Natale Iamonte (; 7 May 1927 – 2 February 2015), sometimes spelled as Jamonte, was 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 historical boss 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 ...

, a

Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

-type organisation in the region of

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 ...

, in southern Italy. The Iamonte

'Ndrina The 'ndrina (, plural: ; , plural: ) is the basic unit of the 'Ndrangheta of Calabria, made up of blood relatives, and is the equivalent of the Sicilian Mafia’s "family" or ''cosca''.Varese, How Mafias Migrate'Gratteri & Nicaso ''Fratelli di ...

is based in

Melito di Porto Salvo Melito di Porto Salvo (; or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about southeast of Reggio Calabria; and is also the southernmost m ...

and

Montebello Ionico Montebello Ionico is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about southeast of Reggio Calabria. Montebello Ionico borders the following municipaliti ...

on the Ionic coast of Calabria. Iamonte was a member of

La Santa ''La Santa'' is a secret society within the Ndrangheta'', a criminal organisation in Calabria (Italy). The name probably derives from the shortening of '' mamma santissima''.Paoli, ''Mafia Brotherhoods''pp. 114-16/ref> In mafia slang, the expres ...

, a secret society within the 'Ndrangheta, introduced in the early 1970s to maximize the power and invisibility of the most important bosses.L’atteggiarsi delle associazioni mafiose sulla base delle esperienze processuali acquisite: la ’ndrangheta
, by

Salvatore Boemi Salvatore may refer to: * Salvatore (name), a given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * "Salvatore", a song by Lana Del Rey, on her 2015 album ''Honeymoon'' * Salvatore (band), a Norwegian instrume ...

, in ''I delitti di criminalità organizzata'', Quaderni del Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura N. 99 He also became a member of the ''

Camera di Controllo The ''Camera di Controllo'' (Board of Control), is a collegial body of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria in Southern Italy. It is also known as ''La Provincia'' (the Province) or ''Camera di Compensazione'' (compensation board ...

'', a provincial commission of the 'Ndrangheta formed at the end of the

Second 'Ndrangheta war The Second 'Ndrangheta war was an internal struggle in the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal organisation in Calabria (southern Italy). The conflict raged from 1985–1991 in Reggio Calabria. Practically all the 'ndrine in Reggio Calabria grouped into eith ...

in September 1991, to avoid further internal conflicts.Sentenza procedimento penale Olimpia
Tribunale di Reggio Calabria, January 19, 1999

From butcher to millionaire

Iamonte rose to power by killing the local Ndrangheta boss Giuseppe Trimarchi in the 1960s. Originally a butcher, he made his fortune skimming off public contracts destined for the development of Calabria which was among the poorest regions of Italy. The construction of a refinery of Liquichimica in Saline Ioniche – a project that would amount to 300 billion lire – was one those projects that was completed in 1979. The plant never became operative because it was built on unstable terrain, subject to landslides, despite the warnings of the head of the local civil engineer office who died in a strange car accident. The port inside the plant was subsequently used to offload arms and drug shipments from the Middle East against the payment of a fee to the Iamonte clan which controlled the territory. The service included transports for the

Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a secret society, criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of ...

boss,

Nitto Santapaola Benedetto Santapaola (; born 4 June 1938), better known as Nitto, is a prominent Italian mafioso from Catania, the main city and industrial centre on Sicily's east coast. Santapaola was considered one of the most powerful and bloodthirsty mafia ...

, who headed the

Catania Mafia family The Catania Mafia family, currently also referred to as the Santapaola-Ercolano Mafia clan, is a crime family of the Cosa Nostra that dominates organized crime activities in the city of Catania and its province. The Catania Mafia quietly evolved ...

on Sicily’s east coast. Iamonte and his ally

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 ...

secured arms and drug transports when the harbour of Catania was controlled too strictly. In return Santapaola helped the Iamonte clan to get subcontracts for the construction of a railway repair yard in Saline with the construction company of Carmelo Costanzo from Catania.Mafia, ‘ndrangheta e "l'oro grigio"
, Calabria Notizie, April 11, 2008
in ''I Siciliani'', April 1993

Political connections

According to several

pentiti ''Pentito'' (; lit. "repentant"; plural: ''pentiti'') is used colloquially to designate collaborators of justice in Italian criminal procedure terminology who were formerly part of criminal organizations and decided to collaborate with a public ...

(Mafia turncoats) Giacomo Mancini – a one time secretary of the

Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a Social democracy, social democratic and Democratic socialism, democratic socialist political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parti ...

(PSI) and two times government minister – was supported by Iamonte who delivered the necessary votes to get him elected in Parliament. Mancini allegedly tried to adjust the sentence of Natale’s son Vincenzo Iamonte, and helped to acquire contracts for the construction of the Liquichimica plant. Mancini denied any links with the 'Ndrangheta boss,Mancini, il giudice nega l' arresto
Corriere della Sera, October 7, 1993 and was acquitted of the charges.' Ndrangheta, assolto Mancini
Corriere della Sera, November 20, 1999

Explosives

The Iamonte clan held a large deposit of explosives. The stock originated from the vessel Laura C. which was sunk by a British submarine in 1941 near Saline Ioniche while carrying some 700 metric tonnes of explosives from Naples to North Africa. Apparently part of it was recuperated by the clan and might have been used for the bomb that killed Antimafia judge

Giovanni Falcone Giovanni Falcone (; 18 May 1939 – 23 May 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Sicilian ...

in May 1992 and the bombing campaign by the Sicilian Mafia in 1993 in the Via dei Georgofili in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, in Via Palestro in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

and in the Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano and Via San Teodoro in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, which left 10 people dead and 93 injured as well as damage to centres of cultural heritage such as the

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery ( ; , ) is a prominent art museum adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of th ...

Gallery. Iamonte was also involved in radioactive waste dumping by the 'Ndrangheta, sinking ships near

.Complotto sotto il mare
L'Espresso, September 17, 2009

Arrest

Natale Iamonte was sent in internal banishment in 1988 to the north of Italy. The measure was meant to remove him from the criminal environment in Calabria. He stayed in

Desio Desio () is a (municipality) in the province of Monza and Brianza, in the Italian region of Lombardy. History In 1277 it was the location of the battle between the Visconti and della Torre families for the rule of Milan. On 24 February 1924, ...

with his relative Natale Moscato, a local town councillor for urban planning with the

(PSI).Scacco ai boss della Brianza
Corriere della Sera, October 7, 1993 The Iamonte clan started to invest their illicit profits in the area. In December 1995, the police seized assets worth 50 billion lire in the

Brianza Brianza (, ) is a geographical, historical and cultural area of Italy, at the foot of the Alps, in the northwest of Lombardy, between Milan and Lake Como. Geography Brianza extends from the Canzo area, North of Monza (approximately ...

region, near

.Caccia al tesoro del boss
Corriere della Sera, December 23, 1995 Iamonte was arrested in November 1993.Maxisequestro di esplosivo
Corriere della Sera, June 6, 2004 He was succeeded by his sons,

Vincenzo Vincenzo is an Italian male given name, derived from the Latin name Vincentius (the verb ''vincere'' means to win or to conquer). Notable people with the name include: Art * Vincenzo Amato (born 1966), Italian actor and sculptor * Vincenzo Bel ...

and Giuseppe Iamonte, who were arrested in May and July 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iamonte, Natale 'Ndranghetisti 1927 births 2015 deaths People from Melito di Porto Salvo