Giuseppe Morabito
Encyclopedia
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 the region of 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). He hails from Africo
Africo
Africo is a comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, in the Southern Italian region of Calabria at 74 km from Reggio Calabria.Africo consists of two main centers. The first, Africo Vecchio , is located some 15 km in the mainland at the feet of the Aspromonte. The old town was destroyed...
in the Locride
Locride
Locride is an area of Calabria around the town of Locri in the Province of Reggio Calabria.It is divided into 4 areas:* Vallata dello Stilaro* Vallata del Torbido* Epizefiri* Vallata del Bonamico* Heracleum- See also :* Bovesia* Costa Viola...
. He was a fugitive from 1992 and included in the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy until his arrest in February 2004.
Important 'Ndrangheta boss
Morabito is one of the most important figures of the 'Ndrangheta. During the Second 'Ndrangheta war (1985–1991) in Calabria, he allegedly chaired the meetings that were held annually at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of PolsiSanctuary of Our Lady of Polsi
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Polsi, also known as the Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Polsi or Our lady of the Mountain, is a Christian sanctuary in the heart of the Aspromonte mountains, near San Luca in Calabria, southern Italy. It was founded by Roger II of Sicily in 1144...
and, later, in Africo. He is described as one of the senior members of La Provincia, a provincial commission of the 'Ndrangheta formed at the end of the Second 'Ndrangheta war in September 1991, to avoid further internal conflicts, i.e. the body that reproduces the well-known Sicilian Mafia Commission
Sicilian Mafia Commission
The Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra...
.
When he was arrested in February 2004, Roberto Centaro – the president of the Parliamentary Antimafia Commission
Antimafia Commission
The Italian Antimafia Commission is a bicameral commission of the Italian Parliament, composed of members from the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate . The Antimafia Commission is a commission of inquiry into, initially, the “phenomenon of the Mafia”...
– said the capture was even more important than that of Sicilian Mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano
Bernardo Provenzano
Bernardo Provenzano is a member of the Sicilian Mafia and is suspected of having been the head of the Corleonesi, a Mafia faction that originated in the village of Corleone, and de facto capo di tutti capi of the entire Sicilian Mafia until his arrest in 2006.His nickname is Binnu u tratturi...
. According to several pentiti
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...
Sicilian Mafia boss Totò Riina was sheltered by Morabito, while Riina was on the run. According to the special Antimafia police – the Direzione Investigativa Antimafia (DIA) – his influence within the 'Ndrangheta appears to be quite similar as Provenzano's influence within the Sicilian Cosa Nostra.
Early years
His first troubles with the criminal justice system were in 1952 for illegally occupying and damaging a building, unlawful possession of arms and violence against persons. In 1967 he was accused of being the principal behind the Locri massacre in which three members of a rival clan were killed, but was acquitted for lack of evidence in 1971.At the end of the 1980s, Morabito became the head of the 'Ndrangheta "locale" of Africo after the so-called Motticella feud between the Morabito-Mollica clan and the Speranza-Palamara-Scriva clan, all from Africo. In 1989, he challenged the chief of the national police Vincenzo Parisi to investigate, declaring he was innocent. An official brought the notice to Parisi while he visited the court in Locri in the midst of a meeting about an emergency of kidnappings in Calabria. Morabito became a fugitive in 1992 after an indictment for drug trafficking.
'Ndrangheta cell in Sicily
The Morabito clan established a 'Ndrangheta cell in Messina on Sicily - across the Strait of MessinaStrait of Messina
The Strait of Messina is the narrow passage between the eastern tip of Sicily and the southern tip of Calabria in the south of Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Sea with the Ionian Sea, within the central Mediterranean...
opposite 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....
. Up to the late 1970s, criminal gangs in Messina were under the influence of the 'Ndrangheta. Only later, the Sicilian Cosa Nostra established an organisation of its own in Messina and its province by including the local Calabrian Mafia-type structure. The whole process took place without any conflict and there is reason to believe that the Mafia infiltration in the Messina area took place after agreements made between the leaders of the two organisations.
The Morabito's exercise considerable power in Messina up to the present. The clan turned the University of Messina
University of Messina
The University of Messina is a public university located in Messina, Italy, and founded in 1548. The university is organized in 11 Faculties.-History:...
into their private fiefdom, ordering that degrees, academic posts and influence be awarded to favoured associates. Friends or relatives of politicians were the beneficiaries whom the clan wished to cultivate. Before a police crackdown in June 2001, two professors had been kneecapped by unknown assailants, four bombs exploded in university buildings and the cars of several academics were set on fire. Lecturers were threatened before examinations by students claiming mafia-type backing.
Drug trafficking
Morabito put together a joint venture of 'Ndrangheta clans, among which the Barbaro familyBarbaro '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...
from Platì
Platì
Platì is a town and comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, in Calabria, southern Italy. It rises 300 metres above the sea level on the slope of the Aspromonte mountains and is located next to the Aspromonte National Park...
, the Pelle
Antonio Pelle
Antonio Pelle , also known as Ntoni Gambazza, was a historically significant and some say charismatic 'Ndrangheta boss from San Luca in Calabria...
family from San Luca
San Luca
San Luca is a comune in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about 100 km southwest of Catanzaro and about 35 km east of Reggio Calabria. The town is situated on the eastern slopes of the Aspromonte mountain, in the valley of the Bonamico river...
, but also the Pisano-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:...
-Bellocco
Bellocco 'ndrina
The Bellocco '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:...
clan from Rosarno
Rosarno
Rosarno is a comune in the province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region of Calabria. It is about southwest of Catanzaro and about northeast of Reggio Calabria. Rosarno stands on a natural terrace cloaked in olive plantations and vineyards on the left bank of the river Mesima, overlooking...
, 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. Connections between the Morabito clan and Mafiosi of the 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...
area were established during criminal investigations concerning drug trafficking. Connections with the Mafia in Mazara del Vallo
Mazara del Vallo
Mazara del Vallo is a town and comune in southwestern Sicily, Italy, which lies mainly on the left bank at the mouth of the Mazaro river, administratively part of the province of Trapani....
in the province of Trapani
Province of Trapani
Trapani is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital is the city of Trapani.It has an area of 2,460 km², and a total population of 425,121...
headed by Mariano Agate
Mariano Agate
Mariano Agate is a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He is the boss of Mazara del Vallo Mafia family since the 1970s when he replaced the old boss Mariano Licari. He also was the boss of the mandamento of Mazara, including the Mafia families of Marsala, Salemi and Vita...
were used to import hashish
Hashish
Hashish is a cannabis preparation composed of compressed stalked resin glands, called trichomes, collected from the unfertilized buds of the cannabis plant. It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves...
from Morocco and cocaine from Latin America.
Between 1996 and 1997 the "new Balkan mafias" began to play a "dominant role" in the importing of heroin and arms trafficking, to the extent that they started supplying the 'Ndrangheta gang run by Morabito with drugs. The network, including Agim Gashi and Ismet Dedinca, enjoyed the discreet support of Italian intelligence (with which the Morabito clan as in contact) and the direct involvement of politicians (such as Ritvan Peshkepia), who enjoyed diplomatic immunity.
The Morabito-Bruzzaniti-Palamara cosca from Africo
Africo
Africo is a comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, in the Southern Italian region of Calabria at 74 km from Reggio Calabria.Africo consists of two main centers. The first, Africo Vecchio , is located some 15 km in the mainland at the feet of the Aspromonte. The old town was destroyed...
is heavily involved in cocaine trafficking through contacts in Venezuela, Colombia and Argentina. Tiradrittu’s grandson, Salvatore Morabito, looked after the interests of the clan in the north of Italy. He was arrested in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
on May 3, 2007, along with 19 others. The police seized 250 kg of cocaine, smuggled through the fruit and vegetable wholesale market (Ortomercato) that is under control of the 'Ndrangheta. Salvatore Morabito used to arrive on the market in his Ferrari.
Arrest
On February 18, 2004, Morabito was arrested along with his son-in-law, Giuseppe Pansera, another fugitive. He was armed but did not resist the police. "Treat me well," he reportedly told officers. He had been at large for 12 years, on suspicion of running an international drug smuggling ring. However, many of his relatives are still free and continue to operate thanks to the prestige of Tiradrittu. His son and successor as the head of the clan, Rocco Morabito, was arrested on April 26, 2010, in Melito di Porto SalvoMelito di Porto Salvo
Melito di Porto Salvo is a comune in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about 130 km southwest of Catanzaro and about 25 km southeast of Reggio Calabria; and is also the country's southernmost city...
, while he was visiting his sister.
Giuseppe Sculli
Giuseppe Sculli
Giuseppe Sculli is an Italian footballer who plays for Lazio.-Juventus:Sculli made his Serie A debut on 14 September 2002 for Modena against A.C...
, a former Juventus and Italy Under-21 player, is the grandson of Morabito. He is accused of match-fixing when he played for F.C. Crotone
F.C. Crotone
Football Club Crotone is an Italian football club based in Crotone, Calabria. Founded in 1923, it currently plays in Serie B, holding home games at Stadio Ezio Scida, which has a 9,631-seat capacity.-History:...
against his other former club F.C. Messina
F.C. Messina Peloro
Associazione Calcio Rinascita Messina is an Italian football club based in Messina, Sicily. It currently plays in Serie D.- Brief history :The origins of the team go back to 1900 when Messina F.C was founded in the city. The club has spent most of its history in the lower Italian football leagues...
at the last match-day of the 2001-02 Serie B season.