Santo Araniti (; born 25 April 1947, 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 ...

) 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 ...

, 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 criminal organisation in

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 ...

. He was a fugitive and included in the

list of most wanted fugitives in Italy The list of most wanted fugitives in Italy is a most wanted list published by the Italian Interior Ministry. It includes criminals who are considered extremely dangerous by the Polizia di Stato. The list was started in July 1992. There are also l ...

from 1983 until his capture in May 1994.

Criminal career

He started his criminal career as an associate of

Domenico Tripodo Domenico Tripodo (; − August 26, 1976) was an Italian criminal and a historical and charismatic boss of the 'Ndrangheta dominating the city of Reggio Calabria and the surrounding areas. Also known as Don Mico Tripodo, he was one of the most pow ...

– the boss of the city of

and the surrounding areas. He became 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 ...

in the 1970s. He was a key ally of the De Stefano brothers, in the war against their former boss Tripodo in the mid 1970s. In 1985, at the start 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 ...

between the De Stefano and the Serraino, Condello and Imerti clans, he chose the side of the Condello-Imerti alliance.Preso il boss Araniti
Corriere della Sera, 24 May 1994 The bloody six-year war clan left 621 deaths.Godfather's arrest fuels fear of bloody conflict
The Observer, 24 February 2008
La Repubblica, 19 February 2008Relazione annuale
Commissione parlamentare d’inchiesta sul fenomeno della criminalità organizzata mafiosa o similare, 30 July 2003 In 1990, he was sentenced to nine years for international drug trafficking. Later he received a life sentence for ordering the killing in 1989 of

Lodovico Ligato Lodovico Ligato (; 15 August 1939 – 27 August 1989) was an Italian Christian Democrat politician from Reggio Calabria and the former head of the Italian State Railways. He was killed by the 'Ndrangheta – the Calabrian equivalent of the Mafia. ...

, a former head of the Italian state railways.

Number one

For a while, he was considered to be the "number one" of the 'Ndrangheta and the head of ''

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, that had been created as the result of negotiations to end years of inter family violence.Review of: Paoli, ''Mafia Brotherhoods''
/ref> On 24 May 1994, police arrested him 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, ...

. He was incarcerated under the harsh

article 41-bis prison regime In Italian law, Article 41-bis of the Prison Administration Act, also known as carcere duro ("hard prison regime"), is a provision that allows the Minister of Justice or the Minister of the Interior to suspend certain prison regulations and impose ...

. In November 2008 he was released from the harsh regime but remained in prison.'Ndrangheta, boss liberato dal 41 bis

Il Tempo ''Il Tempo'' (English: "The Time") is a daily newspaper based in the city of Rome, Italy. History and profile ''Il Tempo'' was founded in Rome by Renato Angiolillo in 1944. At the initial phase the newspaper was a conservative publication and ...

, 19 November 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Araniti, Santo 1947 births Fugitives wanted by Italy Living people 'Ndranghetisti 'Ndranghetisti sentenced to life imprisonment People from Reggio Calabria