Salvatore Pelle (; born December 4, 1957 in

San Luca San Luca is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about east of Reggio Calabria. The town is situated on the eastern slopes of the Aspromonte mount ...

), also known as ("Salvo Bad Leg") is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

criminal and a member 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 organisation in

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

. He was born in

in Calabria and is the eldest of the four sons of

Antonio Pelle Antonio Pelle (; March 1, 1932 – November 4, 2009), also known as Ntoni Gambazza ("Tony Bad Leg"), was a historically significant and charismatic 'Ndrangheta boss from San Luca in Calabria. He was the patriarch of the San Luca '' locale'' and th ...

, also known as ''Ntoni Gambazza'', the head of the 'Ndrangheta '' locale'' of San Luca and the ''

capo crimine A capocrimine is the elected boss of the ''crimine'', an annual meeting of the 'Ndrangheta ''locali'' near the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Polsi in the municipality of San Luca during the September Feast.Paoli, ''Mafia Brotherhoods'', p. 59 At least ...

'', the ceremonial head of the 'Ndrangheta.Da latitante Salvatore Pelle si muoveva solo con bus e treni
Gazetta del Sud, March 11, 2007 He was a fugitive since 1991 and included on the

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 ...

for international drug trafficking and mafia association,Pelle, Salvatore
Direzione Centrale della Polizia Criminale, Programma Speciale di Ricerca (with photo) until his arrest on March 10, 2007, in

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 ...

. He was sentenced to 11 years for international drug trafficking. While on the run he only used trains and buses, and did not own a mobile phone to avoid being detected. In the 1990s, he was involved in importing tonnes hashish for the Pelle and Romeo clans in San Luca from

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

with Georges Semaan, a Lebanese arms and drug trafficker. Loads were delivered in

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

and

, with the help of the

Sacra Corona Unita Sacra Corona Unita (, ; acronym: SCU) also known as fourth mafia is a Mafia-type criminal organization and criminal society from the Apulia region in Southern Italy, and it is especially active in the areas of Brindisi, Lecce, and Taranto. Ori ...

and

Giuseppe Morabito Giuseppe Morabito (; born August 15, 1934), nicknamed ("the straightshooter"), is an Italian criminal and a historical boss of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in the region of Calabria (Italy). He hails from Africo in the Locride. He wa ...

, the 'Ndrangheta boss from

Africo Africo ( Calabrian: ; ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Reggio Calabria, in the Southern Italian region of Calabria located from Reggio Calabria. Africo consists of two main centers. The first, Africo Vecchio (Old Africo), is located some in ...

, and Salvatore Pisano.Narcotraffico, filo diretto tra Libano e 'ndrine della Locride
Gazzetta del Sud, September 26, 2007 After the death of his father in November 2009, he became the nominal head of the clan. His younger brother

Giuseppe Pelle Giuseppe Pelle (; born 20 August 1960) is an Italian criminal from San Luca, and member of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria. He is the son of Antonio Pelle, also known as ''Ntoni Gambazza'', the ''capo crimine'', the ceremonial ...

actively tried to get Salvatore transferred from the

Rebibbia prison Rebibbia is an urban zone of Rome, Italy. It was located on the road Via Tiburtina on the north-east edge of the city. Administratively Rebibbia is part of both Ponte Mammolo quarter of Rome and Municipio IV of Rome. The suburb, first developed ...

in Rome to one close to his hometown. Prior to the regional elections of March 2010 politicians visited the house of Giuseppe Pelle offering favourable treatment for Salvatore and public works contracts if his brother would deliver votes, which he did. However, before the ploy could work, Giuseppe Pelle and politicians and doctors involved were arrested.Five politicians arrested for allegedly offering the mafia favours for votes
ADN Kronos, December 21, 2010'Ndrangheta, 12 arresti per corruzione elettorale
Reuters, December 21, 2010Zappalà, la Cassazione conferma: «Promesse al clan Pelle in cambio di voti»
Corriere della Calabria, August 24, 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelle, Salvatore 1957 births Living people 'Ndranghetisti