As an Air Canada jet rolls to a stop at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport after a
nine hour flight from Toronto, Canada, Italian police stand ready. Nine cops
lined the boarding bridge reaching out to the exit door of the airplane, ready to grab
a single passenger, a man who had fought for three years to avoid being on this plane. As
soon as Domenico Cugliari took one step onto Italian soil, he was arrested on March 15, 2023,
40-year-old Cugliari was named as a member of one of the world's most powerful Mafia organizations,
who had been hiding in Canada rather than facing justice in Italy at the largest mega-trial in a
generation. The Mob Reporter here with news of the end of a mobster's luck, a man who was fortunate to
be visiting Canada — courting his future wife — just as police in Italy were kicking down doors across
his hometown, arresting hundreds of mobsters in one of Italy's biggest anti-mafia operations.
Let me tell you about it.
Domenico Cugliari is known by the nickname Scric, which is the Italian word for writer.
His nickname might spring from what his alleged role was within a Mafia clan in his hometown of
Sant’Onofrio, where Italian police said he was a close and serious member of the Bonavota
clan. The Bonavota are one of many 'Ndrangheta clans in the province of Vibo Valentia.
'Ndrangheta is the proper name of the Mafia born in Calabria, the toe of the boot-shaped map of Italy.
Cugliari allegedly acted as a "postman," that's not with the national mail service, but rather someone trusted
to deliver secret messages between mobsters, often when visiting them in prison. Italian
police say he was seen with senior members of the Bonavota clan more than 100 times. He was
once caught with 800 cannabis plants; he said they were for personal use. Cugliari was then spreading
his wings. He applied online for a visa to visit Canada and was approved the same day. He arrived
for the first time at Toronto's Pearson airport on November 28, 2018. He visited Canada again in
March, July, and in December of 2019. That was a fantastic time for him to be away.
Starting December 18, 2019, and continuing over several days, a series of police raids
by thousands of police officers swept through his home province in Calabria.
Hundreds of accused mobsters and associates were arrested in an historic assault against
Mafia clans, in an operation called Rinascita Scott. Led by crusading anti-Mafia magistrate
Nicola Gratteri, the operation was immense, arresting senior bosses, soldiers, associates
and, importantly, the upper world structure that allows the Mafia to thrive in a modern world —
that's dirty cops, corrupt politicians, shady businessmen, and willfully blind white-collar
workers. But when Italian cops banged on Domenico Cugliari’s door to arrest him, he wasn't home.
He was, in fact, preparing for a cold, snowy Christmas in Canada. As the 350 or so other
accused mobsters were imprisoned or trying to get out, Cugliari was preparing for his wedding. In the
summer of 2020, Cugliari married a Canadian woman whose family is from Sant’Onofrio, his hometown.
They lived in a one-story bungalow in north Toronto and drove a modest car. Unfortunately
for the new couple, this was also about the time Interpol issued a Red Notice, alerting
police worldwide that Cugliari was wanted in Italy. Canada's police agencies started looking for him.
On September 22, 2020, as he was leaving his house, he was arrested. He wasn't charged with
any crime in Canada; he faced only immigration allegations that he was inadmissible to Canada
because of organized criminality. Oh he fought being sent back to Italy. He made a refugee claim
saying he faced persecution by the Italian state, and when he lost both of those battles
he filed Federal Court appeals to stay in Canada. He lost them all with unfavorable court decisions
coming at the end of February 2023. Preparations began for his fateful flight to Rome
Nicola Gratteri, the prosecutor running the Rinascita Scott proceedings, told me that
Cugliari will now join alleged colleagues to face trial. "Cugliari is believed to be a made member of
the ’Ndrangheta," Gratteri told me. Cugliari is charged with Mafia association, being a fake front man for
mob boss's businesses, and for an armed robbery of 220,000 Euros after a gang hit a bank in Viba
Valentia. That makes him a minnow compared to many charged in Gratteri's probe. His primary target was
the Mancuso clan and its boss Luigi Mancuso. They're the dominant power in the province, which is a
Mafia stronghold. The Mancuso have been targets of police probes before, for decades, but nothing like
this. They have been linked to the global cocaine trade with allies among the Colombian cartels and
European smugglers, as well as corruption and a litany of other crimes, both large and small
Italian police alleged that Cugliari was a member of the Bonavota. It's one of the many clans that
are subordinate to the Mancuso, but a particularly energetic and fearsome one. Cugliari seemed
particularly close to Domenico Bonavota, described as the head of the military wing of the clan. Like
Cugliari, Domenico Bonavota wasn't found when police swept through town, but he didn't travel far. Here is
Domenico being arrested in 2020. Domenico Bonavota has recently faced court on his charges, just a
few weeks ago, in a specially constructed bunker courtroom. He testified saying he isn't a member
of the 'Ndrangheta, and that the idea makes him feel sick. He follows the trial keenly, saying he has
more stacks of legal documents in his cell than he has underwear. He faces testimony from turncoat
mobsters cooperating with authorities. Meanwhile, Domenico Bonavota's brother, Pasquale, is having
the best run of them all. He's still free, listed as a fugitive. In fact, he's now one of Italy's most
wanted fugitives, getting bumped up the ranking after the arrest of the Sicilian Mafia's so-called
boss of bosses, Matteo Messina Denaro, found in January after 30 years on the run. Who knows
where Pasquale might be, or where he might get to? It could even be Canada. The Bonavota already have
family there, and an extension of their clan operates in the Toronto area, informants told
court. Members of the Bonavota clan have been seen meeting with the long-established and traditional
bosses of the ’Ndrangheta already in Canada. Canada is one of the strongholds of the ’Ndrangheta
outside of Italy. Cugliari is definitely not the last mobster hiding there. Please share a link to
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