https://www.corrieredellacalabria.i...tica-la-dote-della-santa-lha-rafforzata/“offshoot” process
'Ndrangheta, from a “closed circle” to dialogue with politics. «The gift of the “saint” has strengthened it»
Consolato Villani's story: from the Fava and Garofalo murders to the evolution of the criminal organization: «This is how it managed to expand»
Published: 20/10/2024 – 7:06
ROME Affiliations and skills, ironclad rules that have changed to allow the 'ndrangheta to communicate and do business with the deviant and corrupt apparatuses of the State. "What changed everything was the passage that allowed the attribution of the "saint"". This was stated by the collaborator of justice Consolato Villani , born in '76, belonging to the Lo Giudice family from Reggio, during the "Propaggine" trial that is being held in Rome, resulting from the operation that shed light on the interests of the 'ndrangheta in the Capital and which sees exponents of the Alvaro clan in the dock.
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Villani's story: the murders of the carabinieri Fava and Garofalo, the affiliation and the "saint"
Answering questions from the public prosecutor Giovanni Musarò, Villani, in prison with a definitive sentence for the murders of the carabinieri Antonino Fava and Vincenzo Garofalo in 1994, stated: «I participated in those murders when I was still a minor and I was locked up in the juvenile prison in Catanzaro. I kept quiet because I was brainwashed, the rule was to keep quiet, not to be a scoundrel and do prison ». And on his family of origin, the Lo Giudice, one of the most influential in Reggio Calabria, Villani explained: «I was born into a family of 'ndrangheta. I was the 'ndrangheta , I grew up in a family of 'ndrangheta, I was raised with the rules and with the indoctrination typical of 'ndrangheta families and I moved under the protective wing of my family». The crimes committed, and a silence in prison, allowed him to make a “career” in the criminal field: « Those actions gave me a boost to reach elevated qualities» , explained Villani, who reached the dowry of “santista”. «My affiliation – he said – occurred under the pressure of Giovanni Chilà and Bruno Stilo, also belonging to the Lo Giudice family. But my life changed completely from the “santa” onwards ». And answering a question from the prosecutor, Villani explained the concept of “copiata”: «It is an identity card of the 'ndrangheta , the three names – of the heads of the three mandates (ionic, tirrenico and centro) that decide on that dowry».
The Evolution of the 'Ndrangheta with the Gift of the “Saint”
A gift, that of the “santista” established within the criminal organization at a very specific time. As regards the structure of the 'ndrangheta and the gifts that form the minor society and the major society, in fact, the collaborator spoke of an evolution, which occurred around the '70s: « When Paolo De Stefano created this gift, the saint, the 'ndrangheta grew , because it allowed it to come into contact with the institutions. Before, the 'ndrangheta could not enter into these things. The “saint” – said Villani – is the gift that ruined the iron rules of the 'ndrangheta. Before, nothing came out of that closed circle. Afterwards, with the saint, we were put in the position of being able to dialogue with institutional apparatuses, deviant secret services, corrupt policemen and carabinieri, with magistrates, who represented the State and who were supposed to be against the 'ndrangheta. An evolution through which « the 'ndrangheta has strengthened itself greatly: managing to dialogue with politics and thanks to politics, and partly to Freemasonry, it has managed to expand both in Italy and abroad ». (m.ripolo@corrierecal.it)
