Francesco Barbaro (13 May 1927 – 1 November 2018), also known as U'Castanu, was a boss of the

'Ndrangheta The 'Ndrangheta (, , ) is a prominent Italian Mafia-type organized crime syndicate and secret society, criminal society based in the peninsular and mountainous region of Calabria and dating back to the late 18th century. It is considered one of ...

, a Mafia-type criminal organisation based in

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, Italy. Born in Platì, he was the head of the Barbaro 'ndrina. He was the son of Francesco Barbaro and Marianna Carbone, who at the beginning of the twentieth century gave rise to the powerful Barbaro 'ndrina, which was later divided into various branches, namely the Castani (a nickname of Francesco), the Nigri, the Pillari and the Rosi, with links to all the most important gangs of the 'Ndrangheta.'Ndrangheta, morto in carcere a Parma il boss Francesco Barbaro
La Repubblica, 2 November 2018 Barbaro was known as the king of kidnapping in the 1980s. He became a member of ''

Camera di Controllo The ''Camera di Controllo'' (Board of Control), is a collegial body of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria. It is also known as ''La Provincia'' (the Province) or ''Camera di Compensazione'' (compensation board). It is composed o ...

'', a provincial commission of the 'Ndrangheta formed at the end of the Second 'Ndrangheta war in September 1991, to avoid further internal conflicts.Sentenza procedimento penale Olimpia
, Tribunale di Reggio Calabria, 19 January 1999

'Ndrangheta heritage

In the 1950s the clan was involved in a bloody feud with the

Mammoliti 'ndrina The Mammoliti 'ndrina () is a powerful clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Castellace and Oppido Mamertina in the plain of Gioia Tauro in southern Calabria on the Tyrrhenia ...

from Castellace in the municipality of

Oppido Mamertina Oppido Mamertina ( el, label=Calabrian Greek, script=Latn, Oppidù, ) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Reggio Calabria in Calabria in southern Italy at about northeast of Reggio Calabria and about southwest of Catanzaro. It is the se ...

. In the end the Mammoliti clan prevailed and the Barbaros moved back to Platì.Esposizione introduttiva del Pubblico ministero nel processo nei confronti di Giulio Andreotti
Direzione Distrettuale Antimafia Palermo, 1994 Many of the 'Ndrangheta clans in Platì, such as Trimboli, Sergi, Romeo, Zappia, Papalia and Marando are associated through blood relations, which center around the Barbaro.Relazione annuale sulla 'ndrangheta
Commissione parlamentare di inchiesta sul fenomeno della criminalità organizzata mafiosa o similare, February 2008 Gratteri & Nicaso, ''Fratelli di Sangue'', p. 123 Platì has been called the "cradle of kidnapping" and it is suspected that kidnap victims were held within a complex network of tunnels.
The Independent, 31 July 2002 The money extorted with kidnappings was invested in drug trafficking and construction in northern Italy, in particularly around

Buccinasco Buccinasco (Milanese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southwest of Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lomba ...

, near Milan.Ma fu Ierinò a parlare di regia unica
La Repubblica, 20 September 1992 The clan participated in a cartel of 'Ndrangheta families involved in cocaine trafficking with the Mafia family of Mariano Agate.Italia. Uno degli affari di Cosa Nostra e 'Ndrangheta insieme
ADUC droghe, 30 May 2003

Arrest

Francesco Barbaro was arrested on 5 January 1989.
La Repubblica, 6 January 1989 Over the years, Francesco's son

Giuseppe Barbaro Giuseppe Barbaro (; born May 24, 1956 in Platì), also known as ("the Disappeared"),list of most wanted fugitives in Italy The list of most wanted fugitives in Italy is a most wanted list published by the Italian Interior Ministry. It includes criminals who are considered extremely dangerous by the Polizia di Stato. The list was started in July 1992. There are also lis ...

until his arrest on 10 December 2001.Preso Barbaro il superlatitante
La Repubblica, December 11, 2001 Another son of Francesco, Rocco Barbaro, was arrested on 8 February 2003.
La Repubblica, 8 February 2003 One of his daughters married Giuseppe Pelle, one of the four sons of Antonio Pelle, the 'Ndrangheta boss from San Luca, securing a tight alliance between the two powerful

'ndrine 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 ...

.Morto Antonio Pelle, "patriarca" di San Luca
, Gazzetta del Sud, 5 November 2009 Arrested for the first time in the 1970s, when he served six years in prison for conspiracy to commit a crime, Barbaro was subsequently convicted of a kidnapping in Calabria in 1989. He was sentenced to life imprisonment together with his nephew Antonio Papalia from

(Milan) for the murder of Brigadier Antonino Marino, which took place in Bovalino (Reggio Calabria) on 9 September 1990. Barbaro died in the prison of Parma at the age of 91 on 1 November 2018. At the end of his life he was considered a kind of relic by his great-grandsons, located in Italy and abroad.

References

*Arlacchi, Pino (1988). ''Mafia Business. The Mafia Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'', Oxford: Oxford University Press * Gratteri, Nicola & Antonio Nicaso (2006). ''Fratelli di Sangue'', Cosenza: Luigi Pellegrini Editore {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbaro, Francesco 1927 births 2018 deaths Barbaro 'ndrina 'Ndranghetisti People from the Province of Reggio Calabria