Pietro Criaco (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpjɛːtro ˈkriːako];[citation needed] born December 9, 1972, in Africo Nuovo) is an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta, the Calabrian mafia. He was a fugitive since 1997 and included in the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy until his capture on December 28, 2008, in Africo near the southern city of Reggio Calabria.
He tried to enter the 'Ndrangheta when his father Domenico Criaco was killed in 1993. After he was refused by Giuseppe Morabito, he turned to Cosimo Cordì, who did accept him in the Cordì 'ndrina. When Cosimo Cordì was killed in October 1997 in the ongoing feud with the Cataldo 'ndrina, Criaco is said to have moved through the spectating crowd to kiss his boss goodbye, whose head been nearly blown away in the attack.[1]
He led the counterattack against the Cataldos with Cosimo's son, Salvatore Cordì.[1] According to informants Criaco was a hit man who was known to wash his hands in the blood of his victims.[2]
In 2000 he was sentenced to 19 years together with the leadership of the Cordì 'ndrina and the Cataldo 'ndrina for murder, extortion and membership of a mafia organization. He was considered to be the military boss of the Cordì clan.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b (in Italian) Arrestato Criaco, il boss che baciava i cadaveri, Corriere della Sera, December 29, 2008
- ^ Top mafia member nabbed Archived 2008-12-29 at the Wayback Machine, Rai News, December 28, 2008
- ^ (in Italian) Colpo alla 'Ndrangheta, in manette il superboss Pietro Criaco, Corriere della Sera, December 28, 2008