Quebec man convicted in Mafia-linked drug bust deported to Italy

Michele Torre and his wife Ernesta speak with CTV from their Quebec home.

A Quebec man convicted 23 years ago in a Mafia-linked conspiracy has been deported to his native Italy.

His lawyer says Michele Torre left last night on a flight out of Montreal.

The 66-year-old Torre was granted permanent residency to Canada in 1967.

In 1996 he was convicted in a cocaine-importation conspiracy linked to the Cotroni crime family and served part of a nearly nine-year prison sentence.

In 2006, Torre was again arrested during a massive operation aimed at dismantling Montreal's powerful Mafia.

He spent nearly three years in custody but was ultimately acquitted.

Federal authorities had been seeking to deport Torre since 2013.

His family had argued he should be allowed to stay because he'd lived in Canada so long and his wife, children and grandchildren are here.