The Duisburg massacre
| Duisburg massacre | |
|---|---|
| Location | Outside the Da Bruno restaurant in Duisburg. |
| Date | 15 August 2007 |
| Target | Members of the Pelle-Vottari-Romeo 'Ndrangheta clans |
Attack type | Massacre |
| Deaths | Six killed |
| Perpetrators | 'Ndrangheta hit squad of the Strangio-Nirta clan, composed of Giovanni Strangio and Giuseppe Nirta. |
The conflict then received significant new public attention on 15 August 2007 when six men belonging to the Pelle-Romeo clan were shot dead in their cars in front of a pizzeria near the train station of Duisburg in western Germany. One of the killed men, Marco Marmo, was seen as responsible for the murder of Maria Strangio. It is believed that the men had moved to Germany to escape the feud. Giovanni Strangio was identified as one of the two gunmen who fired more than 70 shots. [7] [8] The second gunman is believed to be Strangio's brother-in-law Giuseppe Nirta (born in 1973), also wanted for international cocaine trafficking. [9] [10] [11]
In Germany the massacre instigated the Mafia? Nein danke! movement, inspired by the example of the anti-Mafia movement Addiopizzo in Sicily. [12] [13]
Chasing the suspects
A massacre of this size had been unprecedented in the history of the 'Ndrangheta. Italian police drastically heightened security measures in San Luca as a result, and arrested over 30 'Ndrangheta members, including Giovanni Luca Nirta. [14] Nirta's rival Francesco Vottari was arrested on 12 October 2007. [15] German and Italian police cooperated, and four members of the Strangio-Nirta clan were arrested in December 2007; the main suspect of the shooting, Giovanni Strangio, was however able to escape. [16] The head of the Strangio-Nirta clan, Giuseppe Nirta was arrested on 23 May 2008. [17] His son and successor Paolo Nirta (a cousin of Giovanni Strangio) on August 7, 2008. [18] [19]
Police concluded from telephone surveillance that the 'Ndrangheta clan bosses had negotiated a cease fire near the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Polsi in Aspromonte, a traditional meeting place of the 'Ndrangheta. [16] According to prosecutor Nicola Gratteri the elite bosses of the 'Ndrangheta imposed a peace directly after the Duisburg massacre. [20]
On 12 March 2009, Dutch police arrested Giovanni Strangio and his brother-in-law, Francesco Romeo, in an apartment in Diemen near Amsterdam, after German police learned that they were hiding there by following clues found in Nirta's flat after his arrest. [21] [22] On 11 February 2010, police arrested Sebastiano Nirta in San Luca suspected of being Strangio's accomplices in the Duisburg killings. The jailed Giuseppe Nirta received an additional arrest warrant. Both were charged on the basis of DNA evidence recovered from the crime scene. [23] [24] [25]
Trial
The trial against the killers started on 14 April 2010, in Locri. Strangio followed the hearing via video link to his prison cell in Rome. [23] [24] [26] On 12 July 2011, the Criminal Court in Locri sentenced eight people to life imprisonment for their roles in a violent feud, including Giovanni Strangio, Gianluca Nirta, Francesco Nirta (37), Giuseppe Nirta, known as 'Peppe u versu' (71), Francesco Pelle, known as 'Ciccio Pakistan' (34), Sebastiano Romeo (34), Francesco Vottari known as 'Ciccio u Frunzu' (40) and Sebastiano Vottari, known as 'il Professore' (28). Three other people were convicted and sentenced to terms ranging from nine to 12 years, while three more were acquitted. [27] [28] [29]
