It was September 9, 1990 when the young brigadier of the force, Antonino Marino, sitting at one of the tables in his father-in-law’s bar in Bovalino Superiore, in Locride, was approached and brutally murdered by a ‘Ndrangheta killer with gunshots. The bullets fired by the Icario also reached his wife who was expecting a child and his son Francesco, just one year old, now a Carabinieri officer.
Marino’s blood tribute was remembered during a ceremony today, 36 years after the murder, «by the Carabinieri who felt a strong duty to remember with a moment of contemplation the memory of the comrade who lost his life in the fulfillment of his duty. An indelible memory, a constant example in the life of every policeman, a harbinger of indications precisely at this moment in the life of the country in which the service rendered to others is more felt than ever.”
In addition to Marino’s relatives, the event was attended by the bishop emeritus of Locri, Monsignor Francesco Oliva, and the commander of the Calabria Legion, General Riccardo Sciuto. After the funeral ceremony, a laurel wreath was placed in the small square of the small town of Locride where the deadly ambush took place. Brigadier Antonino Marino was born in San Lorenzo, a small town in the Grecanica area of Reggio Calabria, and joined the force in 1975. Before his assassination he had been involved in various investigations into illicit trafficking. Despite his young age, Marino had become an inconvenience investigator for the ‘ndrangheta and as commander of the Platì station he had collaborated in the investigations into various kidnappings which in those years represented one of the main criminal activities on the Ionian side of the province of Reggio Calabria. The square of the same name in Bovalino Marina, and the barracks of the Arma di Platì and San Ferdinando were named in his memory.