Our sources are unclear on whether the elder Getty demanded simple or compound interest. At last, Getty relented, agreeing to pay the kidnappers the reduced amount of $2.2 million on one condition: His son had to repay the debt to Getty at 4 percent interest. Getty’s son begged his father to pay the ransom. So the ‘Ndrangheta sliced off his grandson’s ear and sent it to Getty in the mail. After all, if he paid for one, it might encourage criminals to kidnap the rest. At first, Getty refused to pay, claiming that it would put his 14 grandchildren at risk. In 1973, they kidnapped the grandson of oil tycoon John Paul Getty, demanding a ransom of $17 million. The young faction had known success with kidnapping in the past. Their first order of business was to kidnap and ransom wealthy businessmen, hiding them in the caves of Calabria.
After 300 deaths, a young, ambitious faction rose to the top. This led to the murder of a godfather, igniting a civil war within the gang. The younger generations wanted to grow their operations and expand their territory. The older generations wanted to stay local and hidden. In 1888, a Calabrian prefect received a letter from an anonymous informant alerting him to the presence of “a sect that fears nothing.” Some of these Sicilians were exiled to the destitute region of Calabria, located in the “toe” of Italy’s “boot.” They formed a separate Mafia, a secretive outfit known as the ‘Ndrangheta.įor nearly a century, the ‘Ndrangheta remained in Calabria, a Mafia growing in the shadows among the poor. Hollywood has made many movies about them, including The Godfather. They called themselves, La Cosa Nostra (“Our Thing”). This was the beginning of the protection racket and the Mafia in Sicily. Soon, they were also paid to collect debts and enforce contracts.īefore long, the mafiosi realized that they could boost their profits by becoming both bandits and protectors. The mafiosi were hired to protect landowners and businesses.
As the state had not yet organized its police force on the island, the suddenly rich citizens fell prey to bandits. Having lost their wealth, the barons released their private armies. When Italy annexed Sicily in 1860, they turned over even more land to the people. In the 19th century, feudal barons in need of money sold off their lands to private citizens. The island of Sicily had a history of being ruled by foreign invaders, and these mafiosi would band together to protect the people. It meant “manly,” referring to a young man who was suspicious of central government. Originally, the term “mafioso” had no criminal connotations.
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