More than 5,000 years of imprisonment required, 322 accused… The figures for the maxi-trial of alleged members of the powerful Italian ‘Ndrangheta mafia are extraordinary. Italian justice delivers its verdict this Monday in this case targeting the little hands and godfathers of the Calabrian octopus, as well as their white-collar accomplices, civil servants, local elected officials and even high-ranking police officers. To understand everything about this trial targeting more than 300 people, we’ll give you a recap.
- What is ‘Ndrangheta?
Long underestimated, the ‘Ndrangheta grew quietly for decades while authorities focused their efforts on Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian mafia depicted in films like The Godfather. Based in Calabria, a very poor region located in the tip of the Italian Boot, the ‘Ndrangheta is the richest and most powerful of the Italian mafias, ahead of Cosa Nostra in Sicily and the Neapolitan Camorra. Present in around forty countries, it exerts a stifling hold on its homeland, infiltrating and corrupting the administration while imposing its iron law on the population. Today, experts estimate that the ‘Ndrangheta, made up of around 150 Calabrian families, achieves an annual turnover of around fifty billion euros throughout the world.
- How did Italy manage to set up such a trial?
With the help of Interpol, Italy has managed in recent years to tighten its grip on the criminal network, leading police forces around the world to recognize the activities of the ‘Ndrangheta on their territory and to attack them. Since January 2021, three judges have heard thousands of hours of witnesses, including around fifty repentant mafiosi who have become collaborators of justice, on the activities of the Mancuso family and its associates, an important clan of the ‘Ndrangheta controlling the province of Vibo Valentia.
- Who are the accused and what are the charges?
In all, 322 members of the mafia are accused. Among them, small hands and godfathers of the ‘Ndrangheta but also their white-collar accomplices, civil servants, local elected officials and even high-ranking police officers. Illustrating the infiltration of the Calabrian mafia into the legal economy, company managers, mayors and civil servants, including a high-ranking police officer, also appear in the dock. One of the best known is a 70-year-old lawyer, Giancarlo Pittelli, former deputy and senator of Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, who faces seventeen years in prison for his alleged role as intermediary between the clan and the world. policy. The charges are numerous: mafia association, drug trafficking, extortion, usury, laundering of dirty money…
- What did the trial consist of?
This maxi-trial organized in a bunker under high surveillance in the town of Lamezia Terme is the most important against the mafia in more than thirty years. During the trial, the accused detailed the violent operation of the ‘Ndrangheta, its control over the local population, extortion, rigging of calls for tenders and elections, acquisition of weapons, etc. They revealed secrets about weapons caches in cemeteries or ambulances used to transport drugs, and revealed how municipal water was diverted to water marijuana plantations.
Those who oppose the mafia are threatened, even eliminated. They discover dead puppies or the heads of goats or even dolphins on their doorstep. Not to mention the cars set on fire or the storefronts vandalized. Some are also beaten up or shot at, others disappear forever.
- What will be the consequences?
Despite its scale and the 5,000 years of imprisonment required, this trial should not disrupt the activities of the ‘Ndrangheta, according to experts. “I don’t believe that a police operation is enough to destroy the ‘Ndrangheta,” says Antonio Nicaso, who highlights other priorities: employment, education and change in mentalities. “This is what we need to attack a criminal organization.”