Giorgio De Stefano

Giorgio De Stefano (Reggio Calabria, unknown – Santo Stefano in Aspromonte, November 7, 1977) was a high-ranking boss of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type criminal organisation in Calabria (southern Italy). Together with his brothers Paolo, Giovanni and Orazio he headed the De Stefano 'ndrina.

Capobastone of the De Stefano 'ndrina, Giorgio De Stefano was among the protagonists of the First 'Ndrangheta war which raged from 1974 to 1976, allied with the Piromalli brothers against the "old" 'Ndrangheta of Antonio Macrì and Domenico Tripodo — the latter being the former boss of the De Stefano brothers, who under Giorgio managed to break off from his control and become the most important criminal family in Reggio Calabria. During the war he survived an assassination attempt by hitmen loyal to Tripodo, inside the Roof Garden bar in Reggio Calabria, which led to the death of his brother Giovanni. Tripodo would later be killed in prison by men loyal to Raffaele Cutolo, who acted on the behalf of the De Stefano brothers.

Giorgio De Stefano became victorious in the First 'Ndrangheta war (which caused 233 deaths), and inaugurated, together with other 'ndrine from Reggio Calabria and its province, a new period for the 'Ndrangheta thanks to new lucrative businesses (most notably drug trafficking) and links to the political-institutional world, 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. The Santa allowed the 'Ndrangheta to enter lucrative public contracts.

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