Francesco Fonti
Encyclopedia
Francesco Fonti is an Italian
criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria
, who became a turncoat (pentito
) collaborating with the authorities.
in Siderno
, the right-hand man of Antonio Macrì
, the undisputed boss at the time. In 1975, Macrì was killed in the so-called First 'Ndrangheta war. Fonti moved to the Pelle-Romeo clan from San Luca
, headed by Sebastiano Romeo
. He reached the rank of vangelo.
He began as a drug courier, between Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, and was sentenced to 50 years in prison for drug trafficking. Since January 1994 he is a collaborator of justice (pentito). His testimony covered the role of the clans from San Luca in the 'Ndrangheta, the Second 'Ndrangheta war and the constitution of La Provincia, a provincial commission of the 'Ndrangheta formed at the end of the war in September 1991, to avoid further internal conflicts.
in the news magazine L'espresso
. Fonti’s allegations, first made to prosecutors in 2003, included that at least 30 ships loaded with toxic waste, much of it radioactive, were sunk off the Italian coast. His statements led to widespread investigations into the radioactive waste disposal rackets.
Fonti personally sank three ships and identified a wreck located 28 kilometres off the coast of Cetraro
, in Calabria
, as MV Cunsky. He said he sank the ship himself in 1992, complete with 120 barrels of toxic and radioactive waste. He said the 'Ndrangheta received £
100,000 for the job. Fonti had been put on the job by his boss Sebastiano Romeo in collaboration with Giuseppe Giorgi
. Another 'Ndrangheta boss involved was Natale Iamonte
who sank ships near Melito di Porto Salvo
.
Both Fonti and Legambiente, an Italian NGO for the protection of the environment, claimed vessels were sent to Somalia
and other developing countries such as Kenya
and Zaire
with toxic cargoes, which were either sunk with the ship or buried on land. Legambiente alleges that local rebel groups were given weapons in exchange for receiving the waste ships. Fonti claims that Italian TV journalist Ilaria Alpi
and her cameraman Miran Hrovatin
were murdered in 1994 in Somalia because they had seen toxic waste arrive in Bosaso, Somalia.
According to Fonti a manager of ENEA
, Italy's state energy research agency, paid 'Ndrangheta clans to get rid of 600 drums of toxic and radioactive waste from Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany, and the US, with Somalia as the destination, where the waste was buried after buying off local politicians. Shipments to Somalia continued into the 1990s, while the 'Ndrangheta clan also blew up shiploads of waste, including radioactive hospital waste, and sending them to the sea bed off the Calabrian coast.
where the Christian Democrat
politician and former Prime Minister Aldo Moro
was held by the militant communist group the Red Brigades
after they had kidnapped him on March 16, 1978. He received the task from Romeo, who had been asked by unnamed national and Calabrian Christian Democrats such as Riccardo Misasi and Vito Napoli to help out.
With the help of the Italian military intelligence agency SISMI
and the criminal organisation the Banda della Magliana
, Fonti was able to locate the house where Moro was kept. When he reported to Romeo, the latter said that he had done a good job but that important politicians in Rome had changed their minds. Moro’s body was found later after he was shot.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
, who became a turncoat (pentito
Pentito
Pentito designates people in Italy who, formerly part of criminal or terrorist organizations, following their arrests decide to "repent" and collaborate with the judicial system to help investigations...
) collaborating with the authorities.
Early criminal career
He was initiated in the 'Ndrangheta in 1966 by Francesco CommissoCommisso 'ndrina
The Commisso 'ndrina is a powerful clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Siderno, but has an important branch in the Greater Toronto Area in Canada.-In Siderno:...
in Siderno
Siderno
Siderno is a town and comune located in Calabria, Italy about 3 kilometres from Locri.Siderno Marina is the newer town located on the Ionian coast. It is popular with both Italian and foreign tourists and has a bathing beach....
, the right-hand man of Antonio Macrì
Antonio Macrì
Antonio Macrì , popularly known as Zzi 'ntoni, was a historical and charismatic boss of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy...
, the undisputed boss at the time. In 1975, Macrì was killed in the so-called First 'Ndrangheta war. Fonti moved to the Pelle-Romeo clan from San Luca
San Luca
San Luca is a comune in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about 100 km southwest of Catanzaro and about 35 km east of Reggio Calabria. The town is situated on the eastern slopes of the Aspromonte mountain, in the valley of the Bonamico river...
, headed by Sebastiano Romeo
Sebastiano Romeo
Sebastiano Romeo , also known as U Staccu, was a historical 'Ndrangheta boss from San Luca in Calabria...
. He reached the rank of vangelo.
He began as a drug courier, between Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, and was sentenced to 50 years in prison for drug trafficking. Since January 1994 he is a collaborator of justice (pentito). His testimony covered the role of the clans from San Luca in the 'Ndrangheta, the Second 'Ndrangheta war and the constitution of La Provincia, a provincial commission of the 'Ndrangheta formed at the end of the war in September 1991, to avoid further internal conflicts.
Toxic waste trafficking in Italy
In 2005 Fonti revealed radioactive waste dumping by the 'NdranghetaRadioactive waste dumping by the 'Ndrangheta
The 'Ndrangheta, a criminal organization from Calabria has been involved in radioactive waste dumping since the 1980s. Ships with toxic and radioactive waste were sunk off the Italian coast...
in the news magazine L'espresso
L'Espresso
l'Espresso is an Italian newsmagazine. It is one of the two most prominent Italian weeklies, the other being Panorama. Since the latter has been acquired by right-wing tycoon and politician Silvio Berlusconi, l'Espresso enjoys the reputation of being the main politically independent newsmagazine...
. Fonti’s allegations, first made to prosecutors in 2003, included that at least 30 ships loaded with toxic waste, much of it radioactive, were sunk off the Italian coast. His statements led to widespread investigations into the radioactive waste disposal rackets.
Fonti personally sank three ships and identified a wreck located 28 kilometres off the coast of Cetraro
Cetraro
Cetraro is a town and comune in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy.- Waste dumping off Italian coast: Cetraro case :...
, in Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
, as MV Cunsky. He said he sank the ship himself in 1992, complete with 120 barrels of toxic and radioactive waste. He said the 'Ndrangheta received £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
100,000 for the job. Fonti had been put on the job by his boss Sebastiano Romeo in collaboration with Giuseppe Giorgi
Giuseppe Giorgi
Giuseppe Giorgi is an Italian criminal belonging to the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal organisation in Calabria. Born in San Luca, he has been a fugitive since 1995, wanted for criminal association and arms and drug trafficking, extortion and murder...
. Another 'Ndrangheta boss involved was Natale Iamonte
Natale Iamonte
Natale Iamonte is an Italian criminal and a historical boss of the 'Ndrangheta. The Iamonte 'Ndrina is based in Melito di Porto Salvo and Montebello Ionico on the Ionic coast of Calabria...
who sank ships near Melito di Porto Salvo
Melito di Porto Salvo
Melito di Porto Salvo is a comune in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about 130 km southwest of Catanzaro and about 25 km southeast of Reggio Calabria; and is also the country's southernmost city...
.
Both Fonti and Legambiente, an Italian NGO for the protection of the environment, claimed vessels were sent to Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
and other developing countries such as Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
and Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
with toxic cargoes, which were either sunk with the ship or buried on land. Legambiente alleges that local rebel groups were given weapons in exchange for receiving the waste ships. Fonti claims that Italian TV journalist Ilaria Alpi
Ilaria Alpi
Ilaria Alpi was an Italian journalist killed in Mogadishu, Somalia together with her camera operator Miran Hrovatin...
and her cameraman Miran Hrovatin
Miran Hrovatin
Miran Hrovatin was an Italian photographer and camera operator killed in Mogadishu, Somalia together with the journalist Ilaria Alpi under mysterious circumstances....
were murdered in 1994 in Somalia because they had seen toxic waste arrive in Bosaso, Somalia.
According to Fonti a manager of ENEA
ENEA (Italy)
The L'Agenzia nazionale per le nuove tecnologie, l'energia e lo sviluppo economico sostenibile is an Italian Government sponsored research and development agency...
, Italy's state energy research agency, paid 'Ndrangheta clans to get rid of 600 drums of toxic and radioactive waste from Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany, and the US, with Somalia as the destination, where the waste was buried after buying off local politicians. Shipments to Somalia continued into the 1990s, while the 'Ndrangheta clan also blew up shiploads of waste, including radioactive hospital waste, and sending them to the sea bed off the Calabrian coast.
The search for Aldo Moro
Fonti was also involved in attempts to locate the place in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
where the Christian Democrat
Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
politician and former Prime Minister Aldo Moro
Aldo Moro
Aldo Moro was an Italian politician and the 39th Prime Minister of Italy, from 1963 to 1968, and then from 1974 to 1976. He was one of Italy's longest-serving post-war Prime Ministers, holding power for a combined total of more than six years....
was held by the militant communist group the Red Brigades
Red Brigades
The Red Brigades was a Marxist-Leninist terrorist organisation, based in Italy, which was responsible for numerous violent incidents, assassinations, and robberies during the so-called "Years of Lead"...
after they had kidnapped him on March 16, 1978. He received the task from Romeo, who had been asked by unnamed national and Calabrian Christian Democrats such as Riccardo Misasi and Vito Napoli to help out.
With the help of the Italian military intelligence agency SISMI
SISMI
Servizio per le Informazioni e la Sicurezza Militare was the military intelligence agency of Italy from 1977-2007....
and the criminal organisation the Banda della Magliana
Banda della Magliana
The Banda della Magliana was an Italian criminal organization based in Rome, particularly active throughout the late 1970s until the early 1990s. Given by the media, the name refers to the original neighborhood, the Magliana, of most of its members....
, Fonti was able to locate the house where Moro was kept. When he reported to Romeo, the latter said that he had done a good job but that important politicians in Rome had changed their minds. Moro’s body was found later after he was shot.