Umberto Bellocco (; 17 December 1937 – 22 October 2022) was an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta, a mafia-type organisation in Calabria. He was the

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 ...

and founder of the Bellocco 'ndrina from the 1960s until his arrest in 1993.

Biography

At the beginning of the 1980s, he was involved in setting up the Sacra Corona Unita (SCU), 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 organization in Apulia, to counter the growing influence of the Camorra. On his instigation

Giuseppe Rogoli Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it. The feminine form of the name is Giusep ...

imported the codes, structure, and initiation rites of the 'Ndrangheta to be used by the SCU. Sciarrone, ''Mafie vecchie, mafie nuove'', p. 174 Gratteri & Nicaso, ''Fratelli di Sangue'', p. 155 Bellocco was arrested in June 1983 in Lecce in Apulia. He was sentenced to three years for illegal possession of firearms. In the subsequent years he received multiple charges for extortion, drug trafficking, and Mafia association. At some point he was charged with and acquitted of 14 murders. He was sentenced to 14 years for drug trafficking. In July 1988 he was released because the terms for detention expired, and became a fugitive.In libertà re della 'ndrangheta; era accusato di 14 omicidi
La Repubblica, 16 July 1988 Bellocco became a member of '' Camera di Controllo'', a provincial commission of the 'Ndrangheta formed at the end of the

Second 'Ndrangheta war The Second 'Ndrangheta war was an internal struggle in the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal organisation in Calabria (southern Italy). The conflict raged from 1985–1991 in Reggio Calabria. Practically all the 'ndrine in the city of Reggio Calabria gro ...

in September 1991, to avoid further internal conflicts.Sentenza procedimento penale Olimpia
Tribunale di Reggio Calabria, 19 January 1999 Bellocco was arrested again on 18 February 1993
La Repubblica, 18 February 1993
The Independent, 18 February 1993 and was in prison. He was succeeded as acting boss by his cousins

Gregorio Bellocco Gregorio Bellocco (; born 1956 in Rosarno) is an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta. He is the boss of the Bellocco 'ndrina from Rosarno in Calabria. He was a fugitive since 1996 and included in the list of most wanted fugitives in ...

, arrested in February 2005, and

Giuseppe Bellocco Giuseppe Bellocco (; born February 22, 1948) is an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta. He is the capobastone of the Bellocco 'ndrina from Rosarno in Calabria. He was a fugitive since 1997 and included in the list of most wanted fugi ...

, arrested in July 2007.Un cartello della ndrangheta gestiva il traffico della coca nel nord Italia
Nuova Cosenza, 19 January 2006 Bellocco died on 22 October 2022, at the age of 84.Rosarno, morto il boss Umberto Bellocco: era al 41bis dal '93

References

* Gratteri, Nicola & Antonio Nicaso (2006).
Fratelli di Sangue
', Cosenza: Luigi Pellegrini Editore * Sciarrone, Rocco (1998).
Mafie vecchie, mafie nuove: radicamento ed espansione
', Rome: Donzelli Editore, {{DEFAULTSORT:Bellocco, Umberto 1937 births 2022 deaths Bellocco 'ndrina 'Ndranghetisti People from the Province of Reggio Calabria