The Cordì 'ndrina is a clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The

'ndrina The 'ndrina (, plural: ; , plural: ) is the basic unit of the 'Ndrangheta of Calabria, made up of blood relatives, and is the equivalent of the Sicilian Mafia’s "family" or ''cosca''.Varese, How Mafias Migrate'Gratteri & Nicaso ''Fratelli di s ...

is based in

Locri Locri is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy. Its name derives from that of the ancient Greek region of Locris. Today it is an important administrative and cultural centre on the Ion ...

, a hotbed of 'Ndrangheta activity.

Feud with Cataldo clan

The historical boss of the clan, Domenico Cordì, was killed in

on June 23, 1967, in the so-called Piazza Mercato massacre, which signed the beginning of a long blood feud with the Cataldo 'ndrina. The motive for the elimination of Domenico Cordì was the alleged fleecing of some 1,700 cases of cigarettes that were smuggled into

Catanzaro Catanzaro (, or ; scn, label= Catanzarese, Catanzaru ; , or , ''Katastaríoi Lokrói''; ; la, Catacium), also known as the "City of the two Seas", is an Italian city of 86,183 inhabitants (2020), the capital of the Calabria region and of its p ...

by Sicilian mafiosi of the Tagliavia and Spadaro families in Palermo to

Antonio Macrì Antonio Macrì (; – January 20, 1975), popularly known as ("Unca Tony"), was a historical and charismatic boss of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. He was born in Siderno on the Ionian Sea, Ionian coast ...

, the undisputed head of the 'Ndrangheta in

Siderno Siderno ( scn, label= Calabrian, Sidernu or ; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy, about 3 kilometres from Locri. Some notable people from Siderno are Marco stalteri, Patrizia lunch ...

. Gratteri & Nicaso, ''Fratelli di Sangue'', pp. 130-31 Two years after the killing, the Cordì clan hit back, killing Giuseppe and Domenico Marafioti, respectively the brother and son of Bruno Marafioti, boss of the clan and allied with the Cataldo. A series of hostilities continued until 1975 after the murder of

, when the adversaries, weakened by losses on both sides, agreed to a truce. The truce fell apart due a bomb attack on July 4, 1993, against the boss of the Cataldo clan,

Giuseppe Cataldo Giuseppe Cataldo (Locri, September 19, 1938 − Locri, May 10, 2011), also known as ''Peppe'', was an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria. He belonged to the Cataldo 'ndrina based in Locri. 'Ndran ...

. He was the target of a bomb thrown at the car driven by his wife. The car was completely destroyed but Cataldo and his wife miraculously survived. Hostilities resumed.Operazione Mistero / Faida di Locri, storia di inestricabili rancori
, Gazzetta del Sud, March 19, 2010 Another boss of the Cordì clan, Cosimo Cordì, was killed in

on October 13, 1997. The Locri football club mourned the death of the boss with one minute of silence at the start of a game.Minuto di silenzio allo stadio per il boss ucciso
Corriere della Sera, October 24, 1997 His brother Antonio Cordì – known as ‘U Ragiuneri – took over as the head (capobastone) of the clan. Antonio Cordí was also a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

for the

Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a Socialism, socialist and later Social democracy, social-democratic List of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the l ...

(''Partito Socialista Italiano'' – PSI) and a powerful vote broker in national elections.Forse è l'inizio di una nuova guerra
, Gazzetta del Sud, June 2, 2005

Recent developments

Salvatore Cordì, the son of the old boss Domenico, was killed on May 31, 2005, in

. The police accidentally witnessed the killing when one of the killers inadvertently set off his mobile phone – which was under surveillance – while he descended the motorcycle used in the attack.Locri, omicidio mafioso in diretta
La Repubblica, December 20, 2005 On December 18, 2008, police arrested Antonio Cataldo for ordering the killing, jointly with three of the material killers.'Ndrangheta, arrestati quattro boss accusati dell'omicidio Cordì
La Repubblica, December 18, 2008 The killing of Salvatore Cordì was a retribution for the killing of Giuseppe Cataldo, a nephew of

the boss of the Cataldo clan, three months earlier. In March 2006, police arrested several members of the Cordì family, including the suspected current boss, Vincenzo Cordì, and Salvatore Ritorto, believed to have pulled the trigger in the killing of Francesco Fortugno, the Vice President of the Regional Assembly of Calabria, in October 2005.Mafia turncoat found hanged in Italy
, DPA, October 16, 2007Nove arresti per il delitto Fortugno
Rai News, March 21, 2006 The military boss of the Cordì clan , Pietro Criaco was captured on December 28, 2008.Colpo alla 'Ndrangheta, in manette il superboss Pietro Criaco
Corriere della Sera, December 28, 2008 In 2010, police investigations based on intercepted conversations and government witnesses revealed that the Cordì and Cataldo clans signed a peace after a bitter feud that lasted for 40 years causing dozens of deaths. They formed a strong alliance aimed at a joint management of the crime business in the area, in particular in obtaining public work contracts and the exortortion industry.
, Il Quotidiano della Calabria, November 16, 2010

Notes

References

* Gratteri, Nicola & Antonio Nicaso (2006).
Fratelli di Sangue
', Cosenza: Luigi Pellegrini Editore {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordi 'ndrina 1950s establishments in Italy 'Ndrine