Also known as Don Mico Tripodo he was one of the most powerful 'Ndrangheta bosses of his time, held in high respect by his criminal associates.
Tripodo rose to power by ousting the old Reggio boss Domenico Strati after a two-year conflict in 1958-59.
[1] In the 1960s, he formed a sort of triumvirate with Antonio Macrì, the boss of the city of Siderno and Girolamo Mommo Piromalli, head of the most powerful 'ndrina on the Tyrrhenian coast.
[3] Don Mico was a traditional 'Ndrangheta capobastone who, together with Macrì, opposed to new developments in the organisation such as the entry into kidnapping and drug trafficking,[4] as well as the formation of the Santa, a secret society within the 'Ndrangheta established in the early 1970s to maximize the power and invisibility of the most important bosses.
[4][10] After the defeat, his son Carmelo Tripodo first moved to north Italy, later to Caserta in Campania, and finally in 1992 to Fondi in Lazio.