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A Montreal man who was once held hostage for more than a month as part of a dispute that involved the highest levels of the Montreal Mafia has been granted parole on a lengthy sentence he received four years ago for smuggling cannabis into the U.S.

Nicola (Nick) Varacalli, 70, was returned to Canada on June 8 by U.S. authorities after his application for a transfer to continue serving the 10-year prison term he received in 2014 in a U.S. court was accepted. The transfer was very beneficial to Varacalli because of the significant difference in how Canada and the U.S. handle inmates serving time in their respective federal penitentiaries. In 1987, parole was abolished for almost all offenders serving time in American penitentiaries. Meanwhile, in Canada, offenders are eligible for a full release after they have served one-third of their sentence.

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The difference meant that Varacalli became eligible for full parole the same day he arrived at a federal penitentiary somewhere in Quebec two months ago. The self-employed businessman, who had operated bakeries and restaurants in Montreal before he was extradited to the U.S. in October 2013, was granted a full release by the Parole Board of Canada following a hearing held on Monday.