A victim of the family?

Italy puzzles over the whereabouts of a mafia son

Symbolic image

(Bild: AFP/Tiziana FABI)

There is great excitement in the southern Italian region of Calabria. Antonio Strangio, the 42-year-old son of the well-known 'Ndrangheta boss Giuseppe Strangio, has disappeared. The family was involved in the bloody feud in which six people were killed in Duisburg in August 2007.

The investigation was launched after the charred car of Strangio, who worked as a farmer, was discovered in the municipality of San Luca, a stronghold of the 'Ndrangheta. Charred bone fragments, some teeth and a necklace were found in the car. Initially, the investigators thought it was the remains of a sheep. Only later did it emerge that they could be human remains, Italian media reported.

Investigators are now looking into whether the remains could be those of Strangio. The family only filed a missing persons report after the charred car was discovered. Antonio Strangio, father of four children, has no criminal record, but his father was a well-known 'Ndrangheta boss.

A victim of the family?
Giuseppe Strangio was sentenced to 14 years in prison for murder in 1974. He was also accused of kidnapping the entrepreneur's son Cesare Casella in 1988, who remained in the hands of his kidnappers for more than two years.

The hypothesis that organized crime could be behind Antonio Strangio's mysterious disappearance is gaining ground. The Strangio family is one of the most influential clans in the 'Ndrangheta.

In 2007, six Italians were shot dead in the street outside a restaurant in Duisburg. The trigger is said to have been a feud between two 'Ndrangheta clans. The main perpetrator, Giovanni Strangio, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2011. The murders are among the most sensational mafia crimes in Germany.