Francesco Fonti (February 22, 1948 – December 5, 2012) was an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria, who became a turncoat (pentito) collaborating with the authorities.
[8] Both Fonti and Legambiente, an Italian NGO for the protection of the environment, claimed vessels were sent to Somalia and other developing countries such as Kenya and Zaire with toxic cargoes, which were either sunk with the ship or buried on land.
Consequently, one of the prosecutors questioned the reliability of Fonti on the alleged sinkings, despite the fact that his collaboration with the authorities since 1994 had resulted in high-profile arrests of 'Ndrangheta members involved in drug trafficking.
[10] Fonti was also involved in attempts to locate the place in Rome where the Christian Democrat politician and former Prime Minister Aldo Moro was held by the militant communist group the Red Brigades after they had kidnapped him on March 16, 1978.
[11] With the help of the Italian military intelligence agency SISMI and the criminal organisation the Banda della Magliana, Fonti was able to locate the house where Moro was kept.
[11] Fonti died on December 5, 2012, of "natural causes" as a result of his poor health, in a hospital near the secret location where he lived since his collaboration with the authorities.
[12][13] Fonti became famous in Italy and abroad when, after having left the witness protection program and having served a period of imprisonment, he exposed the thorny matter of toxic waste dumping by the 'Ndrangheta.