HUNTER: What was motive behind grisly dismemberment murder?

In the 1970s and 1980s, Jimmy Coonan terrorized New York’s Hells Kitchen as leader of the Irish mob, the Westies.

Coonan learned his bloody handiwork from Eddie “The Butcher” Comiskey. That work was getting rid of the bodies of the small army of underworld rivals, rats, rebels and dope debt welshers.

The diminutive criminal reasoned no corpse, no crime. So they dismembered them and then mulched their victims.

He called it “doing the Houdini.”

Coonan came to mind when the OPP announced they had made an arrest in the 2010 dismemberment murder of Bolton contractor Morris Conte.

The 45-year-old was last heard from in Caledon on May 21, 2010. It didn’t take long to find him — or at least parts of him.

Parts were discovered in Oro-Medonte Township. Another body part was discovered hours later in the Lake of Bays and within a week, more remains were discovered on the side of a Muskoka road.

DNA tests were used to confirm Conte’s identity, but detectives knew it was Conte because he had been reported missing shortly before the torso and lower half of his body were discovered.

Whoever killed the father of three, who had reportedly struggled with cocaine addiction and owed people money, was not interested in following the example of Jimmy Coonan. They wanted Morris Conte to be found.

“The remains (were left) in such a manner that they were left to be found,” an OPP spokesperson said in June 2011. “There was no attempt to hide (them).”

He said it was clear, someone was sending a “message.” Who the “message” was intended for was never made clear.

Another man was arrested in 2011, but charges of accessory after the fact to murder and causing an indignity to a human body were withdrawn.

There were plenty of rumours swirling around Conte’s demise more than a decade ago. Mob, dope debts and a love triangle gone awry were among the theories.

The Toronto Sun reported in 2010 that while Conte — who was known to police — had more than a passing familiarity with organized crime circles, it would be disingenuous to describe him as anything more than a bit player.

More likely, investigators believed, was the love triangle theory. But why send a “message” in a love triangle?

My guess is more along the lines of organized crime. Still, usually, as Marcellus Wallace said in Pulp Fiction, “when you be gone, you stay gone.” Traditional organized crime does not like messes.

Now, OPP detectives say the man in the hot seat is 62-year-old Antonino Lucia of Woodbridge. Cops put the bracelets on Lucia on Monday and charged him with first-degree murder.

Little is known about Lucia and cops wouldn’t reveal the connection between the accused killer and Conte.

For their part, at the time of the murder, Conte’s family were mystified why someone would want to kill the hard-working contractor.

Sadly, someone did just that.

Maybe Jimmy Coonan was right. Best not to send a “message.”

No corpse. No crime.

A $50,000 reward continues to be offered for information leading to the conviction of those responsible for Conte’s murder.

Anyone with information regarding this crime is asked to contact OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

bhunter@postmedia.com

@HunterTOSun