Domenico Oppedisano

Domenico Oppedisano (Rosarno, December 5, 1930) is an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria. He is based in Rosarno.

In August 2009 he was appointed capo crimine, the ceremonial head of the 'Ndrangheta, at a marriage of two children of bosses. He assumed power at a banquet held at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Polsi in September that year. In a conversation wiretapped by the police he talked of 1,000 affiliates attending the meeting.^[1][2]

In July 2010, Italian police arrested Oppedisano, 80-year old at time, in a major crackdown on the 'Ndrangheta, seizing assets worth millions of euros and arresting 304 people, after a nation-wide two-year investigation.^[3]

According to the police, Oppedisano was "the reference point for the entire organisation". He brokered peace among factions in Calabria and divided public works contracts in northern Italy, in particular related to the Expo 2015 in Milan. Wiretaps revealed him to be a consensus seeker. "For the love of God, when you make a proposal, you listen to the others to see what they think," he typically told a 'Ndrangheta affiliate.^[1]

Until the start of the investigation in 2008, Oppedisano had been relatively unknown to police. The nominal head of the 'Ndrangheta drove around the town of Rosarno in a humble three-wheeled van,^[4] delivering produce from his orchard at the local market.^[5] According to police investigations the power behind Oppedisano was Vincenzo Pesce, the head of the Pesce 'ndrina in Rosarno.^[6]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Italian police arrest 300 in raids on Calabrian mafia, The Guardian, July 13, 2010
2. ^ (Italian) Preso il "Vangelo", capo assoluto scelto dalle cosche della 'ndrangheta, La Stampa, July 14, 2010
3. ^ Police Swoop to Round Up ’Ndrangheta, Corriere della Sera, July 14, 2010
4. ^ Meet Ilda Boccassini, the lady who scares the Italian Mob, Daily Telegraph, July 18, 2010
5. ^ Italian police raids reveal how an 80-year-old gangster held sway over the feared Calabrian mafia, The Observer, July 18, 2010
6. ^ (Italian) Sentenza storica contro la cosca Pesce, Gazzetta del Sud, September 21, 2011

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Name	Oppedisano, Domenico
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Date of birth	December 5, 1930
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