Giuseppe Coluccio

Giuseppe Coluccio (; born 12 April 1966) is an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria. He was a fugitive since 2005 and included in the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy until his capture on 7 August 2008, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Calabrian mob boss arrested in Toronto, officials say
The Globe and Mail, August 8, 2008
La Repubblica, August 8, 2008

Born into a 'Ndrangheta family

Coluccio was born in Marina di Gioiosa Ionica a seaside town on southern Italy's Ionian coast. He was the first of three sons born into a traditional 'Ndrangheta family. Before he reached his teens, his father Vincenzo, was murdered in Marina di Gioiosa Ionica during a bloody feud that ravaged competing 'Ndrangheta Mazzaferro clan, in contrast to the clan Aquino. The clan survived and eventually rose to prominence under the leadership of Giuseppe Coluccio. The clan achieved an "unbreakable" monopoly on the sale of fish through the "power of intimidation" that was so strong the fisherman declared it a "law" that they answered to the clan, according to Italian Antimafia prosecutor in a dossier for Canadian authorities. Proceeds from the monopoly were invested in a "vast drug-trafficking operation in cocaine."Life of luxury on hold
National Post, August 16, 2008

His first arrest for drug dealing and trafficking was in 1991. Since then, various investigations identified him as a key player in the import of cocaine from Colombia for a cartel of 'Ndrangheta clans in collaboration with Roberto Pannunzi, who brokered the deals in Latin America.Arrestato in Canada Giuseppe Coluccio inserito nell’elenco dei primi 30 latitanti più pericolosi
Melito online, August 8, 2008

He was also involved in trafficking heroin from Turkey, smuggled in by fishing boats controlled by the Coluccio-Aquino 'Ndrina in Marina di Gioiosa Ionica.Mob boss arrest uncovers alleged murder plot
ADN Kronos, August 8, 2008 He is a cousin of Rocco Aquino and Giuseppe Aquino, the bosses of the Aquino 'ndrina in the town.

Fugitive and arrest

He became a fugitive in 2005 when he fled for Canada due to charges on drug trafficking in relation to an operation by the Italian police arresting 30 people (Operation Nostromo), that also included his brother Salvatore Coluccio. Leading 'Ndrangheta bosses around Toronto were told to expect the Coluccios before they arrived. His youngest brother, Antonio Coluccio, who was not facing charges in Italy at the time, arrived first and settled with his Canadian wife (Melina, daughter of mob boss Carmelo Bruzzese) in Richmond Hill, Ontario—a member of the Siderno Group who later faced Mafia related charges in Italy in 2014 after leaving Canada in 2010, and was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2018 for corruption.

Coluccio entered on the powerful ''Camera di controllo'' – the board of control for 'Ndrangheta clans, comprising six or seven Toronto-area men, who co-ordinate activities and resolves disputes among Calabrian gangsters in Southern Ontario. He also aligned himself with members of the Sicilian Mafia, in particular with Giuseppe ''Big Joe'' Cuntrera, a member of the Cuntrera-Caruana Mafia clan operating in Canada and Venezuela and involved in large scale cocaine trafficking.Toronto, arrestato il boss Giuseppe Coluccio
Il Giornale, August 8, 2008 Police allege Coluccio continued trafficking "substantial quantities" of cocaine and hashish from South America while he was living in Canada.

Coluccio was arrested on 7 August 2008, outside a strip mall in Markham, Ontario, north of Toronto. He stayed at The Palace Pier, a luxury condominium overlooking Lake Ontario. He had been hiding in Canada for nearly three years under the false identity of "Giuseppe Scarfo", and was wanted for drug related offences, charges of Mafia association and extortion.RCMP nab suspected Mafia kingpin
, Canwest News Service, August 8, 2008 He was extradited from Canada to Italy on 20 August 2008, and incarcerated under the strict Article 41-bis prison regime.

Links with Mexican cartels

His arrest was part of a larger law enforcement operation in the US, Mexico and Italy – known as Operation Solare or Project Reckoning in the US – against the Mexican Gulf Cartel that controls the movement of significant amounts of Colombian cocaine to the United States and Europe. The operation resulted in some 200 arrests in September 2008.L'arresto di Coluccio a Toronto una svolta nell'inchiesta
Le Repubblica, September 17, 2008
, DEA Press Release, September 17, 2008Scores held in global drug bust
BBC News, September 17, 2008 Among those detained were sixteen members of the Aquino-Coluccio clan. They were identified and arrested in New York and Calabria.Narco-’Ndrangheta Drug Ring Smashed – 200 Arrests
Corriere della Sera, September 18, 2008

References

External links

Video on the arrest of Coluccio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coluccio, Giuseppe
'Ndranghetisti
People from the Province of Reggio Calabria
1966 births
Living people
Canadian gangsters of Italian descent
People extradited from Canada
People extradited to Italy