Hubbry Logo
search
logo

Camera di Controllo

logo
Community Hub0 Subscribers

Camera di Controllo

logo
Community Hub0 Subscribers
Write something...
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
See all
Camera di Controllo

The Camera di Controllo (Board of Control), is a collegial body of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria in Southern Italy. It is also known as La Provincia (the Province) or Camera di Compensazione (compensation board). It is composed of leading 'Ndrangheta members to decide on important questions concerning the organization and settling disputes.

Although the 'Ndrangheta organisation did know centralized structures – such as the crimine – that weakly coordinated activities of the various 'ndrine, it was not until the end of the Second 'Ndrangheta war that raged from 1985 to 1991 that the Provincia or Camera, a more powerful and centralized body, was established. The bloody six-year war between the Condello-Imerti-Serraino-Rosmini clans and the De Stefano-Tegano-Libri-Latella clans left more than 600 deaths.

The Sicilian Mafia contributed to the end of the conflict and probably suggested the subsequent set up of a superordinate body, similar to the Sicilian Mafia Commission, to avoid further infighting. The body, also referred to as the Commission in reference to its Sicilian counterpart, is composed of three lower bodies, known as mandamenti. One for the clans on the Ionic side (the Aspromonte mountains and Locride) of Calabria, a second for the Tyrrhenian side (the plains of Gioia Tauro) and one central mandamento for the city of Reggio Calabria.

According to the pentito Pasquale Barreca the Provincia had "the authority of a true hierarchical superordinate power." Its primary function is the settlement of inter-family disputes. Any controversy between the various clans has to be submitted to the Commission before violence can be used. Smaller conflicts within the same 'Ndrangheta group are still left to the jurisdiction of the local family boss. If a decision of the Commission is ignored, all the locali – all the 'ndrine in a specific town or territory – are expected to line up against the one who violated the decision.

However, so far the Commission has not succeeded in ending all violent conflicts, such as the one between the Cordì and the Cataldo clans in Locri. Nevertheless, since the end of the Second 'Ndrangheta war a sharp decrease in homicides in Reggio Calabria province suggests that the peacekeeping role played by the Provincia is functioning to some extent.

The membership of the first Provincia or Commission varies according to different testimonies of 'Ndrangheta turncoats (pentiti). The following names are mentioned:

In July 2010, in a massive police operation dubbed "Il crimine", the head of the crimine, Domenico Oppedisano was arrested. In the course of the investigation the capo crimine also appeared to be the nominal head of the Provincia. Oppedisano represented the Tyrrhenian mandamento, while his No. 2, the Capo società Antonino Latella represented the Centre (the city of Reggio Calabria) and Bruno Gioffré, the Mastro generale, the Ionic side.

The existence of the Provincia was confirmed when in March 2010, the police managed to place a bug in the home of Giuseppe Pelle, an emerging boss and son of Antonio Pelle, also known as Ntoni Gambazza. In just over a month hundreds of meetings were recorded between mafiosi, politicians, entrepreneurs, professionals, businessmen and middlemen of any kind, and even people with links to intelligence services. They also confirmed that Rocco Morabito and Giuseppe Pelle had succeeded their fathers and were in charge of managing the affairs of the 'Ndrangheta clans on the Ionic side of Calabria before they were arrested in April 2010 as a result of Operation Reale (Royal).

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.