De Stefano 'ndrina
Encyclopedia
The De Stefano 'ndrina is one of the most powerful clans of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria
, Italy
. The 'ndrina hailed from the Archi neighbourhood in Reggio Calabria
. Several of its members were included in the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy. According to prosecutor Salvatore Boemi, the De Stefanos are the representation of the manager-criminal controlling a crime multinational with joint ventures with Raffaele Cutolo
from the Camorra
and Nitto Santapaola and Francesco Ferrera from Cosa Nostra in Catania
.
, Giovanni, Giorgio and Orazio would come to prominence as members of the 'Ndrangheta clan of Domenico Tripodo
, the old boss (capobastone) of Reggio Calabria, who had acquired considerable financial resources through tobacco smuggling. Within two years (as a result of the first 'Ndrangheta war in 1974-1976) they moved from being simple 'Ndranghetisti to being the new "lords" of Reggio Calabria.
Before that time the clan had not been very prominent, according to the pentito
Giacomo Lauro, who held important positions in the Reggio Calabria clans. "In 1970 … the De Stefanos … were nobody, they were nobody. The De Stefano brothers became the owners of Reggio Calabria after the war, the first mafia war. … I do not want to swear, but who the fuck were the De Stefanos in the 1970s? They had killed a certain Sergi for four oxen, for a fraud of four oxen in Modena … These were the De Stefanos. They committed petty fraud for four cows, … then with cigarettes."
The De Stefanos, however, were more modern and the differences led to conflicts. Paolo De Stefano became a member of La Santa and the De Stefanos won a monopoly of construction work in northern Reggio Calabria, moving the rival Tripodo group out of the market of public work contracts with the support of the Piromalli
and Mammolito 'ndrine. They also robbed a shipment of smuggled tobacco belonging to Tripodo.
. Only at the end of the so-called first 'Ndrangheta war, which took place in 1974-76 and led to the deaths of Macrì and Tripodo as well as the rise of the Piromalli 'ndrina
and the De Stefano brothers as the new leaders of the Reggio Calabria 'ndrine, was the new institution fully recognized.
The war started with an attack on the brothers Giorgio, Paolo and Giovanni De Stefano in the Roof Garden bar in Reggio Calabria in November 1974 ordered by Tripodo. Giovanni was killed while the eldest of the brothers – and the boss of the clan – Giorgio was wounded. Tripodo was arrested in February 1975 and incarcerated in the Poggioreale prison in Naples. He was killed with the help of Camorra
boss Raffaele Cutolo
, the boss of the Nuova Camorra Organizzata
(NCO) who worked with the De Stefano’s in drug trafficking.
and his plans for a neo-fascist coup. The so-called Golpe Borghese
fizzled out in the night of December 8, 1970, however.
The De Stefanos entered in a Masonic lodge
in order to better take care of business and political interests. The lawyer Giorgio De Stefano
, a cousin of the boss Paolo, was elected for the Christian Democrat
party (DC - Democrazia Cristiana) in the city council of Reggio Calabria for many years, and Paolo Romeo, a member of Parliament for the Italian Social Democratic Party
(Partito Socialista Democratico Italiano, PSDI) for several legislatures. They were also close to Lodovico Ligato
, a Christan Democrat politician from Reggio Calabria and the former head of the Italian State Railways. He was killed by rival 'Ndrangheta groups in August 1989 in a dispute about bribes over public contracts.
offered a three per cent kickback to be left in peace the three leading 'Ndrangheta families at the time, Antonio Macrì
, the Piromalli brothers and the De Stefano brothers rejected the offer and wanted to be sub-contracted on work carried in order to control the project.
The 'Ndrangheta exploited the construction of the steelworks until the project was abandoned when the government decided there was no economic base for it. In 1977 disagreements about business interests emerged between Piromalli and the De Stefano clan. A hit squad headed by Giuseppe "Peppe" Piromalli
killed Giorgio De Stefano. Some 1,000 people were killed in clan wars over the construction contracts.
Paolo took over the leadership of the clan. In the 1980s, the De Stefano brothers controlled virtually the entire wholesale meat market of Reggio Calabria. They forced butchers and supermarkets, through intimidation and threats, to buy meat from their companies.
brothers, underbosses of De Stefano – and Antonio Imerti
, the leader of a neighbouring 'ndrina in Villa San Giovanni
. The conflict exploded in 1985, two years after the marriage and saw practically all the 'ndrine in the city of Reggio Calabria grouped into either one of two opposing factions. De Stefano had become fearful of the new alliance that might challenge his power base. A failed attempt on Antonio Imerti triggered the murder of Paolo De Stefano on October 13, 1985.
The De Stefano clan prepared itself for the fight through another marriage, between Orazio De Stefano, Paolo's younger brother, and Antonietta Benestare, niece of the old boss Giovanni Tegano
. Celebrated on December 2, 1985, the wedding sealed the alliance between the de Stefanos and the powerful Tegano clan. The bloody six-year war between the Condello
-Imerti clan and De Stefano allied with the Tegano clan left 621 deaths.
According to the sociologist Pino Arlacchi
, the background of the war was the attempt of the De Stefano brothers to turn their accumulated wealth and power to account by claiming contracts for the Gioia Tauro
port. The resulting clash with the Piromalli 'ndrina
, whose monopoly this was, half destroyed the De Stefano cosca
and left the clan leader, Paolo De Stefano, dead.
, took over the leadership of the clan. Both were seen as the main mentor of the “pax mafiosa” that ended the Second 'Ndrangheta war. The different clans divvied up the different extortion rackets over commercial activities in Reggio Calabria and managed to keep the peace among each other. The lawyer Giorgio De Stefano, considered to be the brainpower of the clan, was arrested on July 1, 1996. He maintained contacts with mafiosi from Sicily and Campania, in particular Leoluca Bagarella
, Raffaele Cutolo
, and Nitto Santapaola. From his law office in Rome, he also had contacts with the Banda della Magliana
.
Orazio was arrested on February 22, 2004. Subsequently, Paolo’s son Giuseppe De Stefano
became the boss. He was arrested in December 2008. His brother Carmine De Stefano had been arrested in December 2001. The next in line was Paolo Rosario De Stefano
, a son of Giorgio. He was arrested on August 18, 2009.
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The 'ndrina hailed from the Archi neighbourhood in Reggio Calabria
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian...
. Several of its members were included in the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy. According to prosecutor Salvatore Boemi, the De Stefanos are the representation of the manager-criminal controlling a crime multinational with joint ventures with Raffaele Cutolo
Raffaele Cutolo
Raffaele Cutolo is an Italian crime boss and the charismatic leader of the Nuova Camorra Organizzata , an organisation he built to renew the Camorra. Cutolo has a variety of nicknames including "'o Vangelo" , "'o Principe" , "'o Professore" and "'o Monaco"...
from the Camorra
Camorra
The Camorra is a Mafia-type criminal organization, or secret society, originating in the region of Campania and its capital Naples in Italy. It is one of the oldest and largest criminal organizations in Italy, dating to the 18th century.-Background:...
and Nitto Santapaola and Francesco Ferrera from Cosa Nostra in Catania
Catania
Catania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea, between Messina and Syracuse. It is the capital of the homonymous province, and with 298,957 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy.Catania is known to have a seismic history and...
.
Origins
The De Stefano brothers, PaoloPaolo De Stefano
Paolo De Stefano was a member of the 'Ndrangheta who became the undisputed boss of Reggio Calabria. Together with his brothers Giovanni, Giorgio and Orazio he headed the De Stefano 'ndrina.-Early years:...
, Giovanni, Giorgio and Orazio would come to prominence as members of the 'Ndrangheta clan of Domenico Tripodo
Domenico Tripodo
Domenico Tripodo was an Italian criminal and a historical and charismatic boss of the 'Ndrangheta dominating the city of Reggio Calabria and the surrounding areas...
, the old boss (capobastone) of Reggio Calabria, who had acquired considerable financial resources through tobacco smuggling. Within two years (as a result of the first 'Ndrangheta war in 1974-1976) they moved from being simple 'Ndranghetisti to being the new "lords" of Reggio Calabria.
Before that time the clan had not been very prominent, according to the pentito
Pentito
Pentito designates people in Italy who, formerly part of criminal or terrorist organizations, following their arrests decide to "repent" and collaborate with the judicial system to help investigations...
Giacomo Lauro, who held important positions in the Reggio Calabria clans. "In 1970 … the De Stefanos … were nobody, they were nobody. The De Stefano brothers became the owners of Reggio Calabria after the war, the first mafia war. … I do not want to swear, but who the fuck were the De Stefanos in the 1970s? They had killed a certain Sergi for four oxen, for a fraud of four oxen in Modena … These were the De Stefanos. They committed petty fraud for four cows, … then with cigarettes."
Rise to power
Tripodo was a traditional 'Ndrangheta boss who opposed to new developments in the organisation as well as the formation of the Santa, a secret society within the 'Ndrangheta established in the early 1970s to maximize the power and invisibility of the most important bosses. The members were eager to modify the traditional rules of the 'Ndrangheta in order to enter the public work market and start illegal activities such as drug trafficking, which were prohibited by the traditional code but promised to be very profitable. Through the membership of covert Masonic lodges the 'Ndrangheta bosses were able to contact law enforcement authorities, judges and politicians that were necessary to access to public work contracts.The De Stefanos, however, were more modern and the differences led to conflicts. Paolo De Stefano became a member of La Santa and the De Stefanos won a monopoly of construction work in northern Reggio Calabria, moving the rival Tripodo group out of the market of public work contracts with the support of the Piromalli
Piromalli 'ndrina
The Piromalli 'ndrina is one of the most powerful clans of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Gioia Tauro on the Tyrrhenian coast. The Piromalli's are allied with their relatives of the Molè family, also from Gioia Tauro. Often they...
and Mammolito 'ndrine. They also robbed a shipment of smuggled tobacco belonging to Tripodo.
First 'Ndrangheta war
These innovations and the institution of La Santa were opposed by the more traditionalist chiefs like Tripodo and Antonio MacrìAntonio Macrì
Antonio Macrì , popularly known as Zzi 'ntoni, was a historical and charismatic boss of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy...
. Only at the end of the so-called first 'Ndrangheta war, which took place in 1974-76 and led to the deaths of Macrì and Tripodo as well as the rise of the Piromalli 'ndrina
Piromalli 'ndrina
The Piromalli 'ndrina is one of the most powerful clans of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Gioia Tauro on the Tyrrhenian coast. The Piromalli's are allied with their relatives of the Molè family, also from Gioia Tauro. Often they...
and the De Stefano brothers as the new leaders of the Reggio Calabria 'ndrine, was the new institution fully recognized.
The war started with an attack on the brothers Giorgio, Paolo and Giovanni De Stefano in the Roof Garden bar in Reggio Calabria in November 1974 ordered by Tripodo. Giovanni was killed while the eldest of the brothers – and the boss of the clan – Giorgio was wounded. Tripodo was arrested in February 1975 and incarcerated in the Poggioreale prison in Naples. He was killed with the help of Camorra
Camorra
The Camorra is a Mafia-type criminal organization, or secret society, originating in the region of Campania and its capital Naples in Italy. It is one of the oldest and largest criminal organizations in Italy, dating to the 18th century.-Background:...
boss Raffaele Cutolo
Raffaele Cutolo
Raffaele Cutolo is an Italian crime boss and the charismatic leader of the Nuova Camorra Organizzata , an organisation he built to renew the Camorra. Cutolo has a variety of nicknames including "'o Vangelo" , "'o Principe" , "'o Professore" and "'o Monaco"...
, the boss of the Nuova Camorra Organizzata
Nuova Camorra Organizzata
The Nuova Camorra Organizzata was an Italian Camorra criminal organization founded in the late 1970s by a Neapolitan Camorrista, Raffaele Cutolo, in the region of Campania. It was also known by the initials NCO...
(NCO) who worked with the De Stefano’s in drug trafficking.
Political connections
The De Stefano brothers had connections with the political right in all its political expressions – that is, from the official party, the Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI), up to the extra-parliamentary movements – and actively supported them in the organisation of the revolt that took place in Reggio Calabria in 1970 against making Catanzaro the regional capital. He also supported prince Junio Valerio BorgheseJunio Valerio Borghese
Prince Junio Valerio Scipione Borghese was an Italian Navy commander during the regime of Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party and was a prominent hard-line fascist politician in post-war Italy.-Early career:Junio Valerio Borghese was born in Artena, Province of Rome, Kingdom of Italy...
and his plans for a neo-fascist coup. The so-called Golpe Borghese
Golpe Borghese
The Golpe Borghese was a failed Italian coup d'état allegedly planned for the night of 7 or 8 December 1970. It was named after Junio Valerio Borghese, an Italian World War II commander of the notorious Xª MAS unit, the "Black Prince", convicted of war crimes, but still a hero in the eyes of many...
fizzled out in the night of December 8, 1970, however.
The De Stefanos entered in a Masonic lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
in order to better take care of business and political interests. The lawyer Giorgio De Stefano
Giorgio De Stefano
Giorgio De Stefano is an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria. He belongs to the De Stefano 'ndrina, based in the Archi neighbourhood in the city of Reggio Calabria, and is a cousin of the historical boss Paolo De Stefano...
, a cousin of the boss Paolo, was elected for the Christian Democrat
Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
party (DC - Democrazia Cristiana) in the city council of Reggio Calabria for many years, and Paolo Romeo, a member of Parliament for the Italian Social Democratic Party
Italian Social Democratic Party
The Italian Democratic Social Party was a social-liberal political party in Italy.It was formed for the 1919 general election by the union of the Constitutional Democratic Party with several other parties of the liberal left...
(Partito Socialista Democratico Italiano, PSDI) for several legislatures. They were also close to Lodovico Ligato
Lodovico Ligato
Lodovico Ligato was an Italian Christian Democrat politician from Reggio Calabria and the former head of the Italian State Railways...
, a Christan Democrat politician from Reggio Calabria and the former head of the Italian State Railways. He was killed by rival 'Ndrangheta groups in August 1989 in a dispute about bribes over public contracts.
Business interests
When in 1974 businesses involved in the expansion of the port and steelworks in Gioia TauroGioia Tauro
Gioia Tauro is a comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, in Calabria , on the Tyrrhenian coast. It has an important port, situated along the route connecting Suez to Gibraltar, one of the busiest maritime corridors in the world....
offered a three per cent kickback to be left in peace the three leading 'Ndrangheta families at the time, Antonio Macrì
Antonio Macrì
Antonio Macrì , popularly known as Zzi 'ntoni, was a historical and charismatic boss of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy...
, the Piromalli brothers and the De Stefano brothers rejected the offer and wanted to be sub-contracted on work carried in order to control the project.
The 'Ndrangheta exploited the construction of the steelworks until the project was abandoned when the government decided there was no economic base for it. In 1977 disagreements about business interests emerged between Piromalli and the De Stefano clan. A hit squad headed by Giuseppe "Peppe" Piromalli
Giuseppe Piromalli (born 1921)
Giuseppe Piromalli , also known as "Peppino", was an Italian criminal known as a member of the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria. A native of Gioia Tauro, Piromalli was one of the most famous of the 'Ndrangheta bosses and headed the Piromalli 'ndrina...
killed Giorgio De Stefano. Some 1,000 people were killed in clan wars over the construction contracts.
Paolo took over the leadership of the clan. In the 1980s, the De Stefano brothers controlled virtually the entire wholesale meat market of Reggio Calabria. They forced butchers and supermarkets, through intimidation and threats, to buy meat from their companies.
Second 'Ndrangheta war
A second 'Ndrangheta war was triggered by the marriage between Giuseppina Condello – the sister of the CondelloPasquale Condello
Pasquale Condello is an Italian criminal known as a member of the 'Ndrangheta. He is also known as "Il supremo" for his role at the top of the crime syndicate. He was a fugitive since 1990 and included in the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy until his capture in February 2008...
brothers, underbosses of De Stefano – and Antonio Imerti
Antonio Imerti
Antonio Imerti , also known as "Nanu feroce" , is an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta, the Calabrian mafia...
, the leader of a neighbouring 'ndrina in Villa San Giovanni
Villa San Giovanni
Villa San Giovanni is a town and comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy. As of 2010 its population was of 13,747.-Geography:...
. The conflict exploded in 1985, two years after the marriage and saw practically all the 'ndrine in the city of Reggio Calabria grouped into either one of two opposing factions. De Stefano had become fearful of the new alliance that might challenge his power base. A failed attempt on Antonio Imerti triggered the murder of Paolo De Stefano on October 13, 1985.
The De Stefano clan prepared itself for the fight through another marriage, between Orazio De Stefano, Paolo's younger brother, and Antonietta Benestare, niece of the old boss Giovanni Tegano
Giovanni Tegano
Giovanni Tegano is an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta, the Calabrian mafia. He was a fugitive since 1993 and included in the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy, until his arrest in April 2010...
. Celebrated on December 2, 1985, the wedding sealed the alliance between the de Stefanos and the powerful Tegano clan. The bloody six-year war between the Condello
Pasquale Condello
Pasquale Condello is an Italian criminal known as a member of the 'Ndrangheta. He is also known as "Il supremo" for his role at the top of the crime syndicate. He was a fugitive since 1990 and included in the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy until his capture in February 2008...
-Imerti clan and De Stefano allied with the Tegano clan left 621 deaths.
According to the sociologist Pino Arlacchi
Pino Arlacchi
Giuseppe Arlacchi, also known as Pino, is an Italian sociologist and is well known worldwide for his studies and essays about the Mafia...
, the background of the war was the attempt of the De Stefano brothers to turn their accumulated wealth and power to account by claiming contracts for the Gioia Tauro
Gioia Tauro
Gioia Tauro is a comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, in Calabria , on the Tyrrhenian coast. It has an important port, situated along the route connecting Suez to Gibraltar, one of the busiest maritime corridors in the world....
port. The resulting clash with the Piromalli 'ndrina
Piromalli 'ndrina
The Piromalli 'ndrina is one of the most powerful clans of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Gioia Tauro on the Tyrrhenian coast. The Piromalli's are allied with their relatives of the Molè family, also from Gioia Tauro. Often they...
, whose monopoly this was, half destroyed the De Stefano cosca
Cosca
The word cosca is a Sicilian word which refers to any plant – such as the artichoke or the thistle – whose spiny closely folded leaves symbolize the tightness of relationships between members of the Mafia. In the English language this is best described as a clan. It is often used as a synonym for...
and left the clan leader, Paolo De Stefano, dead.
Succession
Paolo’s brother Orazio De Stefano and his cousin, the lawyer Giorgio De StefanoGiorgio De Stefano
Giorgio De Stefano is an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria. He belongs to the De Stefano 'ndrina, based in the Archi neighbourhood in the city of Reggio Calabria, and is a cousin of the historical boss Paolo De Stefano...
, took over the leadership of the clan. Both were seen as the main mentor of the “pax mafiosa” that ended the Second 'Ndrangheta war. The different clans divvied up the different extortion rackets over commercial activities in Reggio Calabria and managed to keep the peace among each other. The lawyer Giorgio De Stefano, considered to be the brainpower of the clan, was arrested on July 1, 1996. He maintained contacts with mafiosi from Sicily and Campania, in particular Leoluca Bagarella
Leoluca Bagarella
Leoluca Bagarella is an Italian criminal and member of the Sicilian Mafia. He is from the town of Corleone and was a member of the Corleonesi.-Biography:...
, Raffaele Cutolo
Raffaele Cutolo
Raffaele Cutolo is an Italian crime boss and the charismatic leader of the Nuova Camorra Organizzata , an organisation he built to renew the Camorra. Cutolo has a variety of nicknames including "'o Vangelo" , "'o Principe" , "'o Professore" and "'o Monaco"...
, and Nitto Santapaola. From his law office in Rome, he also had contacts with the Banda della Magliana
Banda della Magliana
The Banda della Magliana was an Italian criminal organization based in Rome, particularly active throughout the late 1970s until the early 1990s. Given by the media, the name refers to the original neighborhood, the Magliana, of most of its members....
.
Orazio was arrested on February 22, 2004. Subsequently, Paolo’s son Giuseppe De Stefano
Giuseppe De Stefano
Giuseppe De Stefano is an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta, the Calabrian mafia. He was a fugitive from 2003 until his capture on 10 December 2008, in his hometown Reggio Calabria. He was arrested in an apartment in the centre of Reggio Calabria, accompanied by his wife and...
became the boss. He was arrested in December 2008. His brother Carmine De Stefano had been arrested in December 2001. The next in line was Paolo Rosario De Stefano
Paolo Rosario De Stefano
Paolo Rosario De Stefano, , is a member of the 'Ndrangheta. He has been a fugitive since 2005 and was included on the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy. He is indicted for Mafia association, robbery and extortion....
, a son of Giorgio. He was arrested on August 18, 2009.