Founded | 1950s |
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Founding location | Castellace in the municipality of Oppido Mamertina, Calabria, Italy |
Years active | 1950s-present |
Territory | Platì, Buccinasco, near Milan and New South Wales in Australia |
Ethnicity | Calabrians |
Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, racketeering, extortion, kidnapping |
Rivals | Mammoliti 'ndrina |
The Barbaro 'ndrina is a powerful clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina belongs to the locale of the town of Platì. The clan also has a strong presence in northern Italy, notably in Buccinasco, near Milan, as well as in Australia, in particular in the Griffith, New South Wales area.
The clan originally hailed from Castellace in the municipality of Oppido Mamertina. In the 1950s the clan was involved in a bloody feud with the Mammoliti 'ndrina. In October 1954, Domenico Barbaro killed Francesco Mammoliti, the head of the rival clan. On November 7, 1954, the Mammolitis retaliated and killed Francesco Barbaro and some others, an attack that was attributed to Vincenzo Mammoliti, who was acquitted by the court because of insufficient proof. On January 19, 1955, Giovanni Barbaro, the brother of Francesco, was killed with 31 gunshots.
In the end the Mammoliti clan prevailed and the Barbaros moved to Platì. The feud lingered on until 1978, when Domenico Barbaro was killed in Perugia, after serving 26 years in prison for the murder of Francesco Mammoliti in 1954. Around Antonio Barbaro, known as "u Nigru", and Francesco Barbaro, known as "'u Castanu", arose one of the most powerful clans of the 'Ndrangheta which also included the Perre, Trimboli, Agresti, Catanzariti, Sergi, Papalia, Musitano and Molluso clans. They are associated through blood relations, which center around the Barbaro clan. After the death of Pasquale Agresta in 1974, Antonio Barbato took over the command over the group in Platì.
The clan’s long-time boss, Francesco Barbaro "'u Castanu" was known as the king of kidnapping in the 1980s. Seventeen high profile kidnappings have been attributed to the clan. Francesco was arrested on January 5, 1989. Francesco’s son Giuseppe Barbaro took over the leadership of the clan. He was included in the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy until his arrest on December 10, 2001. Another son of Francesco, Rocco Barbaro, was arrested on February 8, 2003.