San Luca feud
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The San Luca feud or Vendetta of San Luca is a long running conflict between two Italian organized crime gangs that began in 1991 in Italy's Calabria region in the village of San Luca.
The two involved clans, the Strangio-Nirta and Pelle-Vottari-Romeo families, both belong to the 'Ndrangheta crime organization. After a fight at a carnival celebration in 1991 turned ugly, two young men from Stangio-Nirta were killed, leading to a series of revenge killings. A truce was called in 2000. The conflict flared up again on 25 December 2006 when Maria Strangio was shot to death in San Luca. She was the wife of Giovanni Luca Nirta, a supposed leader of the Strangio-Nirta family. At the funeral of Maria Strangio, her cousin Giovanni Strangio appeared with gun, presumably to kill members of the Pelle-Romeo clan. He was arrested and released in July 2007. Until August 2007, 5 more murders and 8 attempted murders in Calabria were attributed to the feud.
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 triggermen who fired more than 70 shots.[1][2] The second triggerman is believed to be Strangio’s brother-in-law Giuseppe Nirta (born in 1973), also wanted for international cocaine trafficking.[3][4][5]
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.[6] Nirta's rival Francesco Vottari was arrested on October 12, 2007.[7] 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.[8]
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.[8]
[edit] Related links
[edit] References
- ^ (German) Haftbefehl gegen Giovanni Strangio erlassen, Der Spiegel, August 31, 2007
- ^ (Italian) Strage Duisburg, la polizia tedesca accusa "Giovanni Strangio tra i responsabili", La Repubblica, August 31, 2007
- ^ Spur nach Belgien, Focus, March 3, 2008
- ^ (German) Ermittler haben zweiten Killer im Visier, Der Spiegel, March 3, 2008
- ^ (Italian) Duisburg, individuato l'altro killer, La Repubblica, March 1, 2008
- ^ (Italian) Strage Duisburg, San Luca sotto assedio: trentadue persone fermate per la faida, La Repubblica, August 30, 2007
- ^ (Italian) Strage di Duisburg, arrestato il boss Francesco Vottari, La Repubblica, October 12, 2007
- ^ a b (German) Razzia in San Luca, Sueddeutsche Zeitung, December 18, 2007
[edit] Sources
- A mafia family feud spills over BBC News, 16 August 2007
- Rache am Weihnachtsmörder, Spiegel Online, 16 August 2007. (German)
- A Deadly Mafia Export from Italy, Spiegel Online, 15 August 2007
- Mafia six killed over an egg, The Scotsman, 16 August 2007
- Mafia feud blamed for 'executions' in Germany, Financial Times, 16 August 2007
