https://www.corrieredellacalabria.i...u-la-parabola-del-superpoliziotto-gallo/THE FIGURE
The 'ndrangheta, the kidnappings, Duisburg and the capture of “U Tiradrittu”: the story of the “superpoliceman” Gallo
First the Digos Anti-Terrorism, then the specialization in the fight against the 'ndrine in Locri and the Flying Squad in Milan. Until the “Equalize” case
Published: 03/10/2025 – 15:49
LAMEZIA TERME «I have always worked for the institutions» . This is perhaps the last sentence, certainly the most symbolic, left as a legacy by Carmine Gallo, the former super-policeman who died yesterday while under house arrest. He died of a heart attack, but the autopsy will dispel any doubts. Gallo passed away like this, just a few days before the re-examination following the appeal by the Milan prosecutor's office which had instead requested prison for him, which was not granted last October by the investigating judge. Carmine Gallo, in fact, was involved in the investigation by the Milan prosecutor's office into “ Equalize srl” , that “underground world” of information, dossiers, profiles and documents of all kinds, stolen – according to the prosecution – abusively by the group dedicated to the trade of private investigation services headed by the former Police Inspector. The Milan DDA, represented by prosecutors Francesco De Tommasi and Gianluca Prisco, was convinced that it had discovered an organization of people and resources active – in a professional manner – in the trade of private investigation services, but carrying out «illegal conduct of abusive access to computer systems used by the Ministry of the Interior and the police forces» which were in fact inaccessible to private individuals because they were protected by security measures and related to public order and public safety.
The profile of the former super cop
The central figure of the investigation is Carmine Gallo, born in 1958. The story of a man who lived, professionally, an intense life, almost like a novel, enclosed in a curriculum of absolute depth, as a true man of the state and institutions. First the Anti-terrorism of the Digos of Milan, then the specialization in the fight against the Calabrian 'ndrangheta in Locri in the Operational Anti-kidnapping Group and then again in Milan. It is a dramatic period for the country, the season of kidnappings that Gallo himself experiences very closely. From Cesare Casella to the entrepreneur Alessandra Sgarella. The first kidnapped in Pavia on January 18, 1988 and released on January 30, 1990 after two years of captivity in Aspromonte, the second kidnapped on December 11, 1997 and taken first to Buccinasco, then to Calabria, and finally freed after 266 days in the hands of the kidnappers. The transfer to the Milan Flying Squad allows Gallo to see first-hand the penetration of the Calabrian 'ndrangheta into the Lombard capital.
Duisburg, “U Tiradrittu” and “Gambazza”
The figure that emerged from the DDA investigation is in stark contrast to the reputation earned by Gallo "in the field" during his very long and tiring career and if you look at it from the sidelines, above all, his commitment in the fight against the Calabrian 'ndrangheta, becoming in fact a "reference" for all the institutions in the North (WE WROTE ABOUT IT HERE). In the very long curriculum of the Campania policeman there is, for example, also the role of Italian reference for the German police who on 15 August 2007 discovered the terrorism of the 'ndrangheta clans with the bloody and terrible massacre in Duisburg.
Gallo was The first to arrive was Giuseppe Morabito known as "U Tiradrittu", an expression of the Africo clans. Then Antonio Pelle "Gambazza", boss of San Luca who died in 2009. Lastly came Antonio Papalia , boss of Platì, reference in the north of the Calabrian mafia and master of the house. "Nothing like this has ever happened before, a historic summit," said Gallo, who was heard as a witness at the Morabito gang trial and as reported by Fatto Quotidiano . "We saw three main figures from the three largest criminal organizations operating in Calabria and Lombardy. I think it's something that has never happened again."
Romeo family 'ndrangheta Carmine Gallo
The Equalize and the “mega archive”
During the investigation, coordinated by the DDA of Milan, the pg makes a first major discovery, during an access carried out at the beginning of the investigative activity inside the offices of via Pattari 6, a few steps from the center of Milan, the address where the partners of “ Equalize srl” have their offices and the headquarters of their businesses. What they find in front of them is a real “Police archive”, made up of hundreds of confidential documents, judicial police documents, but also reports of collaborators of justice, investigation cards on the main criminal groups and fingerprint cards. In particular, inside a cabinet, the pg identifies some mugshot cards and modular cards containing maps of the main 'ndrangheta families. (WE WROTE ABOUT IT HERE) But that's not all. The agents, in fact, also find a register of the anagraphic records of the Calabrian 'ndrangheta groups: the Pizzatas, the Romeos, the Strangios. And then Vottari, Strangio, Nirta and Mammoliti , in short: names and surnames of the main 'ndrine and among the absolute protagonists of the criminal scenarios of the last decades. The intentions of the super policeman were, one day, to leave his "patrimony" - enormous - to the organization, although Calamucci had confirmed that «their association was also in possession of a very high amount of SDI data» of abusive exfiltration, from national strategic databases, of confidential and protected information, «for a total of more than 350,000».
The autopsy
An autopsy has been ordered on Carmine Gallo's body, which will also help to dispel suspicions - already dispelled by the Carabinieri - about alleged dark plots that led to the death of the former super-cop. As Corriere della Sera writes today, "the mystery and fascination of the suggestion that always accompanies the darkest plots of our country remain ." (g.curcio@corrierecal.it)
