The crimine is an annual meeting of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria. The meeting is held near the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Polsi in the municipality of San Luca during the September Feast. [1] At least since the 1950s, these annual meetings have traditionally served as a forum to discuss future strategies and settle disputes among the locali – all the 'ndrine in a specific town or territory. The assembly exercises weak supervisory powers over the activities of all 'Ndrangheta groups. [1]
At the meeting a capo crimine is elected. Strong emphasis was placed on the temporary character of the position of the crimine boss. A new representative was elected capo crimine at each meeting. [1] Each head of a locale is called before the crimine to give an account of all the activities carried out during the year. He also should communicate the number of new affiliates and punishments to offenders. [1]
In July 2010, in a massive police operation dubbed "Il crimine", the head of the crimine, Domenico Oppedisano was arrested. He assumed power at a banquet held at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Polsi in September 2009. In a conversation wiretapped by the police he talked of 1,000 affiliates attending the meeting. [2] [3]
In the course of the investigation the capo crimine also appeared to be the nominal head of the ‘Ndrangheta Commission, known as La Provincia . [3] [4]
The 'Ndrangheta is a Mafia-type organized crime group based in Calabria, Italy. Despite not being as famous abroad as the Sicilian Mafia, and having been considered more rural than the Neapolitan Camorra and the Apulian Sacra Corona Unita, the 'Ndrangheta became the most powerful crime syndicate in Italy in the late 1990s and early 2000s. While commonly tied together with the Sicilian Mafia, the 'Ndrangheta operates independently from them, though there is contact between the two due to the geographical proximity and shared culture and language between Calabria and Sicily.
Capo dei capi or capo di tutti i capi or Godfather are terms used mainly by the media, public and law enforcement community to indicate a supremely powerful crime boss in the Sicilian or American Mafia who holds great influence over the whole organization. The term was introduced to the U.S. public by the Kefauver Commission in 1950.
San Luca is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) southwest of Catanzaro and about 35 kilometres (22 mi) east of Reggio Calabria. The town is situated on the eastern slopes of the Aspromonte mountain, in the valley of the Bonamico river. At about 10 kilometres (6 mi) from San Luca up the mountain lies the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Polsi.
The San Luca feud or Vendetta of San Luca is a long-running conflict between two clans of the 'Ndrangheta—an Italian organized crime organisation—that began in 1991 in Italy's Calabria region in the village of San Luca.
A capocrimine is the elected boss of the crimine, an annual meeting of the 'Ndrangheta locali near the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Polsi in the municipality of San Luca during the September Feast.
Giuseppe Piromalli, is an Italian criminal known as a member of the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria. He succeeded his uncle Giuseppe Piromalli as head of the family clan that controls the port of Gioia Tauro and is one of the major powers in the 'Ndrangheta. He became a member 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.
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 (Italy). He hails from Africo in the Locride. He was a fugitive from 1992 and included in the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy until his arrest in February 2004.
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. The church and monastery are situated in a spectacular setting at the bottom of a gorge at an altitude of 865 metres surrounded by high mountains on the east side of the Montalto the highest peak of the Aspromonte. The sanctuary is difficult to reach. Until some years ago Polsi could only reached by foot.
Giuseppe Nirta, was a historical boss of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria]]. He hailed from San Luca in Calabria. Together with his brothers Antonio, Francesco and Sebastiano, he ruled the town, a stronghold of the 'Ndrangheta.
Antonio Nirta was a boss of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organization in Calabria, Italy. Together with his brothers Giuseppe, Francesco and Sebastiano, he ruled San Luca, a stronghold of the 'Ndrangheta.
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 are referred to as the Piromalli-Molè clan. The Piromalli clan contains more than 200 members.
The De Stefano 'ndrina, or the De Stefano family or De Stefano-Tegano family, 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.
Giorgio De Stefano is an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria, a Mafia-type criminal organisation 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. He has a degree in criminal law and is often referred to as "the lawyer". According to anti-mafia investigators, he represents "the brains" of the De Stefano clan, able to elaborate alliances and strategies, with a typically managerial approach, identifying the most lucrative criminal activities to be implemented.
Domenico Oppedisano is an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria. He is based in Rosarno.
The Camera di Controllo, is a collegial body of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria. It is also known as La Provincia or Camera di Compensazione. It is composed of leading 'Ndrangheta members to decide on important questions concerning the organization and settling disputes.
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.
Vincenzo Pesce, also known as Cenzo, is an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria. He is based in Rosarno and heads the Pesce 'ndrina.
Giuseppe Pelle is an Italian criminal from San Luca, and member of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria. He is the son of Antonio Pelle, also known as Ntoni Gambazza, the capo crimine, the ceremonial head of the 'Ndrangheta.
Rocco Morabito is an Italian criminal from Bova Marina, and member of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria. He is the son of Giuseppe Morabito, also known as Tiradrittu, the head of the 'Ndrangheta in Africo, and succeeded him as the head of the clan after his father had been arrested in February 2004.
A locale, is the main local organizational unit of the 'Ndrangheta with jurisdiction over criminal activities in an entire town or an area in a large urban center.