Giorgio Carmelo De Stefano (;

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label= Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popul ...

, unknown – ) was an Italian

mobster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

and high-ranking 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 "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

-type criminal organisation in

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

(southern

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 re ...

). Together with his brothers Paolo, Giovanni and

Orazio Orazio is a male given name of Italian origin, derived from the Latin name ( ''nomen'') Horatius, from the Roman gens (clan) Horatia. People so named include: *Orazio Alfani (c. 1510–1583), Italian painter * Orazio Antinori (1811–1882), Ita ...

he headed the

De Stefano 'ndrina The De Stefano 'ndrina, or the De Stefano family or De Stefano-Tegano family, is one of the most powerful clans of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina hailed from the Archi neighbourhood in Reg ...

Criminal career

Capobastone The Capobastone is a high-ranking 'Ndrangheta who is in charge of a 'ndrina. It is the Calabrian equivalent for the Sicilian ''Capomandamento''. Rule In a 'ndrina, the Capobastone make the most important decisions, and report only at the "Capo ...

of the

, Giorgio De Stefano was among the protagonists of the

First 'Ndrangheta war 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 to 1977 and resulted in approximately 233 deaths.Dickie, ''Mafia Republic: Italy's ...

which raged from 1974 to 1976, allied with the Piromalli brothers against the "old" 'Ndrangheta of

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 ...

and

Domenico Tripodo Domenico Tripodo (; − August 26, 1976) was an Italians, Italian criminal and a historical and charismatic boss of the 'Ndrangheta dominating the city of Reggio Calabria and the surrounding areas. Also known as Don Mico Tripodo he was one of the ...

— 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

.Dickie, ''Mafia Republic: Italy's Criminal Curse'',
pp. 137-40
/ref> 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 Raffaele Cutolo (; 4 November 1941 – 17 February 2021) was an Italian crime boss, leader of the Nuova Camorra Organizzata (NCO), an organisation he built to renew the Camorra. Cutolo had a variety of nicknames including o Vangelo'' ("the gos ...

, who acted on the behalf of the De Stefano brothers.'Ndrangheta 2005
Nisio Palmieri, Dossier della Fondazione Cesar e dell’Associazione Sicurstrada per conto della Consulta Nazionale dei Consigli Regionali Unipol Assicurazioni Gratteri & Nicaso, ''Fratelli di Sangue''
pp. 60-62
/ref> Giorgio De Stefano became victorious in the

(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 Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

, 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.

Downfall

After the war Giorgio De Stefano had become extremely powerful (he had links with

Cosa Nostra The Sicilian Mafia, also simply known as the Mafia and frequently referred to as Cosa nostra (, ; "our thing") by its members, is an Italian Mafia-terrorist-type organized crime syndicate and criminal society originating in the region of Sicily a ...

, politics, neo-fascist terrorists and others and was constantly expanding his influence. The other 'ndrine began fearing for their businesses and so decided to kill him. By extorting a bribe of a building contractor already under the protection of the Piromalli's, De Stefano had committed a ''sgarro'' (insulting the honour and authority of a crime boss). On 7 November 1977 Giorgio De Stefano was lured to a supposed meeting on

Santo Stefano in Aspromonte Santo Stefano in Aspromonte is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about northeast of Reggio Calabria. As of 31 December 2004, it had a populat ...

and there he was killed by a simple soldier, Giuseppe Suraci, who was later killed in revenge and had his head taken literally on a silver plate to Giorgio's brother

Paolo De Stefano Paolo De Stefano (; died October 13, 1985) was an Italian mobster and member of the 'Ndrangheta who became the undisputed boss of Reggio Calabria. Together with his brothers Giovanni, Giorgio and Orazio he headed the De Stefano 'ndrina. Early ...

to appease him. 'Ndrangheta bosses Giuseppe Piromalli and Rocco Musolino were indicted as being responsible for the murder of Giorgio De Stefano, but were later acquitted for lack of evidence.'Ndrangheta: alla sbarra presunti assassini boss De Stefano
AGI, 29 October 1997

References

* Dickie, John (2013).
Mafia Republic: Italy's Criminal Curse. Cosa Nostra, 'Ndrangheta and Camorra from 1946 to the Present
', London: Hodder & Stoughton, * Gratteri, Nicola & Antonio Nicaso (2006).
Fratelli di Sangue
', Cosenza: Luigi Pellegrini Editore {{DEFAULTSORT:De Stefano, Giorgio 1977 deaths People from Reggio Calabria De Stefano 'ndrina 'Ndranghetisti Murdered 'Ndranghetisti Year of birth missing