Rocco Lo Presti

Rocco Lo Presti (born Rocco Lopresti May 6, 1937 – January 23, 2009), known in Marina di Gioiosa Ionica, his town of origin as "Roccu u Maneja", was an Italian crime boss of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organization in Calabria, Italy, but his criminal base was Bardonecchia, in Piedmont region. He was the head in command of the Lo Presti crime family. Historical 'Ndrangheta boss of Bardonecchia and Val di Susa, was the Godfather of the 'Ndrangheta in Piedmont. Lo Presti was the first mobster sent in soggiorno obbligato (coerced stay), in northern Italy. Bardonecchia is an alpine town in the province of Turin, in Piedmont, on the border with France and one of the main ski resorts in Italy. For judges of Turin, Lo Presti was instead one who imported the phenomenon of 'Ndrangheta, in northern Italy. He was the man who, during the building boom years in Piedmont, imposed the rule of labor building throughout Val di Susa. Over the years in the 1960s and 1970s, his power in Piedmont, engrossed similar to that of Antonio Macri in Calabria. He had the hegemony on the Val di Susa territory, with his cousin Don Ciccio Francesco Mazzaferro. During the building boom years before, and the kidnapping-murder Ceretto then, Lo Presti had the absolute power in the construction industry and underworld in Piedmont until 1975, when he was sent into internal exile in the prison on the island of Asinara. In the history of the 'Ndrangheta infiltration in Piedmont, between 1965 and 1975, he was investigated several times. Closely related to the Mazzaferro clan of Marina di Gioiosa Ionica, of which he was an important exponent, he moved to Piedmont in the late 1950s by the subalpine town. Many politicians turned reverently to him during election campaigns. He had ties with the Organized crime in France and with all the major crime families of Calabria and Sicily. Lo Presti entertained friendly relations with Don Mico Domenico Tripodo when was in soggiorno obbligato (coerced stay) in Avigliana. Tripodo presence was frequently reported in Bardonecchia.