«I did six years… I was fine at forty-one». A boss is always a boss, both outside and inside prison. A posture that Pino Piromalli seems to have always maintained during his long criminal career.
In the wiretaps intercepted by the police (almost all) in his home in Gioia Tauro, where he returned in 2021 after serving twenty-two years in prison, the criminal caliber of one of the most influential and respected godfathers of the entire ‘Ndrangheta emerges.
Those interceptions ended up in the investigation of the Reggio Calabria Res-Tauro DDA and some of them were also acquired in the second appeal process of the ‘Ndrangheta massacre underway in Reggio Calabria. In one of the interceptions, Piromalli speaks with two acquaintances on land he owns and the discussion shifts towards his detention and how an ‘Ndrangheta boss must face prison.
In some of the reports, in fact, the club leader shoots nothing at the various turncoats from Gioia Tauro who over the years have decided to take the plunge because they couldn’t stand detention. He, on the other hand, did everything in prison and in 41 bis he would have even “been fine”, standing up to and threatening the prison officers who “dared” to disrespect him.
«Days went by when you didn’t speak to anyone – explains Piromalli to the two interlocutors – I spent seventeen years in the restricted area, seventeen, not one year, two, four, five, ten, seventeen… eh, eh, the only one I spoke to, I spoke to the nurse when I went there… and ten of them followed, right? I did it… but why can’t I talk? “No, he has to give you therapy and you leave.” Once we caught ourselves with these… in the reserved area… at forty-one I felt like a… a lion…”.
The prison police therefore – says the elderly boss – kept an eye on him and didn’t let him speak to anyone. An attitude that Pino Piromalli showed he could not tolerate and for this reason he came into conflict with the agents responsible for controlling prisoners of his caliber.
«One day – he adds – an inspector came who was… he was the commander and he was from Messina… he took… I understood it from the way he spoke, right? “Piromalli, Piromalli” came, I said: commander, tell me, he said “I’ll move you in the afternoon”, right? “Will you move me?” I said, “and where are you moving me?”. He said “I’ll move you above, I’ll move you to where there was an Aglieri man from Palermo”, Greco was below, Aglieri above, right? Who… all friends, all polite, there was that boy Paolo Amico (all three members of Cosa Nostra, ed.), who… was… was implicated… who paid… who is paying… the judge… Livatino… and then he took it, he said to me “alright?” He said… “I’ll finger you in the ass…” I told him, “and I’ll make you go all over the prison…” I told him… “shit… Will you move me?” I told him “you can only take it that you leave from here… and I don’t… it doesn’t even cross your mind that you move to me. Get away from here”… he went away and gave me the report, right? He reported it… they locked me up for fifteen days…”.
It would not have been the only case in which Piromalli would have threatened a Penitentiary Police officer. The boss, in fact, tells another story of friction with a policeman which culminated in a double threat.
«There was another one from Cosenza, wasn’t there? Who was passing by… them too, right?… I don’t remember there, and I understood that he was from Cosenza… “good morning Piromalli” he said “don’t finish it”, I said “what about?” I said “tell the director… I told him… that I don’t speak much…, no… to the director… that I’m going out”, I made her furious, didn’t I?… I told him… “and when I go out…” I told him… “I’ll come and break you under the door… I’ll put nine blows into your head, both you and her” I told him…».
A hard and long detention, but faced like a boss, as he explained to his interlocutors. Pino Piromalli didn’t like being with “common” prisoners, defined as “rotten”, much better “at High Security”, he said “I resisted better… there you have contact with serious people… then there’s the forty-one, right? On forty-one you’re fine… for me I was fine, I did six years… er… not about six years… and I was fine on forty-one.”
