Girolamo Piromalli
Encyclopedia
Girolamo Piromalli also known as Mommo, was a historical and charismatic boss of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia
-type organisation in Calabria
(Italy
). His criminal base was his home town Gioia Tauro
on the Tyrrhenian coast
of Calabria. He was the capobastone (head of command) of the Piromalli 'ndrina
.
. The Piromalli 'Ndrina contained more than 200 members.
Before becoming one of the most feared criminal power brokers in the Gioia Tauro plain, Mommo Piromalli was a cowherd. In 1939 he was charged with illegal carriage of firearms, in 1940 for grievous bodily harm, in 1944 for robbery with violence and in 1950 for murder. In 1967, the court imposed a five-year mandatory internal banishment (soggiorno obbligato) to remove Piromalli from his home town and criminal associates.
Together with Antonio Macrì
from Siderno
on the Ionic coast
and Domenico Mico Tripodo
, the boss of the city of Reggio Calabria
and the surrounding areas, the Piromalli brothers formed a sort of triumvirate since the beginning of the 1960s until the outbreak of the first 'Ndrangheta war in the mid 1970s. Their senior position was recognized by all other heads of 'Ndrangheta families and their advice was in most cases followed without protest.
According to Gaetano Costa (the former chief of the Messina Mafia family turned state witness), "it was Mommo Piromalli who – given the enormous interests which the existed in the Reggio Calabria area (the railroad stump, the steelwork center, and the port in Gioia Tauro, etc.) – entrusted himself with the rank of santista, in order to assert his higher authority and hence directly control the public works. He said that this rank had been given him directly in Toronto, where there was a very important 'ndrina."
These innovations and the new institution of La Santa were opposed by the more traditionalist bosses such as Antonio Macrì and Domenico 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 Piromalli and the De Stefano brothers
as the new leaders of the Reggio Calabria 'ndrine, was the new institution fully recognized.
(FBN) targeting Saverio Mammoliti
revealed that Mammoliti needed permission of Macrì and "Don Mommo" Piromalli.
On March 23, 1974, police arrested Piromalli and charged him helping to mastermind the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III
, grandson of the oil tycoon and multi-millionaire J. Paul Getty
, in July 1973. Getty's ear was cut off and sent to the family to induce his grandfather to produce a ransom. After 158 days, the malnourished and bruised Getty was released on December 15, 1973. He was left behind at an abandoned service station, shivering in a driving rainstorm.
In March 1974, Piromalli was picked up without resistance in Gioia Tauro during a series of early morning raids on more than a dozen homes in Calabria. Banknotes from the ransom money were found in his home. In July 1976, Piromalli was acquitted in the trial against the kidnappers. Nine men had been arrested. Two minor perpetrators were convicted and sent to prison. The ransom of around US$3 million was used to buy the trucks needed to establish a transport monopoly in the construction of the Gioia Tauro port.
When in 1974 businesses involved in the expansion of the port and steelworks in Gioia Tauro
offered a three per cent kickback to be left in peace the three leading 'Ndrangheta families at the time, Antonio Macrì
, the Piromalli clan and the De Stefano clan 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 Peppe Piromalli killed Giorgio De Stefano. Some 1,000 people were killed in clan wars over the construction contracts.
On February 11, 1979, Mommo Piromalli died of natural causes in a hospital in Gioia Tauro. He was succeeded as head of the clan by his younger brother Giuseppe "Peppe" Piromalli. Piromalli also had contacts with Sicilian Mafiosi such as Angelo La Barbera
and Stefano Bontate.
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
-type organisation 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....
(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...
). His criminal base was his home town 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....
on the Tyrrhenian coast
Tyrrhenian Sea
The Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.-Geography:The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and Calabria and Sicily ....
of Calabria. He was the capobastone (head of command) 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...
.
'Ndrangheta boss
Mommo Piromalli ruled the most powerful 'Ndrangheta group in the Gioia Tauro plain with his younger brother Giuseppe "Peppe" PiromalliGiuseppe 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...
. The Piromalli 'Ndrina contained more than 200 members.
Before becoming one of the most feared criminal power brokers in the Gioia Tauro plain, Mommo Piromalli was a cowherd. In 1939 he was charged with illegal carriage of firearms, in 1940 for grievous bodily harm, in 1944 for robbery with violence and in 1950 for murder. In 1967, the court imposed a five-year mandatory internal banishment (soggiorno obbligato) to remove Piromalli from his home town and criminal associates.
Together with 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...
from Siderno
Siderno
Siderno is a town and comune located in Calabria, Italy about 3 kilometres from Locri.Siderno Marina is the newer town located on the Ionian coast. It is popular with both Italian and foreign tourists and has a bathing beach....
on the Ionic coast
Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea , is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern Albania to the north, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and...
and Domenico Mico 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 boss of the city of 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...
and the surrounding areas, the Piromalli brothers formed a sort of triumvirate since the beginning of the 1960s until the outbreak of the first 'Ndrangheta war in the mid 1970s. Their senior position was recognized by all other heads of 'Ndrangheta families and their advice was in most cases followed without protest.
Establishing the Santa
Mommo Piromalli and the bosses of several other families established La Santa at the end of the 1960s. They were eager to modify the traditional rules of the 'Ndrangheta in order to be able to access contracts for public works in the region 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.According to Gaetano Costa (the former chief of the Messina Mafia family turned state witness), "it was Mommo Piromalli who – given the enormous interests which the existed in the Reggio Calabria area (the railroad stump, the steelwork center, and the port in Gioia Tauro, etc.) – entrusted himself with the rank of santista, in order to assert his higher authority and hence directly control the public works. He said that this rank had been given him directly in Toronto, where there was a very important 'ndrina."
These innovations and the new institution of La Santa were opposed by the more traditionalist bosses such as Antonio Macrì and Domenico 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 Piromalli and the De Stefano brothers
De Stefano 'ndrina
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...
as the new leaders of the Reggio Calabria 'ndrine, was the new institution fully recognized.
Drug trafficking and Getty kidnap
In 1973 he was charged of heroin trafficking when an undercover operation by the US Federal Bureau of NarcoticsFederal Bureau of Narcotics
The Federal Bureau of Narcotics was an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury. Established in the Department of the Treasury by an act of June 14, 1930 consolidating the functions of the Federal Narcotics Control Board and the Narcotic Division...
(FBN) targeting Saverio Mammoliti
Saverio Mammoliti
Saverio Mammoliti , also known as Saro, is a 'Ndrangheta boss from Oppido Mamertina and Castellace in Calabria. In 2003, he became a pentito when he decided to collaborate with Italian justice...
revealed that Mammoliti needed permission of Macrì and "Don Mommo" Piromalli.
On March 23, 1974, police arrested Piromalli and charged him helping to mastermind the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III
John Paul Getty III
Jean Paul Getty III , also known as Paul Getty, was the eldest of the four children of John Paul Getty, Jr. and Abigail , and the grandson of oil tycoon Jean Paul Getty...
, grandson of the oil tycoon and multi-millionaire J. Paul Getty
J. Paul Getty
Jean Paul Getty was an American industrialist. He founded the Getty Oil Company, and in 1957 Fortune magazine named him the richest living American, whilst the 1966 Guinness Book of Records named him as the world's richest private citizen, worth an estimated $1,200 million. At his death, he was...
, in July 1973. Getty's ear was cut off and sent to the family to induce his grandfather to produce a ransom. After 158 days, the malnourished and bruised Getty was released on December 15, 1973. He was left behind at an abandoned service station, shivering in a driving rainstorm.
In March 1974, Piromalli was picked up without resistance in Gioia Tauro during a series of early morning raids on more than a dozen homes in Calabria. Banknotes from the ransom money were found in his home. In July 1976, Piromalli was acquitted in the trial against the kidnappers. Nine men had been arrested. Two minor perpetrators were convicted and sent to prison. The ransom of around US$3 million was used to buy the trucks needed to establish a transport monopoly in the construction of the Gioia Tauro port.
Business
Together with his brother Peppe Piromalli, Mommo redirected the 'Ndrangheta clan from its rural base to an entrepreneurial criminal organisation assuming dominance over several public works in the Gioia Tauro area, particularly in the construction and operation of the new container seaport.When in 1974 businesses involved in the expansion of the port and steelworks in 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....
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 clan and the De Stefano clan 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 Peppe Piromalli killed Giorgio De Stefano. Some 1,000 people were killed in clan wars over the construction contracts.
On February 11, 1979, Mommo Piromalli died of natural causes in a hospital in Gioia Tauro. He was succeeded as head of the clan by his younger brother Giuseppe "Peppe" Piromalli. Piromalli also had contacts with Sicilian Mafiosi such as Angelo La Barbera
Angelo La Barbera
Angelo La Barbera was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. Together with his brother Salvatore La Barbera he ruled the Mafia family of Palermo Centro...
and Stefano Bontate.