Umberto Bellocco
{{Short description|Italian criminal (1937–2022)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox criminal
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1937|12|17}}
| birth_place = Rosarno, Calabria, Italy
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2022|10|22|1937|12|17}}
| death_place =
| nationality = Italian
| known_for = Capobastone of the Bellocco 'ndrina
| criminal_status = Imprisoned from 1993 till death
| allegiance = Bellocco 'ndrina, 'Ndrangheta
| other_names = {{lang|scn|Assu i mazzi}}
| image =
| image_size = 150px
}}
Umberto Bellocco ({{IPA|it|umˈbɛrto belˈlɔkko}}; 17 December 1937 – 22 October 2022) was an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta, a mafia-type organisation in Calabria. He was the capobastone and founder of the Bellocco 'ndrina from the 1960s until his arrest in 1993.
Biography
At the beginning of the 1980s, he was involved in setting up the Sacra Corona Unita (SCU), a mafia-type organization in Apulia, to counter the growing influence of the Camorra. On his instigation Giuseppe Rogoli imported the codes, structure, and initiation rites of the 'Ndrangheta to be used by the SCU.{{in lang|it}} Sciarrone, Mafie vecchie, mafie nuove, p. 174{{in lang|it}} Gratteri & Nicaso, Fratelli di Sangue, p. 155
Bellocco was arrested in June 1983 in Lecce in Apulia. He was sentenced to three years for illegal possession of firearms. In the subsequent years he faced multiple charges for extortion, drug trafficking, and Mafia association. At some point he was charged with and acquitted of 14 murders. He was sentenced to 14 years for drug trafficking. In July 1988 he was released because the terms for detention expired, and became a fugitive.{{in lang|it}} [http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1988/07/16/in-liberta-re-della-ndrangheta-era.html In libertà re della 'ndrangheta; era accusato di 14 omicidi], La Repubblica, 16 July 1988
Bellocco became a member of Camera di Controllo, a provincial commission of the 'Ndrangheta formed to avoid further internal conflicts at the end of the Second 'Ndrangheta war in September 1991.{{in lang|it}} [http://www.stopndrangheta.it/file/stopndrangheta_439.pdf Sentenza procedimento penale Olimpia], Tribunale di Reggio Calabria, 19 January 1999
Bellocco was arrested again on 18 February 1993{{in lang|it}} [http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1993/02/18/preso-bellocco-re-della-ndrangheta.html Preso Bellocco re della 'ndrangheta], La Repubblica, 18 February 1993[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/mafia-arrest-1473639.html Mafia arrest], The Independent, 18 February 1993 and was in prison. He was succeeded as acting boss by his cousins Gregorio Bellocco, arrested in February 2005, and Giuseppe Bellocco, arrested in July 2007.{{in lang|it}} [http://www.nuovacosenza.com/cs/06/gennaio/pescebellocco1.html Un cartello della ndrangheta gestiva il traffico della coca nel nord Italia], Nuova Cosenza, 19 January 2006
Bellocco died on 22 October 2022, at the age of 84.[https://reggio.gazzettadelsud.it/articoli/cronaca/2022/10/22/rosarno-morto-il-boss-umberto-bellocco-era-al-41bis-dal-93-9142f46b-5c29-4b3c-aff1-88c35ce844c1/ Rosarno, morto il boss Umberto Bellocco: era al 41bis dal '93] {{in lang|it}}
References
{{reflist}}
- {{in lang|it}} Gratteri, Nicola & Antonio Nicaso (2006). [https://books.google.com/books?id=TTUWeZBiBrUC Fratelli di Sangue], Cosenza: Luigi Pellegrini Editore {{ISBN|88-8101-373-8}}
- {{in lang|it}} Sciarrone, Rocco (1998).[https://books.google.com/books?id=qbGfO4benWoC Mafie vecchie, mafie nuove: radicamento ed espansione], Rome: Donzelli Editore, {{ISBN|88-7989-435-8}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellocco, Umberto}}
Category:People from the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria