Francesco Mazzaferro
Encyclopedia
Francesco Mazzaferro also known as Ciccio, is an Italian
criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria
. He belongs to the Mazzaferro 'ndrina from Gioiosa Ionica
. The clan is opposed to the Ursino clan from the same town. He was leading the Mazzaferro clan together with his brothers Giuseppe and Vincenzo.
in the Province of Turin
, in the Piedmont
region. There he started a transport company servicing construction sites and through the use of force and intimidation obtained several contracts related to the construction of the Fréjus Road Tunnel
.
Throughout the 1980s, he was charged with a variety of offenses in Piedmont, Calabria, and Sicily. On May 17, 1984, he was arrested for drug trafficking. The judicial inquiry als looked into skimming off of public contracts in the Val Susa area. He was sentenced to 18 years by the court in Turin
in 1987. He was found guilty of being the boss of a ‘‘mafia group’’ based in Piedmont that was involved in several crimes, including drug trafficking and illegal money lending.
The influence and power of the Mazzaferro on local politicians was such that the council of the municipality of Bardonecchia had to be dissolved in 1995 by the government. Dissolving municipial councils was common in the south of Italy, where the power of organized crime was firmly established. In the north of Italy, however, this had never happened before. The dissolution of the council of Bardonecchia marked the recognition of the fact that 'Ndrangetha clans had penetrated deeply in society in northern Italy as well.
near Turin (the investigation was code-named Operation Cartagine). The Mazzaferros als represented other 'Ndrangheta clans in the trafficking: Barbaro
(Platì), Ierinò (Gioiosa Ionica), Morabito
(Africo), Cataldo
(Locri) and Pesce
(Rosarno).
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...
criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria
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....
. He belongs to the Mazzaferro 'ndrina from Gioiosa Ionica
Gioiosa Ionica
Gioiosa Ionica is a town and comune in Italy in the province of Reggio Calabria, region of Calabria. It lies near the east coast of Calabria and covers an area of 35 km²....
. The clan is opposed to the Ursino clan from the same town. He was leading the Mazzaferro clan together with his brothers Giuseppe and Vincenzo.
Moving north
In the early 1970s, Mazzaferro was found guilty of exercising a monopoly over transportation in the area of Gioiosa Jonica. The court ordered him to reside outside his region of origin, and in 1972 he moved to BardonecchiaBardonecchia
Bardonecchia is an Italian town and comune located in the Province of Turin, in the Piedmont region, in the western part of Susa Valley....
in the Province of Turin
Province of Turin
The Province of Turin is a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Turin.It has an area of 6,830 km², and a total population of 2,277,686 . There are 315 comuni in the province – the most of any province in Italy...
, in the Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
region. There he started a transport company servicing construction sites and through the use of force and intimidation obtained several contracts related to the construction of the Fréjus Road Tunnel
Fréjus Road Tunnel
The Fréjus Road Tunnel is a tunnel that connects France and Italy. It runs under Col du Fréjus in the Cottian Alps between Modane in France and Bardonecchia in Italy...
.
Throughout the 1980s, he was charged with a variety of offenses in Piedmont, Calabria, and Sicily. On May 17, 1984, he was arrested for drug trafficking. The judicial inquiry als looked into skimming off of public contracts in the Val Susa area. He was sentenced to 18 years by the court in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
in 1987. He was found guilty of being the boss of a ‘‘mafia group’’ based in Piedmont that was involved in several crimes, including drug trafficking and illegal money lending.
The influence and power of the Mazzaferro on local politicians was such that the council of the municipality of Bardonecchia had to be dissolved in 1995 by the government. Dissolving municipial councils was common in the south of Italy, where the power of organized crime was firmly established. In the north of Italy, however, this had never happened before. The dissolution of the council of Bardonecchia marked the recognition of the fact that 'Ndrangetha clans had penetrated deeply in society in northern Italy as well.
Prominent boss
In September 1991, Francesco Mazzaferro became a member of La Provincia, a provincial commission of the 'Ndrangheta formed at the end of the Second 'Ndrangheta war to avoid further internal conflicts. The war had raged in Calabria for six years from 1985-1991 and left more than 600 people dead.Drug trafficking
In 1993 Mazzaferro was again arrested for drug trafficking. The Mazzaferro clan was also involved in cocaine trafficking from Colombia with the Sicilian Cuntrera-Caruana Mafia clan. In March 1994 the Italian police seized 5497 kilogrammes of cocaine (a European record at the time) in Borgaro TorineseBorgaro Torinese
Borgaro Torinese is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 10 km northwest of Turin. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 13,317 and an area of 14.4 km²....
near Turin (the investigation was code-named Operation Cartagine). The Mazzaferros als represented other 'Ndrangheta clans in the trafficking: Barbaro
Barbaro 'ndrina
The Barbaro 'ndrina is a clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is currently based in Platì...
(Platì), Ierinò (Gioiosa Ionica), Morabito
Giuseppe Morabito
Giuseppe Morabito , nicknamed u tiradrittu , is an Italian criminal and a historical boss of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in the region of Calabria . He hails from Africo in the Locride...
(Africo), Cataldo
Cataldo 'ndrina
The Cataldo 'ndrina is a clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. This particular 'ndrina is based in Locri, a hotbed of 'Ndrangheta activity...
(Locri) and Pesce
Pesce 'ndrina
The Pesce 'ndrina is a clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Rosarno on the Tyrrhenian coast.-Powerful 'Ndrangheta clan:...
(Rosarno).