In its fight against organized crime, Italy struck a heavy blow against the ‘Ndrangheta organization on Saturday. Justice sentenced 70 members as well as people with links to the most powerful mafia group in the country. The defendants had to answer in particular for Mafia association, attempted murder, money laundering, drug trafficking, extortion and illegal possession of weapons.
Judge Claudio Paris read the verdicts against 91 defendants in the huge courtroom in the town of Lamezia Terme, in Calabria (south), where the biggest mafia trial since January has been held. the late 1980s. 355 accused have yet to be tried there, the proceedings being scheduled for two years or more.
The choice of a rapid trial
The people who have just been convicted had opted for a rapid trial, behind closed doors, which allowed them, in the event of conviction, to see their sentence reduced by a third. Renowned anti-mafia prosecutor Nicola Gratteri, whom his efforts to defeat ‘Ndrangheta forced to live under police protection for more than 30 years, confirmed that “out of 91 accused, 70 alleged innocents were convicted,” adding that those acquitted were minor actors.
Among those convicted, six were given the maximum sentence of 20 years required by prosecutors. These include Domenico Macri, of the group’s military wing, Pasquale Gallone, the right-hand man of alleged Mafia boss Luigi Mancuso, whose trial is still ongoing, and Gregorio Niglia, who played the role of procure weapons and engage in extortion. About a third of the group was sentenced to terms of ten years or more, and as a result 21 people were acquitted.
At the heart of cocaine trafficking
The ‘Ndrangheta, based in Calabria, Italy’s poorest region, controls most of the flow of cocaine entering Europe. This network of around 150 families vying for positions within the organization has at least 6,000 members and affiliates in Calabria and thousands more are supporting it around the world, experts say. Although it now operates internationally and its earnings are reinvested in the legal economy, the ‘Ndrangheta’s ability to infiltrate almost every segment of public administration in Calabria has enabled it to secure lucrative contracts and to consolidate its power.