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Now mourners came in droves to honour Vito Rizzuto, who presided over the Montreal Mafia for nearly 30 years and who was felled not by an assasin’s bullet, but reportedly by lung cancer.

The line outside the funeral home on Sunday stretched well into the parking lot — filled with luxury sedans and town cars. All throughout the afternoon and into the evening, crowds filed into the grey stone building.

A lot of people will pay respect to the family, especially because he did not die in a violent way

Antonio Nicaso, an author and expert on organized crime and the Mafia, said that the 67-year-old Rizzuto “can be expected to receive a substantial sendoff.”

“A lot of people will pay respect to the family, especially because he did not die in a violent way,” he said.

Other friends of the Rizzutos — politicians and the businessmen with no public ties to the crime family — “will find a different way to express their condolences to the family” other than attending the funeral in the glare of the public eye, Mr. Nicaso said.

Police and Mafia associates will both be watching the funeral closely for signs of power shifts, said investigative journalist and Mafia expert Julian Sher. He added that in addition to Rizzuto’s friends and family, other attendees with less amicable connections to the reputed Mob boss will likely be showing up.

“Not everybody who is going to turn up at that funeral will have tears in their eyes,” Mr. Sher predicted. “Some people are going to be glad he’s in the ground … some people are going to be relieved — because they were maybe scared they were next.”