Commisso 'ndrina

The Commisso 'ndrina is a powerful clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Siderno, but has an important branch in the Greater Toronto Area in Canada.

In Siderno

Siderno was the fiefdom of Antonio Macrì the undisputed boss at the time. In January 1975, Macrì was killed in the so-called first 'Ndrangheta war. His right-hand man – who was wounded in the attack on Macrì – Francesco Commisso was intended to be his successor. However, he appointed his son, Cosimo Commisso, also known as "the quail" ("'u quagghia"), as the new boss of the locale of Siderno.^[1]

In the 1980s, the Commisso were challenged by the Costa 'ndrina over the command of Siderno.^[1] The Costas had returned from Toronto (Canada). By 1991, the feud – that spilled over to Toronto as well – ended in a victory for the Commisso clan. Officially, there were 28 dead among the Costas and eight among the Commissos. Cosimo Commisso was sentenced over the vendetta and his nephew Antonio Commisso succeeded him as the acting boss of the clan.^[1]

The Commissos are one of the 'Ndrangheta's biggest and most important clans, involved in the global cocaine business and money laundering.^[2] They were members of La Provincia, a provincial commission of the 'Ndrangheta formed at the end of the Second 'Ndrangheta war in September 1991, to avoid further internal conflicts.^[3]

In Canada

The clan has a branch in Canada, in the Greater Toronto Area, which is headed by Cosimo Elia Commisso, and is part of the wider Siderno Group.^[4] Cosimo’s brother Rocco Remo Commisso has been named as a part of the mob in Canada for decades. He initiated a continuous flow of cocaine trafficking to Toronto, using supply channels from Argentina according to Italian prosecutors.^[5]

By the end of the 1970s, the Comissos had put together a criminal enterprise that "rivalled the best of the Sicilian Mafia structures existing in the United States and which was, in terms of pure muscle and audacity, one of the most powerful mafia groups in Canada."^[6] They "controlled a criminal organization that imported and distributed heroin with the Vancouver mob and the Calabrian Mafia in Italy, fenced stolen goods across North America, printed and distributed counterfeit money throughout Canada and the United States, ran a vast exortion network in Ontario, arranged insurance and land frauds in the Toronto area, and engaged in contract killings and contract-enforcement work across Canada and the United States – the whole gamut of violent criminal activities one usually associates with the Mafia."^[6]

Canada is a safe haven for fugitives from Italy who have allies at the other side of the Atlantic. One of them, Antonio Commisso, was arrested in June 2005. According to the Siderno police force, "the criminal minds of Siderno are in Canada."^[7]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Back to the 'wolves', National Post, July 30, 2005
2. ^ (Italian) Gratteri & Nicaso, Fratelli di Sangue, p. 133
3. ^ (Italian) Sentenza procedimento penale Olimpia, Tribunale di Reggio Calabria, January 19, 1999
4. ^ Corruption probe: The clubs, The Toronto Star, December 8, 2009
5. ^ A New Mafia: Crime families ruling Toronto, Italy alleges, National Post, September 24, 2010
6. ^ ^{a b} Schneider, Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada, p. 327
7. ^ Why Italy's scariest Mob loves Canada, National Post, November 24, 2007

• (Italian) Gratteri, Nicola & Antonio Nicaso (2006). Fratelli di Sangue, Cosenza: Luigi Pellegrini Editore ISBN 88-8101-373-8
• Schneider, Stephen (2009). Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada, Mississauga (Ontario): John Wiley and Sons, ISBN 0-470-83500-1