Map of the province of Reggio Calabria
The
'Ndrangheta (from the Greek word
andragathía (ἀνδραγαθία) for "
heroism" and "
virtue"; ) is an
organized crime organization in
Italy, centered in
Calabria.
Despite not being as
famous abroad as the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, and having been considered more
rural compared to the Neapolitan
Camorra and the Apulian
Sacra Corona Unita, the 'Ndrangheta
managed to become the most powerful crime syndicate of Italy in the
late 1990s and early 2000s. While commonly lumped together
with the Sicilian Mafia, the 'Ndrangheta operates independently
from the Sicilians, though there is contact between the two due to
the geographical closeness of Calabria and Sicily.
History
In the folk culture surrounding 'Ndrangheta in Calabria references
to the
Garduna often appear. Aside from
these references, however, there is nothing to substantiate a link
between the two organizations. A connection is possible, though, if
only through contact to the
Camorra whose
possible origins in the Garduna carry more substance. At any rate,
the view of the 'Ndrangheta as successor to the Garduna (which is
in turn blown up to a kind of global pirate organization) has
certainly existed at times in Calabrian history. . The Greek origin
of the name 'Ndrangheta derives from the
Griko
language, an ancient Greek dialect which is spoken by people in
Calabria.
The first certain evidence of 'Ndrangheta derives from shortly
after
Italian unification
(1861). Thus it is common to give its date of origin as being
around this point. Italian unity was not immediately a positive
development for southern Italy: the local populace of commoners was
impoverished while squires ("galantuomini") took over large
southern estates and heavy taxation was imposed. In this situation,
'Ndrangheta was either formed or heavily reinforced (if it already
existed) by Calabrians who wanted to get even by blackmailing and
robbing the rich (see also
Social
bandits or
Brigantaggio).
Anti-'Ndrangheta demonstration in
Locri in October 2005.
The sign writes:
and now, kill us all.
Until 1975, the 'Ndrangheta operated only in Calabria, mainly
involved in extortion and blackmailing. Then a gang war started,
killing 300 people. The prevailing faction began to kidnap rich
people from northern Italy for ransom. It is believed that
John Paul Getty III was one of their
victims, though the kidnappers have never been caught. The "second
'Ndrangheta war" raged from 1985 to 1991. The bloody six-year war
between the
Condello-Imerti clan
and
De Stefano allied with the
Tegano clan left 600 deaths.
In the 1990s the organization started to
invest in the illegal international drug trade, mainly importing
cocaine from Colombia
.
Francesco Fortugno, popular center-left
politician and deputy president of the regional parliament, was
openly killed by the 'Ndrangheta on 16 October 2005, in Locri
.
Demonstrations against the organization ensued, with youthful
protesters carrying banderoles of "
Ammazzateci tutti!"—"Kill us all!" The
government started a large-scale enforcement operation in Calabria
and arrested numerous 'ndranghetistas including the murderers of
Fortugno.
In March 2006, the national anti-Mafia prosecutor announced the
discovery of a
submarine in
Colombia; it was being constructed on behalf of the 'Ndrangheta for
smuggling cocaine.
The 'Ndrangheta has recently expanded its activities to Northern
Italy, mainly to sell drugs and to invest in legitimate businesses
which can be used for money laundering.
The mayor of Buccinasco
was threatened when he tried to halt these
investments; in May 2007 twenty members of 'Ndrangheta were
arrested in Milan
.
On 30 August 2007, hundreds of police raided the small town of San
Luca, the focal point of the bitter
San
Luca feud between rival clans among the 'Ndrangheta. Over 30
men and women, linked to the killing of six Italian men in Germany,
were arrested.
In September 2009 'Ndrangheta was accused by a former member of the
gang of
sinking
dozens of ships loaded with radioactive waste off Italian coast and
of shipping radioactive waste to developing countries for
dumping.
Characteristics
Italian anti-organized crime agencies estimated in 2007 that the
'Ndrangheta has annual
revenue of about
€ 35–40 billion (
US$50–60 billion), which amounts to
approximately 3.5% of the
GDP of Italy. This
comes mostly from illegal drug trafficking, but also from
ostensibly legal businesses such as construction, restaurants and
supermarkets.
The principal difference with the Mafia is in recruitment methods.
The 'Ndrangheta recruits members on the criterion of blood
relationships resulting in an extraordinary cohesion within the
family clan that presents a major obstacle to investigation. Sons
of
‘ndranghetisti are expected to follow in their father's
footsteps, and go through a grooming process in their youth to
become
giovani d’onore (boys of honor) before they
eventually enter the ranks as
uomini d’onore (men of
honor). There are relatively few Calabrians who have opted out to
become a
pentito; at the end of 2002, there
were 157 Calabrian witnesses in the state
witness protection program.
Unlike the
Sicilian Mafia in the
early 1990s, they have scrupulously avoided a head-on confrontation
with the Italian state.
Prosecution in Calabria is hindered by the fact that Italian judges
and prosecutors who score highly in exams get to choose their
posting; those who are forced to work in Calabria will usually
request to be transferred right away. With weak government presence
and corrupt officials, few civilians are willing to speak out
against the organization.
Organizational structure
Formulas from the code of the ‘Ndrangheta: The three handwritten
pages describe the text for the speech held when a member is
promoted to a higher ranking.
The text reads awkwardly for a native speaker—it is composed
in an uncertain Italian with many grammatical and orthographic
mistakes.
Both the Sicilian Cosa Nostra and the 'Ndrangheta are loose
confederations of about one hundred mafia groups, also called
cosche or families, each of which
claims sovereignty over a territory, usually a town or village,
though without ever fully conquering and legitimizing its monopoly
of violence.
There are approximately 100 of these families, totaling between
4,000 and 5,000 members in Reggio Calabria. Most of the groups (86)
operate in the province of
Reggio Calabria, although a
portion of the recorded 70 criminal groups based in the Calabrian
provinces
Catanzaro and
Cosenza also appears to be
formally affiliated with the 'Ndrangheta.
The families are
concentrated in poor villages in Calabria such as Platì
, Locri, San Luca
, Africo
and Altomonte
as well as the main city and provincial capital
Reggio
Calabria
.
San Luca is
considered to be the stronghold of the 'Ndrangheta.
According to a former 'ndranghetista, "almost all the male
inhabitants belong to the 'Ndrangheta, and the
Sanctuary of Polsi has long
been the meeting place of the affiliates." Bosses from outside
Calabria, from as far as Canada and Australia, regularly attend the
meetings at the Sanctuary of Polsi.
A 'Ndrangheta crime family is called a
locale (place).
A
locale may have branches, called 'ndrina (plural: 'ndrine), in the
districts of the same city, in neighbouring towns and villages, or
even outside Calabria, in cities and towns in the industrial North
of Italy in and around Turin
and Milan.
Sometimes
sotto 'ndrine are established. These subunits
enjoy a high degree of autonomy – they have a leader and
independent staff. In some contexts the
'ndrine have
become more powerful than the
locale on which they
formally depend. Other observers maintain that the
'ndrina
is the basic organizational unit. Each
'ndrina is
"autonomous on its territory and no formal authority stands above
the "
'ndrina boss", according to the
Antimafia Commission. The
'ndrina is usually in control of a small town or a
neighborhood. If more than one 'ndrina operates in the same town,
they form a locale.
Blood family and membership of the crime family overlap to a great
extent within the 'Ndrangheta. By and large, the
'ndrine
consist of men belonging to the same family lineage. Salvatore
Boemi, Anti-mafia prosecutor in Reggio Calabria, told the Italian
Antimafia Commission that "one
becomes a member for the simple fact of being born in a mafia
family," although other reasons might attract a young man to seek
membership, and non-kin have also been admitted. Marriages help
cement relations within each
'ndrina and to expand
membership. As a result, a few blood families constitute each
group, hence "a high number of people with the same last name often
end up being prosecuted for membership of a given
'ndrina." Indeed, since there is no limit to the
membership of a single unit, bosses try to maximize
descendants.
At the bottom of the chain of command are the
picciotti
d’onore or soldiers, who are expected to perform tasks with
blind obedience until they are promoted to the next level of
cammorista, where they will be granted command over their
own group of soldiers. The next level is known as
santista
and higher still is the
vangelista,
upon which the up-and-coming gangster has to swear their dedication
to a life of crime on the
Bible. The
quintino is the second highest level of command in a
'Ndrangheta clan, being made up of five privileged members of the
crime family who report directly to the boss, the
capobastone (head of command).
Power structure
For many years, the power apparatus of the single families were the
sole ruling bodies within the two associations, and they have
remained the real centers of power even after superordinate bodies
were created in the Cosa Nostra beginning in the 1950s (the
Sicilian Mafia Commission)
and in the 'Ndrangheta a superordinate body was created only in
1991 as the result of negotiations to end years of inter family
violence.
Unlike the Sicilian Mafia, the 'Ndrangheta managed to maintain a
horizontal organizational structure up to the early 1990s, avoiding
the establishment of a formal superordinate body. Information of
several witnesses has undermined the myth of absolute autonomy of
Calabrian crime families, however. At least since the end of the
19th century, stable mechanisms for coordination and dispute
settlement were created. Contacts and meetings among the bosses of
the
locali were frequent.
At least
since the 1950s, the chiefs of the 'Ndrangheta locali have
met regularly near the Sanctuary of Our Lady of
Polsi in the municipality of San Luca during the
September Feast. These annual meetings, known as the
crimine, have traditionally served as a forum to discuss
future strategies and settle disputes among the
locali.
The assembly exercises weak supervisory powers over the activities
of all 'Ndrangheta groups. Strong emphasis was placed on the
temporary character of the position of the
crimine boss. A
new representative was elected at each meeting. Far from being the
"boss of the bosses," the
capo
crimine actually has comparatively little authority to
interfere in family feuds or to control the level of interfamily
violence.
At these meetings, every boss "must give account of all the
activities carried out during the year and of all the most
important facts taking place in his territory such as kidnappings,
homicides, etc." The historical preeminence of the San Luca family
is such that every new group or
locale must obtain its
authorization to operate and every group belonging to the
'Ndrangheta "still has to deposit a small percentage of illicit
proceeds to the
principale of San Luca in recognition of
the latter’s primordial supremacy."
Security concerns have led to the creation in the 'Ndrangheta of a
secret society within the secret society:
La Santa. Membership in the
Santa is
only known to other members. Contrary to the code, it allowed
bosses to establish close connections with state representatives,
even to the extent that some were affiliated with the
Santa. These connections were often established through
the
Freemasonry, which the
santisti - breaking another rule of the traditional code -
were allowed to join.
Activities
According to Italian DIA (
Direzione Investigativa
Antimafia, Department of the Police of Italy against organized
crime) and
Guardia di Finanza
(Italian Financial Police and Customs Police) the "'Ndrangheta is
now one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the world."
Economic
activities of 'Ndrangheta include international cocaine and weapons smuggling, with Italian
investigators estimating that 80% of Europe's cocaine passes
through the Calabrian port of Gioia Tauro
and is controlled by the 'Ndrangheta.
'Ndrangeta groups and Sicilian Cosa Nostra groups sometimes act as
joint ventures in cocaine trafficking enterprises.Further
activities include skimming money off large public work
construction projects,
money
laundering and traditional crimes such as
usury and
extortion.
'Ndrangheta invests illegal profits in legal
real estate and
financial activities.
Outside Italy
The 'Ndrangheta has had a remarkable ability to establish branches
abroad, mainly through migration. The overlap of blood and mafia
family seems to have helped the 'Ndrangheta expand beyond its
traditional territory: "The familial bond has not only worked as a
shield to protect secrets and enhance security, but also helped to
maintain identity in the territory of origin and reproduce it in
territories where the family has migrated".
'Ndrine are
reported to be operating in northern Italy, Germany, Belgium, the
Netherlands, France, Eastern Europe, the United States, Canada, and
Australia.
One group of 'ndranghetistas discovered
outside Italy was in Hamilton, Ontario
, Canada, several decades ago. They were dubbed the
Siderno Group by Canadian judges as most of its members hailed from
Siderno
.
Magistrates in Calabria sounded the alarm a few years ago about the
international scale of the 'Ndrangheta's operations. It is now
believed to have surpassed the traditional axis between the
Sicilian and American
Cosa Nostra, to
become the major importer of cocaine to Europe. Outside Italy
'Ndrangheta operates in several countries, such as:
- Argentina
: In November 2006, a cocaine trafficking network
was dismantled that operated in Argentina, Spain and Italy.
The
Argentinian police said the ‘Ndrangheta had roots in the country
and shipped cocaine through Spain to Milan and Turin.
- Australia: Known by the name "The
Honoured Society", The 'Ndrangheta controlled Italian-Australian organized crime all
along the East Coast of Australia since the early 20th century. The
'Ndrangheta began in Australia in Queensland, where they continued
their form of rural organized crime, especially in the fruit and
vegetable industry. After the 1998–2006 Melbourne gangland killings
which included the murder of 'Ndrangheta Godfather Frank Benvenuto. In 2008, the 'Ndrangheta
were tied to the importation of 15 million ecstasy pills to
Melbourne, at the time the world's largest ecstasy haul. The pills
were hidden in a container-load of tomato cans from Calabria.
Australian 'Ndrangheta boss Pasquale
Barbaro was arrested. Pasquale Barbaro's father Francesco
Barbaro was a boss throughout the 1970s and early 1980s until his
retirement. AFP lands 'world's biggest drug haul', news.com.au, 8
August 2008
- Belgium: 'Ndrangheta clans purchased almost
"an entire neighbourhood" in Brussels
with laundered money originating from drug
trafficking. On 5 March 2004, 47 people were arrested,
accused of drug trafficking and money laundering to purchase real
estate in Brussels for some 28 million euros. The activities
extended to the Netherlands where large quantities of heroin and
cocaine had been purchased by the Pesce-Bellocco clan from Rosarno
and the Strangio clan from San Luca.
- Canada: In Canada, the 'Ndrangheta is believed to be involved
in the smuggling of unlicensed tobacco
products through ties with criminal elements in cross-border
Native American
tribes. According to Alberto Cisterna of the Italian National
Anti-Mafia Directorate, the ‘Ndrangheta has a heavy presence in
Canada. "There is a massive number of their people in North
America, especially in Toronto. And for two reasons. The first is
linked to the banking system. Canada's banking system is very
secretive; it does not allow investigation. So Canada is the ideal
place to launder money. The second reason is to smuggle drugs."
Like most organized crime, the 'Ndrangheta have found Canada a
useful North American entry point given its porous ports and
proximity to the United States. A Canadian branch labelled the "Siderno
Group" – because its members primarily came from the Ionian coastal
town of Siderno in Calabria – is based in Canada at least since the
1950s. Siderno is also home to one of the 'Ndrangheta's
biggest and most important clans, heavily involved in the global
cocaine business and money laundering. Antonio Commisso, the
alleged leader of the Siderno group, is reported to lead efforts to
import "...illicit arms, explosives and drugs..." Elements
of 'Ndrangheta have been reported to have been present in Hamilton,
Canada as early as 1911.
- Colombia: 'Ndrangheta clans were closely associated with the
AUC paramilitary
groups led Salvatore Mancuso,
a son of Italian immigrants; he surrendered to Álvaro Uribe's government to avoid
extradition to the U.S. According to Giuseppe Lumia of the Italian Parliamentary
Antimafia Commission,
'Ndrangheta clans are actively involved in the production of
cocaine.
- France
- Germany: According to a study by the German
foreign intelligence service, the Bundesnachrichtendienst
(BND), 'Ndrangheta groups are using Germany to
invest cash from drugs and weapons smuggling. Profits are invested
in hotels, restaurants and houses, especially along the Baltic
coast and in the eastern German states of Thuringia
and Saxony
.
Investigators believe that the mafia's bases in Germany are used
primarily for clandestine financial transactions. In 1999, the state
Office of Criminal Investigation in Stuttgart
investigated an Italian from San Luca who had
allegedly laundered millions through a local bank, the Sparkasse
Ulm. The man claimed that he managed a profitable car
dealership, and authorities were unable to prove that the business
was not the source of his money. The Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) concluded – seven
years ago – that "the activities of this 'Ndrangheta clan represent
a multi-regional criminal phenomenon." In 2009, a confidential
report by the BKA said some 229 'Ndrangheta families were living in
Germany, and were involved in gun-running, money laundering, drug-
dealing, and racketeering, as well as legal businesses. Some 900
people were involved in criminal activity, and were also legal
owners of hundreds of restaurants, as well as being major players
in the property market in the former East. The most represented
'Ndrangheta family originated from the city of San Luca, with some 200 members in Germany. Report: Germany losing battle against Calabrian
mafia, The Earth Times, 12 August 2009 Italienische Mafia wird in Deutschland heimisch, Die
Zeit, 12 August 2009 A war between the two 'Ndrangheta clans
Pelle-Romeo (Pelle-Vottari) and Strangio-Nirta from San Luca that had started in 1991 and resulted in several
deaths spilled into Germany in 2007; six men were shot to death in
front of an Italian restaurant in Duisburg
on 15 August 2007. (See San Luca feud.)
- Netherlands: Sebastiano
Strangio allegedly lived for 10 years in the Netherlands, where
he managed his contacts with Colombian cocaine cartels.
He was
arrested in Amsterdam
on 27 October 2005. The seaports of
Rotterdam
and Amsterdam are used to import cocaine. The Giorgi, Nirta and
Strangio clans from San
Luca have a base in the Netherlands and Brussels (Belgium).
- Spain
- Mexico
- United States: The earliest evidence of 'Ndrangheta activity in
the U.S. points to an intimidation scheme run by the syndicate in
Pennsylvania mining towns; this scheme was unearthed in 1906.
Current 'Ndrangheta activities in America mainly involve drug
trafficking, arms smuggling, and money laundering. It is known that
the 'Ndrangheta branches in North America have been associating
with the Italian-American organized crime. The Suraci family from
Reggio Calabria has moved some of its operations to the U.S. The
family was founded by Giuseppe
Suraci who has been in the United States since 1962. His
younger brother, D'Agostino, runs
the family in Calabria. This family is known to be extremely
ruthless and violent when dealing with their enemies.
'Ndrangheta in popular culture
Beginning in 2000, music producer Francesco Sbano released three CD
compilations of Italian mafia folk songs over a five-year period.
Collectively known as
La Musica della Mafia, these
compilations consist mainly of songs composed by 'Ndrangheta
musicians, often sung in
Calabrian and dealing with themes such
as vengeance (
Sangu chiama sangu), betrayal (
I
cunfirenti), justice within the 'Ndrangheta (
Nun c’é
pirdunu), and the ordeal of prison life (
Canto di
carcerato).
References
- Godfather's arrest fuels fear of bloody
conflict, The Observer, 24 February 2008
- Condello, leader pacato e spietato, La
Repubblica, 19 February 2008
- Im Schattenreich der Krake, Süddeutsche
Zeitung, 3 February 2006.
- "Mafia suspects arrested in Italy." BBC News.
30 August 2007.
- "Move over, Cosa Nostra." The Guardian, 8 June
2006.
- "Mafiosi move north to take over the shops and
cafés of Milan." The Times, 5 May 2007.
- "Six morts dans un règlement de comptes mafieux en
Allemagne." Le
Monde. 15 August 2007.
- "Crisis among the "Men of Honor." interview
with Letizia Paoli, Max Planck Research, February 2004
- Paoli, Mafia Brotherhoods, p. 30
- Relazione annuale, Commissione parlamentare
d’inchiesta sul fenomeno della criminalità organizzata mafiosa o
similare, 30 July 2003
- "La pax della 'ndrangheta soffoca Reggio
Calabria." La Repubblica. 25 April 2007.
- Paoli, Mafia Brotherhoods, p. 29
- "The 'Ndrangheta Looms Large."
AmericanMafia.com.
- Review of: Paoli, Mafia Brotherhoods
- Paoli. Mafia Brotherhoods, p. 59
- Varese, Federico. "How Mafias Migrate: The Case of the 'Ndrangheta in
Northern Italy." Law & Society Review. June
2006.
- Paoli, Mafia Brotherhoods, p. 29-30
- Paoli, Mafia Brotherhoods, p. 116
- The Rothschilds of the Mafia on Aruba, by Tom
Blickman, Transnational Organized Crime, Vol. 3, No. 2, Summer
1997
- Uno degli affari di Cosa Nostra e 'Ndrangheta insieme,
Notiziario Droghe, 30 May 2005
- Close family ties and bitter blood feuds, The
Guardian, 16 August 2007
- Mafia calabresa: cae una red que traficaba droga
desde Argentina, Clarín, 8 November 2006.
- "A Bruxelles un intero quartiere comprato dalla
'ndrangheta." La Repubblica. 5 March 2004.
- La mafia calabraise recycle à Bruxelles, La
Libre Belgique, 6 March 2004.
- Why Italy's scariest Mob loves Canada, National Post,
24 November 2007
- Tiene Italia indicios sobre presencia de cárteles
mexicanos en Europa, El Universal, 15 April 2007
- La mafia calabresa produce su cocaína en
Colombia, El Universal (Caracas), 30 October 2007.
- Italian Mafia Invests Millions in Germany, Deutsche
Welle, 13 November 2006
- Mafia setzt sich in Deutschland fest, Berliner
Zeitung, 11 November 2006
- A Mafia Wake-Up Call, Der Spiegel, 20 August
2007
- A mafia family feud spills over, BBC News Online,
16 August 2007
- How the tentacles of the Calabrian Mafia spread
from Italy, Times Online, 15 August 2007
- Six Italians Killed in Duisburg,
Spiegel
Online, 15 August 2007
- 'Ndrangheta, preso ad Amsterdam il boss Sebastiano
Strangio, La Repubblica, 28 October 2005
- 'Ndrangheta, estradato dall'Olanda il boss
Sebastiano Strangio, La Repubblica, 27 March 2006
- Maffiakillers Duisburg zijn hier,
De
Telegraaf, 19 August 2007
- Olanda, Paese-rifugio dei killer, Il Sole 24
Ore, 18 August 2007
- Who are the 'Ndrangheta, Reuters, 15 August 2007
- "Songs of the Criminal Life." NPR, 2
October 2002. Accessed 8 September 2009. Archived
10 September 2009.
Works cited
See also
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