Talk:Lo Presti 'ndrina

Lo Presti crime family ?
The so-called Lo Presti crime family only seems to exist on Wikipedia. I checked on Google, and apart from Wikipedia and offshoots, there is nothing. This violates No original research - DonCalo (talk) 11:48, 28 December 2023 (UTC)

If anything, the Lo Presti's are a 'ndrina or clan, but even for that there is hardly any evidence, unless I missed something. No Lo Presti 'ndrina is mentioned in the book Fratelli die Sangue, for instance. - DonCalo (talk) 16:02, 28 December 2023 (UTC)

The more I check the sources of this article, the more it becomes clear that there is a lot of inacurate quoting and wishfull tinking to prove that something like the Lo Presti crime family exist. This violates No original research - DonCalo (talk) 18:58, 29 December 2023 (UTC)


 * See also the discussion here - DonCalo (talk) 11:43, 30 December 2023 (UTC)

In this overview there is no mention of a Lo Presti crime family, clan or ‘ndrina in Bardonecchia. Other clans are mentioned, such as Ursino-Macrì and Mazzaferro from Gioiosa Ionica, Lo Presti’s home town. Lo Presti is mentioned, and there is no doubt that Rocco Lo Presti has been an important ‘Ndrangheta boss in Bardonecchia, but that is due to his connections with the Mazzaferro clan and the Ursino clan; not because he has formed his own clan/crime family. - DonCalo (talk) 11:37, 30 December 2023 (UTC)

As to the "consolidation" of the "family" by his nephews, Luciano and Giuseppe Ursino, that is not clear in the sources. More likely, although they benefitted from the power and connections of their uncle Lo Presti, they are part of the powerful Ursino 'Ndrangheta clan and this source describes Giuseppe Ursino as a member of the Calabrian Mafia linked to the Crea clan. In conclusion, there is no such thing as the Lo Presti crime family. There was a powerful 'Ndrangheta boss Rocco Lo Presti, but he has his own article already. I will propose this article for deletion. - DonCalo (talk) 13:55, 30 December 2023 (UTC)

Proposed deletion
I copied this comment from Sirio69 talk page here to keep the discussion on one placeː

Hi Don Calo, regarding the removal of the page I don't completely agree with you. I would propose the change to 'ndrina or clan. Also because there's numerous evidence on the internet of the existence in Bardonecchia then a "local" of 'Ndranghta which dates back to the 1960s. There're lot of 'Ndrangheta justice witness who declare this. Rocco Varacalli, Francesco Fonti and others. There're court sentences that declare this. You say you have found "Lo Presti crime family" only on Wikipedia, but I think you have found "Organization headed by Rocco Lo Presti" or "Clan headed by Rocco Lo Presti" too. What's the difference? Where are your doubts about the existence or otherwise of the Lo Presti family? In my opinion, a group of several people can make an organization. In this case there are uncle and two nephews with related affiliates. You won't be told that Mr. Rocco Lo Presti committed all the crimes of which he was accused alone. There is numerous evidence on the internet, numerous newspaper articles taken from the archive of "La Stampa" of Turin and from other newspapers, weekly and monthly newspapers, Court decisions. So I would advise you not to limit your search to just "Fratelli di sangue" which I dispute nothing about. The Judge Gratteri and Nicaso are very authoritative people. I would suggest you take a look at other books such as: Mafie vecchie, Mafie nuove by Rocco Sciarrone. Mafias in movimento by Federico Varese and many others. Thank you Sirio69 (talk) 02:08, 31 December 2023 (UTC)


 * Dear @Sirio69,
 * Sorry that I misunderstood you. I see you moved the Lo Presti crime family to Lo Presti 'ndrina. However, as I already explained above, there is also no Lo Presti 'ndrina, see the search result on Google here. Again only Wikipedia and offshoots mention it. Again, this violates No original research. You mention a lot of potential sources, but do not insert them in the article. Why?
 * What there is is a powerful 'Ndrangheta boss Rocco Lo Presti, who had connections with several powerful 'ndrine (Mazzaferro, Ursino) but had no 'ndrina on his own. No Lo Presti 'ndrina exist, and certainly not now that he is dead. His business is taken over by his nephews from the Ursino 'ndrina. If you want to write something on the infiltration of the 'Ndrangheta in Bardonecchia or Val Susa you could create an article on 'Ndrangheta infiltration in Bardonecchia for instance and/or start a relevant section in the article on Rocco Lo Presti. DonCalo (talk) 14:08, 31 December 2023 (UTC)
 * @Sirio69, So, on your suggestion to take a look at other sources, I checked Mafie vecchie, mafie nuove by Rocco Sciarrone. Again, a lot of information on the person Lo Presti, but no mention of a Lo Presti 'ndrina. Sciarrone basically confirms what I already mentioned: Lo Presti’s power depends on his relationship with other ‘ndrine, first Mazzaferro and later Ursino. The pentito Francesco Fonti you referred to, says it clearly: "il locale di Bardonecchia era retto da Mazzaferro e vi apparteneva Rocco Lo Presti" (the 'locale' in Bardonecchia was run by Mazzaferro and Rocco Lo Presti belonged to it) (p. 267).
 * Moreover, what is interesting is that another pentito says that "che verso l’inizio degli anni novanta Lo Presti sarebbe stato estromesso dalla 'ndrangheta, poiché la moglie aveva iniziato una relazione con un uomo di colore, cosa non ammessa nell'organizzazione" (that in the early 1990s Lo Presti was allegedly ousted from the 'ndrangheta because his wife had started an affair with a black man, which was not allowed in the organisation) (p. 269). So he was thrown out of the 'Ndrangheta. Do you still want to sustain that he formed a 'ndrina?
 * Finally, Sciarrone concludes that "a partire agli anni novanta, il potere mafioso di Lo Presti subisce un netto ridimensionamento, a causa del predominio raggiunto dall’organizzazione dei Calabresi insediata a Torino" (from the 1990s onwards, Lo Presti's mafia power underwent a sharp downsizing, due to the predominance achieved by the Calabresi organisation established in Turin) (p. 270) Relevant facts to assess Lo Presti's power, which you don’t mention. In conclusion, even your “new” sources do not confirm the existence of a Lo Presti 'ndrina, and, in fact, do diminish his stature in the ‘Ndrangheta, which makes it extremely unlikely that he ever could have formed a 'ndrina. - DonCalo (talk) 19:04, 31 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Hi Don Calò, I have already inserted a source. "Lo Presti brought the 'Ndrangheta to Bardonecchia", article taken from the local edition of "La Stampa" of Turin, 31 October 2002. As regards the 'ndrina Ursino to which you refer, and which you claim took over Rocco Lo Presti's activity is the 'ndrina Ursino of Gioiosa Jonica.  It is another 'ndrina in which the Ursino brothers, nephews of Rocco Lo Presti, have nothing to do.  They're not even part of it.  They aren't even related.  Rocco Lo Presti and his Ursino grandchildren are originally from Marina di Gioiosa Jonica, another neighboring municipality overlooking the sea, which until 1947 constituted a single municipality.  They are now two distinct and separate municipalities.  What convinces me that there is an 'ndrina is that a group of several people can form an organization and in this case, the organization exists.  Given that Lo Presti's grandchildren continue to have problems with the law, going in and out of prison, even after Rocco Lo Presti's death.  Given that, when we talk about the Ursino brothers from Bardonecchia, we always refer to them as Rocco Lo Presti's nephews, among other things, the children of a sister, since Lo Presti has always been considered by everyone to be a boss of the 'Ndrangheta, from public opinion, but also from judges, I have reason to believe that there is an 'ndrina.  Whether it can be more or less recognized by the exponents of the 'Ndrangheta does not matter, since from the revelations made by numerous witnesses of justice, the so-called "bastard" 'ndrina also exists, practically not recognized by the 'Ndrangheta, which exists and still continues to do so. business.  This is the business that the Ursino brothers took over from their uncle.  As regards the statements made by Francesco Fonti, they are true, as are the statements made by another repentant, a certain Bertolotto, I had read the procedural documents at his time.  on Lo Presti's expulsion from the 'Ndrangheta, as it is said that his wife had an affair with a black man, something not admitted by the 'Ndrangheta for which Lo Presi had been expelled from the 'Ndrangheta.  But the thing that convinces me most of the existence of an 'ndrina.  and which I have already mentioned before with the newspaper article on the page.  is that, for the judges of Turin, Rocco Lo Presti brought the 'Ndrangheta to Bardonecchia, it is with this motivation that the judges of Turin condemned Lo Presti for the "Campo Smith" affair, dating back to 1994, which led also to the dissolution of the Bardonecchia municipal council.  Also in this case I had the opportunity to read the procedural documents, with the following motivation: "We have reason to believe in the existence in Bardonecchia of a 'Ndrangheta club, initially headed by Francesco Mazzaferro and then by Rocco Lo Presti", whose 6-year sentence for mafia-style criminal association became final in January 2009, the day before his death. Thanks Sirio69 (talk) 17:47, 1 January 2024 (UTC)
 * I checked the study by Federico Varese you referred to (How Mafias Migrate) and guess whatː "The main organizers of mafia activities in Bardonecchia were two Calabresi who had moved there as a consequence of the soggiorno obbligato policy, Rocco Lo Presti and his cousin Francesco (Ciccio) Mazzaferro. Both came from the town of Gioiosa Jonica and were members of the Mazzaferro clan." Which confirms what I have been trying to tell you since the start of this discussionː Lo Presti had no 'ndrina of his own, but depended on and was part of the powerful Mazzaferro 'ndrina. This article from La Stampa shows clearly that the infiltration of the 'Ndrangeta in Piedmont and Bardonecchia was through the Mazzaferro clan. You say, based on procedural documents, that prosecutors had the following motivation: "We have reason to believe in the existence in Bardonecchia of a 'Ndrangheta club, initially headed by Francesco Mazzaferro and then by Rocco Lo Presti", but that is impossible for me to verify, and I sure would like to see the whole document. From the information you provided it is not clear that Lo Presti formed his own 'ndrina, he could still be the representative of the Mazzaferro clan. So please provide a link to that document. DonCalo (talk) 18:50, 1 January 2024 (UTC)
 * By the way, maybe you should check Reliable sourcesː "Wikipedia articles should be based on reliable, published sources, making sure that all majority and significant minority views that have appeared in those sources are covered." It clearly also statesː "Articles should be based on reliable, independent, published sources with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy. This means that we publish only the analysis, views, and opinions of reliable authors, and not those of Wikipedians who have read and interpreted primary source material for themselves." DonCalo (talk) 19:12, 1 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Hi Don Calo, I have already said previously with the newspaper article on the page: "For the judges of Turin, Lo Presti brought the 'Ndrangheta to Bardonecchia" it is with this motivation that the judges of Turin condemned Lo Presti for the "Campo Smith" affair ", dating back to 1994, which also led to the dissolution of the Bardonecchia municipal council. Also in this case I had the opportunity to read the documents of the proceedings, with the following motivation: "We have reason to believe in the existence in Bardonecchia of an 'Ndrangheta club, initially governed by Francesco Mazzaferro and then by Rocco Lo Presti", the whose 6-year sentence for mafia-style criminal association became final in January 2009, the day before his death.  The judges could not have included in the motivation for sentencing Lo Presti: "Organization headed by Mazzaferro Francesco as Mazzaferro had been expelled from Bardonecchia way back in 1987, with a ban on returning to Piedmont, Val d'Aosta and Liguria. He was now far from years from Bardonecchia when the "Campo Smith" case broke out. It was an accusation that didn't hold up in court. I still remember it perfectly today. I also had the opportunity to read the procedural documents. There is also something about it on Google. When I find it I put it as a source on the page. Sirio69 (talk) 22:33, 1 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Hi Don Calo, I wanted to conclude by kindly inviting you to avoid reiterating every time you reply back that I am violating Wikipedia's rules, because I am not telling the truth. We are discussing among civilized people.  I am not violating any rules because Rocco Lo Presti existed, he was recognized as a mafioso, his criminal organization was recognised, his nephews continue to be recognized as mafiosi kept under surveillance by the Anti-Mafia even after his death.  You have to tell me what rules I'm breaking.  They are members close to the 'Ndrangheta, and this is certain.  It's just a matter of deciding which category you want to put them in.  If you want to enter them as ndrina, clan, local, criminal organization or perhaps something else. Thanks Sirio69 (talk) 23:49, 1 January 2024 (UTC)
 * This is not to say that I disagree with you. Your statements are true. The statements of the governement witnesses are true, all true. I would propose, since no source is found as 'ndrina, but instead we can find it as the Lo Presti clan, and since they are a family of blood relatives, to include them as the 'Ndrangheta clan. Sirio69 (talk) 00:26, 2 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Hi Sirio69, I am sorry, but I don't agree with clan either, which is often used as a synonym for 'ndrina in English and means mafia-like family and my point is that there is none. I suggest sticking to the person Lo Presti and using all relevant information there. The article on Lo Presti is a mess and all the info you have gathered can be used there to improve it. DonCalo (talk) 02:20, 2 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Sirio69 and DonCalo, thanks for the civil discussion about the merits of this article here. Because Sirio69 has objected to deleting the article, it no longer meets the criteria for the proposed deletion process, which states If anyone removes a proposed deletion tag from a page or otherwise indicates an objection, the proposed deletion is canceled. Therefore I will remove the tag from the article and it may not be re-added. DonCalo, if you still feel the article should be deleted, WP:AFD is the process to follow. Jfire (talk) 20:17, 31 December 2023 (UTC)