Published: 07 January 2019

by Francesca Panfili
The power of Calabrian crime unveiled by the investigations

There is a common thread that unites the German territory with the Calabrian territory and, unfortunately, often passes through the powerful presence of the 'Ndrangheta in Germany. A presence that sees the Italian mafias invest millions of euros per year beyond the Alps and that is confirmed not only by the estimates made by the German Ministry of Justice, but also by recent investigations conducted by the district attorney of Catanzaro and Reggio Calabria on the role of Italian mafias in Germany. From these surveys it emerges how the Italian gangs have been restructured after the Duisburg massacre of 15 August 2007, always reusing the same schemes of 'immersion' capillary in the territory. This reorganization involves the recycling of money and the detection of commercial businesses managed by clan families, such as restaurants, bars, ice cream parlors and pizzerias, financed by the huge profits from drug trafficking. The last blitz coordinated by the National Anti-Mafia Directorate led to the arrest of a dozen members of the Calabrian clans who were active on the territory of the Bundestag and on an international scale. The Prosecutor had already spoken about the mafia business in the German territoryGiovanni Bombardieri and the Assistant Prosecutor Giuseppe Lombardo who declare last December: "The affairs established by various members of well-known families of the 'Calabrian Ndrangheta operating above all in the heart of Locride, dedicated to international drug trafficking, have been identified abroad. , recycling, reinvestment of significant financial capital, especially in the commercial and catering sectors, relying on logistic bases not only in Calabria but also in other Italian regions as well as in the Netherlands and Germany and equipped with a real fleet of vehicles to get cocaine to its destination ".
The same scenario also emerged from the Stige survey conducted by the prosecutor Nicola Gratteriand by the addition Vincenzo Luberto who investigated the role of the clans of Cirò and the lower Ionian Cosenza with the German territory. What emerges from this operation is a dense network of economic ties that unite this part of Italy to Germany through the intermediation of a character, Mario Lavorato , known in the news for his relationship with the powerful cosca of Farao-Marincola di Cirò . Worked it was already finished under investigation in the 90s and was then acquitted. Of his role also spoke several repentants such as the Sicilian Gioacchino Sghembri and Domenico Critelli , deceased boss of Cariati known as 'Saragat'.
This time Mario Lavoratoit would have favored the commercial expansion and the export on the German territory of the products of the 'ndranghetiste families, imposing their purchase to restaurants, bars and pizzerias managed by Italians. To do so, Lavorato would use an association known as Armig of which he is the inspiration, which collects the various Calabrian catering activities in Germany between the cities of Frankfurt and Offenbach and the area of ​​Baden Wuttemberg. For magistrates Nicola Gratteri and Vincenzo Luberto , 'Don Mario' would have used the association to facilitate the interests of the Cossack gangs of which he claimed to be a friend in telephone interception. 'That's my family'said Lavorato in wiretapping in which he also challenged magistrates and authorities. Mario Lavorato's project would not only be limited to the sale of food and wines from the companies of the cirotani clans, but would also extend to German tourism in cities such as Cariati, Rossano and Mandatoriccio where its 'friends' are owners of accommodation facilities and restaurants. In 2017 Mario Lavoratohe managed to bring the mayor of Offenbach and the tourism industry executives of the German town touring the central-northern Ionian area to forge new collaborations and convince the German administrators to create tours and vacations organized in these places controlled by the Faraos and the Marincolos. Of these family settlements in Germany since the 90s, several repenters spoke, including Heicko Kschinna who defined Giuseppe Farao and Cataldo Marincola as the bosses of the Calabrian mafia in Stuttgart and the former killer Giorgio Basile , originally from Corigliano, who spoke of the police German said:"The police never wanted to believe us, but the Germans must convince themselves that there, wherever there is a pizzeria, there is the 'Ndrangheta".