or something went wrong.

505. I honestly think that when Dino was at the end of his days,

506. he may have done something he wasn't meant to. A lot of rumors run,

507. and he must have realized at one point, "You're screwed."

508. But the true depth of Dino's involvement in organized crime

509. will stun the wrestling world, and beyond.

510. The door must have been unlocked because there's no forced entry.

511. Or, he let somebody in.

512. I wouldn't wanna go that way.

513. Was the door locked?

514. They say that the door

515. at this house was never locked.

516. They might have waited until his wife left,

517. until his daughter was gone before doing the job.

518. So that's one hypothesis, that someone he knew came to visit him.

519. Police examining the crime scene of Dino Bravo's murder

520. discover 17 bullet casings

521. from two different firearms on the living room floor.

522. This leads authorities to believe that two assassins are involved

523. and supports the theory that his death

524. is linked to organized crime.

525. The neighborhood he was living in, in Laval, was in Vimont,

526. which is, like, a very upscale neighborhood.

527. A lot of mafiosi from the new generation,

528. they moved there. At least two people

529. who were living near Dino Bravo were killed at the same time.

530. Nine months earlier, Mafia accountant Robert Caverzon

531. was shot in his home

532. just down the street from Bravo's house.

533. Four months later, and two streets away, a cigarette smuggler,

534. Jizlan Renzo, was also killed.

535. The police, aware of Bravo's ties

536. to the Cotroni family, look for connections.

537. In the 48 hours that followed,

538. never, never, never was a piece of valid,

539. certain evidence brought to the attention of the police.

540. Three days after his death,

541. a crucial piece of evidence is uncovered.

542. We heard there was a considerable sum of cash found in the house.

543. A sum of about $55,000 was found,

544. which included a container of smuggled cigarettes.

545. At some point a truck was robbed of its contents.

546. It was never able to be determined what happened to the contents.

547. Someone said it was worth $50,000.

548. As far as investigators are concerned, the death of Dino Bravo

549. is connected to the incident regarding $50,000

550. and the contraband cigarettes.

551. Would $50,000 be a sufficient reason to shoot someone?

552. There are people who were killed for less. Especially in that world.

553. By the early 1990s, organized crime is flourishing in Montreal.

554. Alongside the Mafia are warring biker gangs

555. and smugglers operating out of First Nation reserves.

556. What connects them all

557. is the lucrative business of contraband cigarettes.

558. The Natives were the suppliers for the smugglers, you know.

559. And all the cigarettes came from the reserve.

560. He would bring me everywhere. I was like his friend.

561. When we were alone, when my mom wasn't there,

562. he would sit me in the front of the car.

563. He mostly brought me to the Natives'.

564. I had no idea what the Natives represented for him.

565. They were just friends...

566. I don't know how he met those people,

567. probably someone introduced him.

568. And then at some point it was kind of made official,

569. "My friends and I are dealing in contraband cigarettes."

570. Here are the contraband cigarettes that come from these reservations.

571. How much was it back then, in the '90s?

572. It was about 5 bucks a carton.

573. Yeah, a lot of people smoked them

574. because you paid half price for a pack.

575. Thousands and thousands of cases of cigarettes, I hear, were sold.

576. Thousands.

577. Did you know that he was involved in cigarette smuggling?

578. Yeah, well, of course I knew.

579. Yeah, he told me. I said... Well, everybody...

580. At that time, a lot of people were into that business

581. because everybody smoked and everybody wanted to pay less.

582. So, is it from that? I don't know.

583. Is it for something else? I don't know.

584. Because if I knew, believe me,

585. I was so close to him, I would like to have that revenge for him.

586. The only wrestler that I know of

587. that Dino talked to about his organized crime life

588. prior to leaving wrestling was Rick Martel.

589. Martel declined to be involved in this documentary.

590. But in 2007, he gave a rare interview revealing

591. conversations he had with Dino about his life in organized crime.

592. Dino went to see the Indians

593. and the Indians were big wrestling fans.

594. When they saw Dino, "Oh, man," you know.

595. So, they started dealing strictly with Dino.

596. So, Dino had the monopoly with the Indians,

597. because the Indians, you know, they have the river there.

598. You know, they can pass cigarettes like crazy, or whatever.

599. I had no idea what he had gotten himself into, really no idea.

600. Control over the narcotics trade is in a constant state of flux.

601. Each criminal group is looking for an edge,

602. even if that means crossing into somebody else's turf.

603. The cigarettes business was doing so great that the cocaine people

604. are saying, "Hey, maybe there's money for us in there too."

605. So, the big cocaine guy apparently went to see Dino and said,

606. "Let me in on your cigarette deals, I'll let you in on a cocaine deal."

607. So, what apparently happened, they did some kind of agreement

608. and Dino had a $400,000 shipment in some warehouse somewhere

609. and it stayed there for like three days.

610. A few days before the murder,

611. the police seize a large quantity of cigarettes in a warehouse.

612. They made surveillance of the warehouse and saw Dino Bravo

613. with people who were on investigation.

614. And, on the third day, when the cocaine guy went to pick it up,

615. the RCMP or the police were there. So, they were blaming each other.

616. Dino said, "You should have picked it up the first day.

617. And you shouldn't let it sit there." So, there was a lot of heat.

618. Dino screwed up

619. and would have made the organization lose tons of money.

620. It was a big seizure, $400,000.

621. It's enough to be killed.

622. They made inquiries, they barricaded the house,

623. they searched everywhere, everywhere inside the house.

624. They were supposed to come back to us,

625. but there was no follow-up, we didn't get any news after.

626. There weren't any leads, and they couldn't continue the investigation.

627. It wasn't clear, it was, "Which gang, who, where, when, how?"Why?"

628. It was so violent and the way they did it, the Mafia,

629. they are more classy when they shoot somebody.

630. I did hear that the thinking was that

631. the killer wanted police to believe there were two shooters.

632. The person who killed him was a friend. That's what I think.

633. Sitting on the couch with your remote,

634. when there's someone in front of you, it can't be a stranger.

635. It has to be someone you like and trust.

636. That, for me, is the definition of Mafia for me.

637. I'm inclined to believe that it's someone from the reserve.

638. In 35 years, I never heard

639. that Natives killed people off the reserve.

640. The motorcycle gangs, maybe they... It's their style.

641. They are more violent.

642. That's why... Maybe the bikers executed a contract.

643. Are the Natives behind that contract?

644. We don't know; it's a mystery for everybody.

645. This is a beautiful picture. Dino Bravo in blond.

646. And Claudia, his little girl.

647. Of course, the little girl was always around him.

648. And here is me and Dino, well, walking here at the arena.

649. We were getting ready to work.

650. So, these are the best memories of my life.

651. I miss him every day. What could have been?

652. What could have been? Questions with no answers.

653. Decades after Dino Bravo's brutal murder,

654. friends and family still don't know

655. if they'll ever find out the truth of what happened, and why.

656. It was difficult to know, even though we asked ourselves

657. millions of questions for years, we wondered what had happened.

658. We kept living our everyday lives, and with my mother-in-law, of course,

659. she had the strength to just live without her son,

660. and I kind of followed her in that strength,

661. to be able to raise my daughter as well,

662. and to look like a normal mom with a daughter, who's a widow at 28.

663. No objects were kept. My mother had all those things in her possession,

664. and when the tragedy happened, she got rid of everything

665. because it was too hard for her. So...

666. For her to grieve it was clear to her

667. that she had to give everything away to friends and family.

668. And it's okay, it's okay that she did that.

669. He started wrestling in 1970, ended up in 1992.

670. That's a 22-year career.

671. So, that's the only thing he knew.

672. That's the only thing he could do.

673. And there's not a lot

674. of jobs you can do

675. which will give you several hundreds of thousands of dollars,

676. aside from organized crime.

677. Dino Bravo always made sure

678. that there was harmony between the boys.

679. Dino knew how to create a team.

680. If I had to start my life again, that would be one part I'd never change,

681. the time that I had business in Quebec, working for Dino Bravo.

682. The legacy my father left behind is passion.

683. People who talk about my father, the fans, the real wrestling fans

684. who talk about Dino Bravo...

685. Listen, my father was a volcano, an explosion.

686. He was a... As much as he was nice,

687. when he was in character, he was mean, he was so mean.

688. He was so in character.

689. So I think the best legacy he left to the people is being passionate.

690. There's people who'll talk about, "Hey, I remember his wrestling."

691. But then, that generation's gonna go away.

692. But, believe me, the way things are, people will always keep reminding

693. 'cause there'll always be stories that'll come out about Dino,

694. how he died, and did he die from the bikers?

695. Did he die... That will stay with him, and that's too bad.

696. But that's the way it is. You know, you gotta take the punch.

697. My father was the touchstone,

698. everyone confided in him, everyone wanted him there.

699. It created an enormous sadness, an enormous void,

700. bigger than enormous, that isn't even the word.

701. Even today, 25 years later,

702. everyone is still sad over the loss of my father.

703. My family was angry to not know who the culprit was,

704. extremely angry about it.

705. But also, I think it's better that we don't know.

706. Because knowing would bring us down more, would make us angrier

707. against the person who committed the act.

708. I tell myself that in life you reap what you sow,

709. so regardless of who they are,

710. I hope the person that did it got what they deserved.

711. I keep fond memories of the man he was,

712. who gave me a beautiful daughter, of whom I am very, very proud.

713. I'd like people to remember him as a proud man,

714. who was proud to represent Quebec in the wrestling world,

715. in his career.

716. The strongest man in the world.

717. And especially as a good teammate with his friends, and a good father,

718. and a good husband.

719. I forgive him for having made bad decisions because he did it

720. for us but I love him and I would like for him to be here.

721. I would like for him to be here

722. because he would be a grandfather today to two amazing kids.

723. My son looks like him so much,

724. he's... he's the spitting image of him.

725. I would have so loved for him to play wrestling with him

726. in bed on Sunday morning.

727. Yeah. I really wish he was still here.

728. The Quebec Police were contacted for this documentary,

729. but they declined to participate as this case still remains open.

730. You know the old saying,

731. Shakespeare or somebody said, "The evil that men do

732. lives after them, but the good gets interred with their bones."

733. It should be the other way around. Think about the good and, you know,

734. the rest, try to forget it and try not to repeat it. That's it.