José Barrita

José Barrita (* probably 1952 in Italy ; † February 2001 in Ramos Mejía , Argentina ), also known as El Abuelo (roughly equivalent to The Old One or The Grandfather ), was a longtime leader of La 12 , the most famous Barra Brava organization in the Environment of the top Argentinian club Boca Juniors .

Life

Barrita came to La Boca as a young child , where he grew up. Like most children in the waterfront district of Buenos Aires , Barrita was a passionate supporter of the local soccer club Boca Juniors. He became a member of the notorious fan group La 12, which at the time was headed by Quique "El Carnicero".

In the summer of 1981, Barrita took over the group in his own way. He pointed his revolver at Quique and made it clear to him that from now on he was in charge. Since then, Quique has never been heard from again.

During the first years of his reign, La 12 was involved in numerous violent clashes with opposing fans, which were often fought with guns. The violence reportedly left five dead and hundreds injured. Over the years the brothers Rafael and Fernando di Zeo became his closest confidante. They gave him the idea to make La 12 more than just an ordinary fan club. As a result, La 12 became a profitable company that made annual sales of around three million US dollars in the first year of its expanded operations through various and not always entirely legal transactions.

The end of his reign began in April 1994 and it is still unclear whether and how Barrita was involved in the following events. After a derby against arch rivals River Plate , members of La 12 attacked a minibus that was manned by opposing fans. Two River fans were killed in this action and six La 12 gang members were subsequently sentenced to long prison terms; including "El Abuelo", who was not present at the action, but was also called to account as the boss of La 12. After his imprisonment, the Di Zeo brothers took command of La 12.

Barrita was released early on December 17, 1998. However, his plan to take over La 12 failed. The Di Zeo brothers now sat too tightly in the saddle and, through their determination, achieved that “El Abuelo” withdrew completely from the surroundings of La 12.

In February 2001, Barrita died in Ramos Mejía's San Juan de Dios hospital of complications from pneumonia that had accompanied him for the last two months of his life.

Notes and individual references

1. ↑ When he died in February 2001, he was 48 years old, so he must have been born in 1952 or early 1953.
2. ↑ Murio José Barritta “El Abuelo”, ex jefe de la barra brava de Boca ( Memento of the original dated August 30, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Spanish; article of February 20, 2001)  

Sources and web links

• La Historia de La Doce (Matar al Abuelito) (Spanish; accessed October 31, 2011)
• José Barrita, dos decados como líder de La 12 (Spanish; accessed October 31, 2011)