The Lo Presti'ndrina of Bardonecchia, known as I Maneja is a 'ndrina originally from Marina di Gioiosa Ionica, related with the Mazzaferrocrime family, which operated in Bardonecchia, Piedmont for over 50 years. Rocco Lo Presti was the boss of the family. Initially created as an integral to the Mazzaferro family, it became a faction and later a family of its own. It was the family of the 'Ndrangheta hegemonic in the area of Val di Susa together with that of Mazzaferro. They had ties with the Calabrian families Belfiore, Crea, Aquino, Ierino, Macri, Morabito, Cataldo, Strangio, Barbaro, Raso-Albanese and Facchineri. He had business relations with the Inzerillo family, Spatola-Gambino of Palermo, through which he made alliances overseas with the Gambino crime family of New York City, and with the families of the 'Ndrangheta in Canada, of Rocco Zito, Michele Racco, Cosimo Stalteri in Toronto and Vic Cotroni in Montreal. According to an associate justice, the family became allied to the Aquino family, rivals of Mazzaferro. The family is currently governed by the nephews of Rocco Lo Presti, the brothers Luciano and Giuseppe Ursino.
The rise of the Ursinos, the Lo Presti nephews
In 1993, nephew Giuseppe Ursino along with 15 other people were arrested in Bardonecchia for the trafficking of arms and drugs. Exponents of the Cataldo 'ndrina from Locri are also involved and arrested. Since 2000, the criminal structures in Bardonecchia changed. Lo Presti named his successors, his favourite nephews, the brothers Luciano and Giuseppe Ursino. Soon after, Luciano Ursino entered into business relations with the brothers Adolfo and Aldo Cosimo Crea, originating from Stilo, Calabria, emerging bosses of the 'Ndrangheta in Turin. In 2003, on the eve of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, he began to talk about tenders in Val di Susa. The Works Director of the Turin-Bardonecchia highway, and the Turin Agency for 2006 Winter Olympics, received envelopes with bullets. The Ursinos managed to bribe a police inspector who informed them about the investigation and gave them a scanner to find wiretaps. In April 2004, the Ursinos approached a politician to try to obtain European Union funding, and set up a million dollarusury ring. Among the victims of usury, was a political figure, who denounced the organization, and in November 2006 Rocco Lo Presti was arrested along with his Ursino nephews. In February 2018, Giuseppe Ursino and Ercole Taverniti were arrested for extortion and criminal mafia association, and seized all commercial activities, bars and restaurants..
