The mob boss spent decades on the run using a false identity in South America.
Police finally tracked him down last year to João Pessoa, a port city in northeastern Brazil, where he was arrested along with another member of the “Ndrangheta” mafia group, Vincenzo Pasquino. Pasquino has since been sentenced to 17 years in prison for drug trafficking.
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The arrival of Rocco Morabito in Rome ends a decades-long manhunt.
Born in the Calabrian city of Africo and with family ties to mafia boss Giuseppe Morabito, Rocco Morabito became a key figure in the ‘Ndrangheta, the sprawling criminal network that controls much of Italy’s cocaine trade and beyond. there.
As a young man, Morabito soon made a name for himself as a prolific drug trafficker in Milan, establishing key cocaine smuggling routes from South America into the Italian city.
Smartly dressed in double-breasted suits, he was often seen mingling with the city’s high society and soon caught the attention of the Italian police, who placed him under surveillance.
He was recorded trying to negotiate deals to import more than a ton of cocaine from South America, but disappeared shortly after.
The police believe that fled to Brazilwhere he lived under the fictitious name of Francisco Capletto.
From there he moved to neighboring Uruguay, where he lived in the seaside resort of Punta del Este for at least 13 years.
While he rented a luxurious house, filling it with works of art, the neighbors said he drove a modest car and it was not until he gave a luxurious party for his daughter’s birthday that they realized his riches.