Girolamo Commisso was a
sgarrista in the
'Ndrangheta in the
Gioiosa Ionica neighbourhood of
Siderno, making him a mid-ranking figure, until his murder in 1948. Girolamo Commisso left behind a widow and three sons, Rocco Remo, Cosimo and Michele, who vowed to avenge their father. In 1961, the Commisso brothers moved to
Canada, settling in
Toronto, but did not forget their father's murder. The murder of Girolamo Commisso was never solved, but it was believed to have been the work of two assassins, Salvatore Scarfo and Michale Alberti, both of whom fled to
Argentina afterwards.
Siderno was the fiefdom of
Antonio Macrì, the undisputed boss at the time. In January 1975, Macrì was killed in the
First 'Ndrangheta war. His right-hand man – who was wounded in Macrì's killing – was Francesco Commisso, known as "Cicciu I quagghia" ("the quail"). At Macrì's death, his successor was his nephew Vincenzo Macrì, known as
u Baruni , who became the head of the
locale Siderno. But his succession did not last long. Very soon another young man distinguished himself for charisma, Cosimo Commisso, son of the aforementioned Francesco Commisso, Antonio Macrì's shoulder guard, who assumed command of the
locale Siderno, making the 'ndrina Commisso, the family that today bears his name, one of the most influential in the
'Ndrangheta.
Giuseppe Commisso (
u mastru) was also an influential figure in Siderno. In 1982, Alberti returned to
Siderno and was promptly murdered while eating at the patio terrace of a restaurant. Amongst the patrons were a dozen men from
Toronto with links to the Commisso brothers. One of the men present at the Gourmet, Vincenzo "Jimmy" DeLeo, upon his return to
Canada visited the Commisso brothers being held at the
Kingston penitentiary; he denies that he discussed with them the murder of the man who was believed to have killed their father. In the 1980s, the Commisso were challenged by the Costa 'ndrina over the command of Siderno. By 1991, the feud – that spilled over to Toronto as well – ended in a victory for the Commisso clan. Officially, there were 28 dead among the Costas and eight among the Commissos. Cosimo Commisso was sentenced over the vendetta, and his cousin Antonio Commisso, also known as ''l'avvocatu
("the lawyer"), succeeded him as the acting boss of the clan. They were members of Camera di controllo'', a provincial commission of the 'Ndrangheta formed at the end of the
Second 'Ndrangheta war in September 1991, to avoid further internal conflicts. The Commissos are known to have links with the
Secondigliano Alliance, considered by the authorities the most powerful
Camorra group that is still active. Both organizations are allied in the trafficking and sale of cocaine and marijuana from South America, via the Netherlands. In 1993, Cosimo Commisso "Quagghia" was arrested, and later convicted of five murders and three attempted murders between May 1989 and July 1991, and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1998. After 26 years in prison, on 9 January 2019, the Court of Appeal of Naples acquitted Commisso in a review process "for not having committed the offense", releasing him immediately. On 13 December 2019, Commisso was arrested in the "Core Business" operation, accused of mafia association for the period in which he was under house arrest since 2015 in
Perugia. On 30 January 2020, Commisso was definitively acquitted of the murders by the
Supreme Court of Cassation. On 9 August 2019, several former
Greater Toronto Area residents were arrested in Calabria, including Francesco Commisso and Rocco Remo Commisso. By that time, police in Italy and in Canada were convinced that "the 'Ndrangheta's Canadian presence has become so powerful and influential that the board north of Toronto has the authority to make decisions, not only in relation to Canada's underworld, but also abroad, even back in Siderno". ==In Canada==