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“They are a very well connected and venerated mafia family in southern Ontario going back 60 years or more,” Dubro added.

Det. Sgt. Peter Thom, who is also the case manager for two other gangland assassinations, is leading the probe.

Thom said cops also believe the victim was targeted. An autopsy was scheduled for Thursday morning.

“The nuances in the incident itself, a close encounter, where it occurred, it’s very specific,” Thom told reporters.

He would not comment on how many hitters may have been on the scene or how many times Luppino was shot.

One neighbour told CBC News he heard a loud bang outside Wednesday and thought it was a basketball net getting blown over.

The slaying is possibly just the latest salvo in an underworld settling of accounts that experts say goes back decades.

According to his Facebook page, Cece worked in real estate and Thom said he also owned a cafe. He had no criminal record and was not known to police.

He was married last June.

Another murder victim allegedly outwardly connected to the Luppino family was Albert “Al” Iavarone, a 50-year-old Hamilton real estate broker.

He was murdered at his Ancaster home on Sept. 13, 2018.

While not a member of any organized crime family, cops said he was associated with two of the men charged in the 2017 hit on mob scion Angelo Musitano.

Thom would not comment on whether the hit was connected to organized crime or to Iavarone’s murder but added: “It’s an avenue we’ll keep open.”

Wednesday’s slaying is Hamilton’s first of 2019.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Det. Doug Jonovich at 905-546-4863 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

bhunter@postmedia.com