First 'Ndrangheta war
| First 'Ndrangheta war | |||
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Traditional 'Ndrangheta boss Antonio Macrì, who was killed on January 20, 1975
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| Date | 1974–1976 | ||
| Location | Calabria, Italy | ||
| Causes | Killing Giovanni De Stefano and wounding his brother Giorgio De Stefano on 24 November 1974 in the Roof Garden bar, an infamous 'Ndrangheta haunt in Reggio Calabria. | ||
| Goals | Struggle over public contracts and restructuring of the 'Ndrangheta | ||
| Result | Rise of the De Stefano 'ndrina and consolidation of Piromalli 'ndrina | ||
| Parties to the civil conflict | |||
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| Casualties | |||
| Death(s) | 233 people were killed on both sides | ||
The First 'Ndrangheta war was an internal struggle in the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type criminal organisation in Calabria (southern Italy). The conflict raged from 1974-1976 and would result in approximately 233 deaths. The war broke the equilibrium in the triumvirate, made up of Antonio Macrì, Domenico Tripodo and Girolamo Piromalli, that had ruled the 'Ndrangheta for 15 years, and facilitated the rise of a new generation 'Ndranghetisti, in particular the De Stefano 'ndrina, who wanted to open the doors of the 'Ndrangheta in new, more lucrative criminal activities (especially drug trafficking).
Traditional 'Ndrangheta bosses like Domenico Tripodo and Antonio Macrì, opposed to new developments in the organisation such as the entry into kidnapping and drug trafficking, as well as the formation of the Santa, a secret society within the 'Ndrangheta established in the early 1970s to maximize the power and invisibility of the most important bosses.
In contrast, their fellow boss in the triumvirate that had ruled the 'Ndrangheta for 15 years, Girolamo Piromalli favoured La Santa and was eager to modify the traditional rules of the 'Ndrangheta through the formation of covert Masonic lodges in which the 'Ndrangheta bosses were able to contact law enforcement authorities, judges and politicians that were necessary to access to public work contracts in the state development of the Reggio Calabria area (a railroad stump, a steelwork center, and the port in Gioia Tauro).
At a meeting in September 1974 in Gioia Tauro hosted by Piromalli to discuss an offer of a 3 percent kick back by the major construction companies for the Goia Tauro steelworks (which the 'Ndrangheta bosses rejected), tensions reached a boiling point. Tripodi and his former underling Giorgio De Stefano exchanged insults that almost escalated in a violent confrontation, just only prevented by peacemaker Macrì. Matters detoriated when Tripodi, fearing an ambush, failed to show up at a wedding of a close ally of Piromalli.
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Wikipedia