It was one of the largest mafia trials in Italy: more than 300 members of the ‘Ndrangheta and helpers were indicted. The court now imposed prison sentences totaling many hundreds of years.
In Italy’s biggest mafia trial in decades, a court in the southern region of Calabria has handed down prison sentences of many hundreds of years. The highest sentences were given to two bosses of the criminal organization ‘Ndrangheta, who each had to go to prison for 30 years.
A former member of the ruling party Forza Italia was also sentenced: the conservative politician Giancarlo Pittelli has to be behind bars for eleven years because he was in the service of the mafia. Several ex-police officers and other corrupt officials are also sent to prison.
For hours Judgment announcement
In the process, more than 300 suspected members or aides of the mafia have had to answer to the judiciary for almost three years. The public prosecutor’s office demanded sentences of up to 30 years in prison – a total of more than 4,700 years for all defendants.
The reading of the many judgments took several hours. The allegations ranged from murder and membership in a criminal organization to drug trafficking and money laundering to corruption in government construction contracts.
Statements from more than 50 key witnesses
With the trial, the Italian state wanted to make it clear that it did not want to accept the work of the mafia. The basis for this was statements from more than 50 different key witnesses who have renounced the ‘Ndrangheta. Many now live in witness protection programs. Normally the “law of silence” applies in the mafia – that is, no one makes any statements.
However, the verdict against the highest alleged clan boss Luigi Mancuso is still pending. His trial was separated from the mammoth trial.
Call center in High security wing rebuilt
Because of the enormous dimensions of the trial, a call center in Lamezia Terme was specially converted into a high-security wing – with a courtroom more than 100 meters long, 35 meters wide and barred cells. So that judges, lawyers, witnesses and mafiosi don’t accidentally cross paths, there were even separate toilets: 32 in total.
It is thanks to senior public prosecutor Nicola Gratteri that the trial came about at all. The 65-year-old has been fighting the mafia for more than three decades. After years of investigations, he had hundreds of suspected mafiosi and helpers arrested shortly before Christmas 2019. The police were on duty with 3,000 carabinieri that December morning, and operations also took place in Germany.
Most powerful crime group of Italy
The ‘Ndrangheta from Calabria was once the number three mafia organization in Italy, behind the Cosa Nostra from Sicily and the Camorra from Naples. According to experts, it consists of around 150 families. Today it is by far Italy’s most powerful criminal group with connections all over the world.
According to experts, the cocaine business in Europe is largely in their hands, including in Germany. Their worldwide turnover is estimated at more than 50 billion euros per year.