Francesco Mazzaferro

Francesco Mazzaferro (born March 29, 1940 in Marina di Gioiosa Ionica), also known as Ciccio, is an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria. He belongs to the Mazzaferro clan from Marina di Gioiosa Ionica. The clan is opposed to the Aquino-Scali-Ursino clan from the same town.[1] He was leading the Mazzaferro clan together with his brothers Giuseppe and Vincenzo. Together with his cousin Rocco Lo Presti, the historical 'Ndrangheta boss of Bardonecchia and Val di Susa, he represented a piece of the history of organized crime in Piedmont. Mazzaferro and Lo Presti were the two undisputed leaders of the 'Ndrangheta in Val di Susa.[2]

Moving north

In the early 1970s, Mazzaferro was found guilty of exercising a monopoly over transportation in the area of Gioiosa Ionica. The court ordered him to reside outside his region of origin, and in 1972 he moved to Bardonecchia in the Province of Turin, in the Piedmont region, where lived for some time the powerful cousin Rocco Lo Presti. There, he started a transport and construction company, to serve the construction sites, and together with Lo Presti, within two years, he managed to clear the competition, in the construction sector, winning lucrative tenders as the realization of the Fréjus Road Tunnel.[3][4]

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.[5] He was sentenced to 18 years by the court in Turin in 1987, and the same court imposed for his release a deposit of 200 million and the stay obliged to Marina di Gioiosa Ionica, his country of origin, with no possibility to return or stay in Piedmont, Valle d' Aosta and Sicily.[6][7] 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.[3]

In 1995, Mazzaferro, despite having long resided in Calabria, was involved in the investigations that led to the dissolution of the municipal council of Bardonecchia. Rocco Lo Presti was arrested because he was held responsible for having exercised his influence on the decisions of the public administration.[8] Dissolving municipal council 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 municipal council of Bardonecchia marked the recognition of the fact that 'Ndrangheta clans had penetrated deeply in society in northern Italy as well.[4]

Prominent boss

In the 1970s, the Mazzaferro clan allied with the De Stefano 'ndrina from Reggio Calabria in the First 'Ndrangheta war.[9] Vincenzo, Giuseppe and Francesco Mazzaferro were part of the hit squad, which also included Nicola and Giuseppe Cataldo, that killed the traditional 'Ndrangheta boss Antonio Macrì and wounded Francesco Commisso, Macrì's right hand man.[9]

In September 1991, Francesco Mazzaferro became a member of Camera di Controllo, a provincial commission of the 'Ndrangheta formed at the end of the Second 'Ndrangheta war to avoid further internal conflicts.[10] The war had raged in Calabria for six years from 1985-1991 and left more than 600 people dead.[11]

Drug trafficking

In 1993, Mazzaferro was again arrested for drug trafficking.[12] 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 Torinese near Turin (the investigation was code-named Operation Cartagine). The Mazzaferros also represented other 'Ndrangheta clans in the trafficking: Barbaro (Platì), Ierinò (Gioiosa Ionica), Morabito (Africo), Cataldo (Locri) and Pesce (Rosarno).[1]

References
  1. (in Italian) Gratteri & Nicaso, Fratelli di Sangue, pp. 136-137
  2. La Mafia in Val Susa aveva due boss: Lo Presti e Mazzaferro Stampa Sera February 23, 1976
  3. How Mafias Migrate: The Case of the 'Ndrangheta in Northern Italy, by Federico Varese, Discussion Papers in Economic and Social History, Number 59, University of Oxford, July 2005
  4. (in Italian) 'Don Ciccio' e i 30 anni di mafia nella Val Susa, La Repubblica, November 7, 2006
  5. (in Italian) Preso a Torino uno dei capi dell'ndrangheta, La Repubblica, May 18, 1984
  6. Cauzione di 200 milioni. Mazzaferro libero La Stampa December 19, 1987
  7. name=omicron>(in Italian) La Piovra in Piemonte, a Bardonecchia, Omicron Nr. 39, January–March 2003
  8. Bardonecchia comune chiuso per mafia La Stampa April 29, 1995
  9. (in Italian) Gratteri & Nicaso, Fratelli di Sangue, p.58
  10. (in Italian) Sentenza procedimento penale Olimpia Archived July 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Tribunale di Reggio Calabria, January 19, 1999
  11. Godfather's arrest fuels fear of bloody conflict, The Observer, February 24, 2008
  12. (in Italian) La Piovra in Piemonte, a Bardonecchia, Omicron Nr. 39, January–March 2003
  • (in Italian) Gratteri, Nicola & Antonio Nicaso (2006). Fratelli di Sangue, Cosenza: Luigi Pellegrini Editore ISBN 88-8101-373-8
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