They were remembered today in Taurianova, 48 years after their murder, the pinned Stefano Condello and the chosen carabiniere Vincenzo Caruso, Gold medals for military valor, murdered for having interrupted a summit of ‘Ndrangheta in the Razza district “, in the plain of Gioia Tauro. The ceremony was attended by the commander of the “Calabria” carabinieri legion, gen. Riccardo Sciutomilitary and civil authorities, magistrates, representatives of the territorial weapon and the National Carabinieri Association, and the mayor of Taurianova.
The event began with a moment of recollection at the monument reminiscent of the two soldiers murdered by the ‘Ndrangheta, erected in Taurianova in the square dedicated to them, followed by a mass in suffrage celebrated by the military chaplain Don Don Aldo Ripepito then end with the deposition of a flower pillow at the stone erected on the place of the massacre.
On April 1, 1977, shortly after Mezzogiorno, the pinned Stefano Condello and the carabinieri Vincenzo Caruso and Pasquale Giacoppo, in service at the Radiomobile nucleus of the Compagnia di Taurianova, began their daily shift of work along the 101-bis state road in the direction of Taurianova ‘Race “, where four cars and a Vespa parked on the side of the road near the Masseria of a prejudiced. The carabiniere Caruso recognized one of the parked car, owned by a well -known prejudiced of the area, known to encourage the fugitives.
The pinned Condello and the carabiniere Caruso, thus decided to check the interior of the farmleaving the carabiniere Giardoppo to guard the service vehicle. Once on the spot, the two soldiers realized that two well -known prejudiced among those present were armed with guns. The two prejudiced reacted by starting a scuffle with the military during which Condello and Caruso manage to disarm them, despite being reached by a shower of lupara and pistol shots exploded against them by the others prejudiced present.
Despite the very serious injuries, Stefano Condello and Vincenzo Caruso responded to the fire, managing to mortally hit the brothers Rocco and Vincenzo Avignonleading exponents of the homonymous gang of ‘Ndrangheta Taurianovese. Meanwhile, the Carabiniere Pasquale Giacoppo heard the shots, decided to approach the support of colleagues, but finding themselves in front of three individuals armed with rifle, with whom he hired, in turn, another gunfight, fortunately without consequences for his own safety, while the criminals flee. The military, noting the tragic end of colleagues, still managed to return to the company’s offices, launching the alarm. The subsequent investigations sought full light on the tragic ambush cost the life of the attacked carabinieri, who fell to have surprised eleven ‘Ndranghetisti gathered in a summit, known for belonging to families among the most powerful of the plain of Gioia Tauro, intent on discussing the respective spaces of power and sharing contracts and bribes.