Antonio Imerti (; born on 22 August 1946, in

Villa San Giovanni Villa San Giovanni () is a port city and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria of Calabria, Italy. In 2010 its population was 13,747 with a decrease of 2.5% until 2016 and in 2020 an increase of 3.7%. It is an important term ...

), also known as ''Nano feroce'' ("fierce dwarf"), is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

criminal and a member of the

'Ndrangheta The 'Ndrangheta (, , ) is a mafia-type organized crime, criminal syndicate originating from the Calabria region of Italy. Gratteri & Nicaso, ''Fratelli di Sangue'', pp. 65–68 This body, also referred to as the Commission in reference to the ...

, the

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

n mafia. He was born in Villa San Giovanni and controlled the Fiumara di Muro neighbourhood in

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

Life as a fugitive

He was one of the protagonists in the Second 'Ndrangheta war which raged from 1985 to 1991 between the Condello-Imerti clan and the De Stefano-Tegano clan, which left 621 deaths.Godfather's arrest fuels fear of bloody conflict
The Observer, 24 February 2008 His marriage in 1983 with Giuseppina Condello – the sister of the Condello brothers, underbosses of

Paolo De Stefano Paolo De Stefano (; died October 13, 1985) was an Italian mobster and member of the 'Ndrangheta who became the undisputed boss of Reggio Calabria. Together with his brothers Giovanni, Giorgio and Orazio he headed the De Stefano 'ndrina. Earl ...

– triggered the conflict. The De Stefano clan feared the new alliance might challenge their power base. The conflict exploded in 1985, two years after the marriage and saw practically all the 'ndrine in the city of Reggio Calabria grouped into either one of two opposing factions.Paoli, ''Mafia Brotherhoods'', pp. 88-89Gratteri & Nicaso, ''Fratelli di sangue'', p. 65 The war started with a failed bomb attack on Antonio Imerti on 11 October 1985, which left three of his bodyguards dead.Si e' salvato soltanto il boss
La Repubblica, 13 October 1985 Two days later, his rival Paolo De Stefano was killed and suspicion fell on Imerti as the one who ordered the killing.
La Repubblica, 15 October 1985

Disappearance and capture

Imerti escaped a second bomb attack on 7 July 1986, and subsequently became a fugitive. He was arrested on 23 March 1993, in

, together with his brother-in-law Pasquale Condello. Newspaper reports mentioned that Condello might have surpassed his former boss – and there had been speculation that Condello might have killed Imerti when they both were still fugitives. However, although the speculation proved to be false, Imerti's power had declined because of his opposition to a ' pax mafiosa' to end the war between the opposing clans in Reggio Calabria.Manette al capocosca "Nanu Feroce" Imerti e al cognato
Corriere della Sera, 24 March 1993
La Repubblica, 24 March 1993

References

External links

* Gratteri, Nicola & Antonio Nicaso (2006).
Fratelli di sangue
', Cosenza: Pellegrini Editore, * Paoli, Letizia (2003).
Mafia Brotherhoods: Organized Crime, Italian Style
', New York: Oxford University Press

by Klaus Von Lampe)

by Alexandra V. Orlova) {{DEFAULTSORT:Imerti, Antonio 1946 births Fugitives wanted by Italy Living people 'Ndranghetisti People from Villa San Giovanni