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MAFIA

Pope criticises the mafia for ‘exploiting’ the pandemic

Pope Francis launched a fresh attack on the mafia on Sunday, Italy's day of remembrance for victims of the mob, describing them as "organisations of sin" who have exploited the coronavirus pandemic.

Pope criticises the mafia for 'exploiting' the pandemic
The Pope condemns those in the mafia as "blasphemous". (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP)

“Mafias are present in various parts of the world and, exploiting the pandemic, have enriched themselves through corruption,” the pontiff said after his weekly Sunday Angelus address.

Referring to his predecessors as head of the Catholic church, he added: “St John Paul II denounced their culture of death and Benedict XVI condemned them as a road of death.

“These organisations of sin, mafia structures, exchange faith for idolatry, contrary to the Gospel of Christ. Today we remember all the victims and renew our commitment against mafias.”

READ ALSO: ‘Free to choose’: The scheme helping women and children leave Italy’s mafia clans

In an open-air mass in Sicily in September 2018, during a trip to honour a priest murdered by the mob 25 years earlier, Pope Francis condemned those who belong to the mafia as “blasphemous”.

His impassioned plea echoed the words of Jean Paul II who, during a May 1993 trip to the island, had also called on mobsters to abandon crime, and urged Sicilians to revolt against the mafia.

Italy’s anti-mafia organisation Libera has for many years been remembering the victims of organised crime on March 21, but in recent years it has become an official national day of commemoration.

In a statement on Sunday, Italian President Sergio Mattarella said: “Eradicating the mafia is possible and necessary.”

READ ALSO: ‘Ndrangheta: Major Italian mafia ‘maxi-trial’ kicks off with over 350 defendants

A mafia drug ring was dismantled earlier this month in the southern Calabria region, after a grandma tipped off Italian police.

“People have suffered and seen the arrogance of these criminals who insisted on extorting money,” anti-mafia prosecutor Nicola Gratteri told the Gazzetta del Sud daily.

READ ALSO: Meet Nicola Gratteri, the prosecutor leading Italy’s battle against the mafia

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CRIME

‘Ndrangheta: Italy to sentence hundreds in mafia ‘maxi trial’

Over 300 alleged members of the 'Ndrangheta – Italy's most powerful organised crime group – and their white-collar collaborators face sentencing this week following a major trial lasting almost three years.

'Ndrangheta: Italy to sentence hundreds in mafia 'maxi trial'

Prosecutors have asked for prison sentences totalling nearly 5,000 years for 322 defendants, who bear nicknames like ‘The Wolf’, ‘Fatty’, ‘Sweetie’, and ‘Lamb Thigh’ and are accused of a dizzying array of offences.

Based in the poor southern region of Calabria, the ‘Ndrangheta is Italy’s wealthiest and most powerful criminal organisation, which has a near-monopoly on the European cocaine trade.

READ ALSO: 16 arrested in joint anti-mafia raids in Italy and the US

While it has stealthily expanded to now operate in more than 40 countries, back home the ‘Ndrangheta has suffocated the local economy, infiltrated public institutions and terrorised its people for decades.

Since January 2021, three judges in Calabria have heard thousands of hours of testimony – including from dozens of mobsters turned state witness – about the Mancuso clan and its associates, which control the province of Vibo Valentia.

“It’s an important trial because it targets one of the most powerful ‘Ndrangheta families based in Calabria, with international ramifications,” mafia expert Antonio Nicaso told AFP.

The sentences could come this week.

Held in a heavily-secured courtroom bunker, the trial in Lamezia Terme represents Italy’s largest trial in more than 30 years, involving large numbers of defendants accused of being part of the same criminal conspiracy.

READ ALSO: Five things to know about Italy’s ‘Ndrangheta mafia

Such large trials involving dozens of defendants in Italy are referred to as ‘maxi-trials’.

Allegations include mafia association, attempted murder, drug trafficking, extortion, loan sharking, abuse of office and money laundering.

The undisputed boss of the Vibo Valentia province, Luigi ‘The Supreme’ Mancuso, 69, was cut from the defendants list last year to be tried separately.

Mancuso spent 19 years in prison before going underground, but was captured as part of a massive police blitz in December 2019 in which more than 300 suspected mobsters were arrested.

Prosecutors have asked for 30 years each for a dozen of Mancuso’s top associates in charge of selecting targets for hits or extortions and maintaining relations with other mafias.

The boss of the Vibo Valentia province, Luigi ‘The Supreme’ Mancuso, was captured as part of a police blitz in December 2019. Photo by TIZIANA FABI / AFP

But underscoring the ‘Ndrangheta’s success in infiltrating the legitimate economy, the defendants include public servants, professionals, mayors, and even a high-ranking police official.

The highest-profile one is defence lawyer Giancarlo Pittelli, 70 – a former MP and senator from ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party – who faces 17 years for his alleged role as a go-between with the world of politics, finance and illegal Masonic lodges.

Some 67 defendants who were part of the original indictment have already been sentenced, after opting for a speedy trial.

Long-buried secrets

The trial’s most colourful testimony came from more than 50 former mafia operatives turned state witnesses, including Luigi Mancuso’s nephew, Emanuele.

They recounted long-buried secrets, from weapons hidden in cemetery chapels and ambulances used to transport drugs, to municipal water supplies diverted to marijuana crops.

Those who opposed the mafia discovered dead puppies, dolphins or goat heads on their doorsteps, torched cars or smashed up storefronts.

Less lucky ones were beaten or shot – or their bodies were never found.

A police officer in Vibo Valentia, Calabria, one of the 'Ndrangheta's former strongholds.

A police officer in Vibo Valentia, Calabria, one of the ‘Ndrangheta’s former strongholds. Photo by GIANLUCA CHININEA / AFP.

The courtroom is a former call centre converted to accommodate hundreds of lawyers, outfitted with more than 20 television screens piping in images of incarcerated defendants and informants by video link.

Challenging the mafia

Initially dismissed as mere livestock thieves, the ‘Ndrangheta flourished under the radar for decades as authorities concentrated efforts against Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian Mafia depicted in The Godfather movies.

READ ALSO: Sicilian mafia boss Messina Denaro dies after long illness

Today, experts estimate that the ‘Ndrangheta, made up of about 150 Calabrian families and their associates, brings in more than 50 billion euros annually around the world, from drug trafficking and usury to syphoning public funds and extortion, with illegal gains reinvested in the legitimate economy.

Italy has made inroads in recent years, training police departments around the world to recognise the ‘Ndrangheta on their turf and make arrests.

But one crackdown is not likely to dramatically hinder the ‘Ndrangheta, said Nicaso, citing the need for jobs, education and changing mentalities.

“That’s what you need to challenge a criminal organisation,” he said.

By AFP’s Alexandra Sage

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