Processes
Hundreds of years in prison in mammoth mafia trial
Flanked by her assessors, court president Brigida Cavasino (lm) reads out the verdicts in the mafia trial. photo
© Valeria Ferraro/AP/dpa
It was one of the largest mafia trials of all time: against more than 300 members of the ‘Ndrangheta and their helpers. The judgments are now also of enormous dimensions.
In Italy’s largest mafia trial in decades, the judiciary handed down prison sentences of many hundreds of years. The highest sentences were handed down on Monday by a court in the southern Italian region of Calabria against two bosses of the criminal organization ‘Ndrangheta: Both have to go to prison for 30 years.
A former member of the ruling party Forza Italia was also sentenced: the conservative politician Giancarlo Pittelli received eleven years because he was in the service of the mafia. Ex-police officers and other corrupt officials also went to prison.
Since the beginning of 2021, more than 300 suspected members or helpers of the mafia have had to answer for the spectacular trial in the city of Lamezia Terme. The prosecution demanded a total of more than 4,700 years in prison. The court, presided over by Judge Brigida Cavasino, largely followed this.
Long list of allegations
The reading of the verdicts lasted for two hours. The allegations ranged from murder and membership in a criminal organization to drug trafficking and money laundering to corruption in government construction contracts – practically the full program.
The ‘Ndrangheta of Calabria was once only the number three of Italy’s various mafia organizations, behind the Cosa Nostra of Sicily and the Camorra of Naples. Today it is by far the 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. The ‘Ndrangheta’s global turnover is estimated at more than 50 billion euros per year.
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. According to experts, the ‘Ndrangheta consists of around 150 families. In the 1980s, more than 400 members of the Cosa Nostra were put on trial in Sicily.
A clan family in sight
The trial was primarily directed against the Mancuso family clan, one of the various branches. The two local bosses Saverio Razionale and Domenico Bonavota were each sentenced to 30 years. There were also many years in prison for many other clan members.
However, the verdict against the highest alleged clan boss Luigi Mancuso is still pending. His trial was separated from the mammoth trial because it would have been even more complicated. Luigi Mancuso was called “The Uncle”. Others had nicknames like “Wolf”, “Leg of Lamb” or “Fatbag” – like in one of the big Hollywood films.
A total of 338 defendants were on trial – including politicians and officials who had complied with the ‘Ndrangheta in exchange for money. The most prominent case was the ex-MP Pittelli from Forza Italia, which is now the smallest partner in a coalition of three right-wing parties in Rome. It was founded by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who died in June. The public prosecutor’s office had even requested 17 years in prison for Pittelli – it ended up being 11. An ex-mayor whom prosecutors wanted to put behind bars for 18 years has been acquitted.
Process in the high security wing
Because of its enormous dimensions, 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 of them.
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, also in Germany. So that the mafia could not be warned by informants in the civil service, Gratteri had the arrest warrants copied abroad.
The raid and the trial were carried out in Italy under the name “Rinascita Scott”: Rinascita means rebirth and seven William Scott was the name of a US drug investigator who was once on post in Rome. Scott is said to have explained to Gratteri how the cocaine business between Colombia and Calabria works. He died in 2013. Gratteri himself gave up his role as chief prosecutor during the trial. He is now the top public prosecutor in Naples – and is still under the strictest protection.