Giuseppe Barbaro (; born 24 May 1956 in Platì), also known as ("the Disappeared"),Criminal underworld of Calabria's cocaine barons, The Guardian, 17 August 2008 is a boss of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type criminal organisation based in Calabria, Italy. He is a son of Francesco Barbaro, one of the leaders of the Barbaro 'ndrina based in Platì. He was included in the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy until his arrest on 10 December 2001. Preso Barbaro il superlatitante, La Repubblica, 11 December 2001
Head of the clan His father was arrested on 5 January 1989 (beginning his imprisonment which ended with his death in prison at the age of 91 in 2018), Catturato un boss dell'Anonima, La Repubblica, 6 January 1989 Giuseppe Barbaro had gradually took over the leadership of the clan from his aging father while he was on the run. Gratteri & Nicaso, Fratelli di Sangue, p. 124
Platì has been called the "cradle of kidnapping", and the clan was actively involved in the kidnapping industry. Seventeen high-profile kidnappings have been attributed to the clan. Chiave del "patto" Giuseppe Barbaro, il boss di Plati', Corriere della Sera, 7 September 1998 He is considered to be one of the key players in the complex secretive negotiations with the authorities that returned the freedom to Milan-based entrepreneur Alessandra Sgarella, who was kidnapped on 11 December 1997, and released after 266 days on 4 September 1998, after paying a US$5 million ransom. Tutti gli affari dei Barbaro tra Platì, Milano e la Germania. Ecco che fine hanno fatto i soldi del sequestro di Alessandra Sgarella, Ammazzateci Tutti website, 4 January 2010
The money extorted with kidnappings was invested in drug trafficking and construction in northern Italy, in particularly around Buccinasco, near Milan. Ma fu Ierinò a parlare di regia unica, La Repubblica, 20 September 1992 The clan participated in a cartel of 'Ndrangheta families involved in cocaine trafficking with the Mafia family of Mariano Agate. Italia. Uno degli affari di Cosa Nostra e 'Ndrangheta insieme, ADUC droghe, 30 May 2003
Fugitive and arrest He was on the run since 1987 and in 1992, he was included in the list of the 30 most wanted fugitives in Italy, wanted for murder, kidnapping and mafia association. Era nascosta nei bunker sotterranei, Gazzetta del Sud, 11 December 2001 On 10 December 2001, he was arrested with his wife in an underground bunker in his hometown Platì. He had become a father four times in his fourteen years on the run. Platì, scoperta una rete di bunker usata da latitanti della 'ndrangheta, Corriere della Sera, 30 July 2002
The operation of the Carabinieri in Platì revealed a complex system of caches, bunkers, hidden doors and tunnels in the mountains of Platì and the country, used for decades by Barbaro and other families Platì to escape the police. The tunnels – most running parallel to the town's sewer system – were sophisticated and, in some places, large enough to drive a truck through. Remote-controlled trap doors lead into houses, some of them uninhabited, enabling the mafiosi to escape from the police. Some of the tunnels emerged outside the town, close to woodland, while others opened into animal pens and barns on local farms. It is suspected that kidnap victims were held within the complex.Vast underground Mafia stronghold found in Calabria, The Independent, 31 July 2002Plati – an outlaw town in Calabria, The Sunday Telegraph, 28 January 1994
Video games Barbaro's name is the basis for Joe Barbaro, one of the main characters in the 2010 video game Mafia II.
References
Gratteri, Nicola & Antonio Nicaso (2006). Fratelli di Sangue, Cosenza: Luigi Pellegrini Editore