The initial puzzles

The family's curse

As anticipated in Chapter 2, Rocco Arico's uncle and father, G. and A., have long been considered members of the domestic ‘ndrangheta in Melbourne, while in the case of Rocco such membership is not established. The case of the Arico family is not the only one of this kind: various other Calabrian families in Australia have established themselves as organized crime (even mafia- type) families, but they are not ‘ndrangheta. Their labelling as ‘‘ndrangheta’ comes from the ethnicity and surname trap that we have already discussed. In other words, they are Italians, they are called Italian mafia, they happen to also be Calabrian, they become Calabrian mafia, then ‘ndrangheta. A lot has to do with when establishment of a ‘mafia surname’ for a family was recognized and under which circumstances.

There is in fact an ontological difference between a crime family carrying the surname Barbaro, or Agresta, and a crime family carrying the surname Agnesi, Arico, or Madafferi in Melbourne: the former ‘arrived’ and continued as ‘ndrangheta; the latter became ‘mafia’ later. There's also quite a difference between offending and non- offending individuals in a certain family, notwithstanding reputation and surnames.

Harley Joe Barbaro and Ricardo Barbaro, for example, are interesting individuals. Their father, Giuseppe (Joe), and their uncle, Frank, have been involved in organized crime, from the drugs trade to money laundering to illegal gambling and murder or violence. Their cousins Matthew, Patrick, Joseph, and Paddy are also involved in criminal activities of various types.