Crackdown
In July 2008, police cracked down on the stranglehold of the 'Ndrangheta on the port in an operation dubbed "One Hundred Years of History" which netted 18 criminals and businessmen in Calabria, Rome and Milan. The operation also intended to end the start of a possibly bloody turf war between the Piromallis and their former military arm, the Molè family.
On October 13, 2008, one of the clan bosses, Gioacchino Piromalli, was arrested along with his nephew, also named Gioacchino Piromalli, who is a lawyer, as well as Gioia Tauro's former mayor and deputy mayor. Both had been forced to step down in April 2008 when the city council was dissolved on suspicion of Mafia infiltration. The mayors were accused of employing the younger Piromalli. Police believe the legal work was a front to enable the Piromallis to regain a slice of the business generated by Gioia Tauro, one of the largest container ports in Europe.
Read more about this topic: Piromalli 'ndrina