A Toronto court has found Isidor “Izzy” Subotic, a 56-year-old accountant, guilty of multiple criminal offences, including money laundering and possession of cannabis for the purpose of distribution, following an extensive investigation that exposed his alleged role in organized crime involving illegal tobacco, real estate, and stolen silver bullion worth millions of dollars.
Subotic, who served as the director of a small family-run accounting firm and maintained a low public profile with no previous criminal record, was convicted after prosecutors presented years of evidence gathered through wiretaps, financial records, handwritten ledgers, banking documents, and intercepted phone conversations.
The investigation revealed that Subotic deliberately avoided the lavish lifestyle associated with organized crime figures, preferring to operate behind the scenes while managing the financial aspects of criminal enterprises.
One of the central figures linked to the case was Giovanni “John” Raimondi, an alleged organized crime associate who was fatally shot in an unsolved murder in Etobicoke in January 2022.
During intercepted conversations played in court, Subotic was heard distancing himself from Raimondi’s extravagant lifestyle.
“I told him, get this Lambo out of here. I don’t want to be seen with you. I don’t want to associate with you,” Subotic said after Raimondi attempted to park his Lamborghini outside his residence.
Despite those comments, investigators established that the two had extensive financial dealings.
The court heard that Subotic and Raimondi became business partners in illegal tobacco operations based on an Indigenous reserve, where they allegedly manufactured and distributed contraband cigarettes.
Wiretap recordings revealed the substantial profits generated by the operation.
“It’s a good business… you can make four or five hundred a month,” Subotic remarked during one intercepted conversation.
Raimondi himself was later recorded boasting that authorities could not easily access the tobacco manufacturing facilities.
Police first identified Subotic during an illegal tobacco investigation that eventually expanded into a much broader organized crime probe.
Evidence presented at trial showed that Subotic later became involved in laundering proceeds from Raimondi’s criminal activities through a luxury real estate project on Mississauga Road.
According to court documents, the pair purchased land, constructed a luxury home with the assistance of a Vaughan builder, and attempted to sell the property after nearly $1 million in illicit funds had flowed through the project.
Investigators discovered detailed handwritten financial records inside Subotic’s vehicle documenting the movement of money, while ownership of the property had been placed in his son’s name.
The court also heard evidence involving former lawyer Timothy Kinnaird, who allegedly received a $125,000 bank draft from Raimondi’s wife during the transaction. Kinnaird was subsequently disbarred in an unrelated mortgage fraud matter.
Subotic’s criminal activities extended well beyond illegal tobacco and real estate.
Prosecutors linked him to one of Canada’s largest precious metals thefts after a shipping container carrying 18,000 kilograms of Korean silver bullion, valued at approximately $10 million, was stolen from the Port of Montreal in January 2020.
Investigators found photographs of stolen silver bars in Subotic’s possession, complete with identifying serial numbers matching the stolen shipment.
Wiretapped conversations revealed discussions about selling hundreds of silver bars, removing serial numbers, melting the bullion, and transporting large quantities of stolen silver.
In one conversation, Subotic reportedly claimed he had sold eight tonnes of silver, while prosecutors described him as acting as a broker for organized crime in exchange for a commission.
In addition, the court convicted Subotic of possessing approximately 150 kilograms of CBD products intended for illegal distribution. Evidence included intercepted conversations in which he admitted paying $700,000 for the shipment and later struggling to sell it.
The investigation also highlighted Raimondi’s extensive criminal background. He had previously been charged in the Ontario Provincial Police’s Project Cairnes, a major cross-country investigation targeting contraband tobacco, illegal cannabis trafficking, and organized crime. Court records further linked him to large-scale drug trafficking and a high-profile kidnapping investigation involving stolen cocaine.
Raimondi was later killed in a hail of bullets outside his Etobicoke residence in January 2022. His murder remains unsolved.
Subotic is scheduled to be sentenced in September, bringing to a close one of the Greater Toronto Area’s most significant organized crime prosecutions involving money laundering, illegal tobacco, narcotics, luxury real estate, and the trafficking of millions of dollars in stolen precious metals.