https://www.corrieredellacalabria.i...lvatore-arone-rispettato-come-padre-pio/'ndrangheta in Piedmont
From Sant'Onofrio to Carmagnola, the rise of Salvatore Arone "respected like Padre Pio"
Sentenced by the Supreme Court to 16 years in prison, he is described as the "head of the 'ndrangheta" of the Piedmontese 'ndrina but linked to the Bonavotas
Published: 04/06/2025 – 19:30
CARMAGNOLA In the statements of the informers he is described as "a legend", a man " considered as Padre Pio " for the respect and fear that his associates felt towards him. A high-level figure feared and respected within the 'ndrangheta, placed by the informers at the top of the criminal organization that operated in Piedmont. Instead, the criminal career of Salvatore Arone , originally from Sant'Onofrio, stopped with the sentence, arrived yesterday, of the Court of Cassation, which sentenced him to 16 years in prison , one less than what the appeal judges had established. The ermines, in the sentence resulting from the Carminius trial, have in fact certified the presence of the 'ndrangheta in Carmagnola, in Piedmont, as a detached branch of the Bonavota clan of Sant'Onofrio, in which Arone himself would have held a leading role. The latter was convicted of mafia association, but acquitted because the fact did not exist on two counts relating to alleged fictitious registrations.
"They were as devoted as if he were a saint"
«Salvatore Arone is a direct expression of the Bonavotas. Salvatore Arona is…. like two candles that are put together, it's the same thing as the Bonavotas, it's the same clan ». It is the boss of Vibo, who has become a collaborator of justice, Andrea Mantella, who outlines his profile, indicating the 'ndrina of Carmagnola as a group linked to the Bonavotas and recognized by the 'ndrangheta of San Luca. According to Mantella, Arone's criminal rise began right from Sant'Onofrio together with Domenico Cugliari alias Micu i Mela and the Bonavota brothers who, once they took their father's place, decided to « create a 'ndrangheta group headed by the Bonavota clan in Piedmont and one in Canada ». Mantella recognizes Arone as « the 'ndrangheta boss» in Carmagnola, respected and feared by his own associates almost as if he were « Padre Pio » or a real saint. «They were so devoted to this gentleman as if he were his saint...». Other collaborators of justice also identify Arone as the top figure of the Piedmontese 'ndrina: among these Bartolomeo Arena, who reported how Arone was described in the 90s « as a legend , as one of the most “shareholder” individuals, that is, troublemakers and belligerent in the gang».
Control over the territory
A description that would also be confirmed by the investigators' investigations, where it emerges that «the mere invocation of his name induced the interlocutors to show a reverential fear and obsequiousness» due to his «criminal superiority» and the fame he obtained in the territory. Significant according to the investigators is the episode of the theft of a truck from a worker, for the recovery of which Salvatore Arone himself would have been interested, contacting a third person. From these interceptions would emerge «the influence of Arone and his group in the territory of Carmagnola». The role of Arone within the 'ndrina would then also be proven by the activity of debt collection, by interests in the construction sector and by his role as «mediator» in conflicts between private individuals, in order to maintain order and control over the territory, «a characteristic expression of mafia-style criminal associations». ( ma.ru. )
