January 16, 2023
Updated 6 hours ago
Credit, Carabinieri via Portal
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Matteo Messina, leader of Cosa Nostra, was arrested after being wanted for 30 years
After 30 years on the run, “Capo” (boss) Matteo Messina was arrested in Sicily this Monday (16 January).
He is nicknamed “Diabolik” and is described as an “extremely dangerous man”.
Messina is considered one of the leaders of the Cosa Nostra, one of the most famous Italian mafia, who was featured in the film saga The Godfather.
The power of the Italian Mafia lies in the control and exploitation of territories and communities. The concepts of family, power, respect, and territory are critical to understanding their dynamics.
According to the European security agency Europol, they can manipulate elections and smuggle their members into administrative positions outside of the areas they control.
Italian mafia operates worldwide and competes with criminal groups from countries like Russia, China and Albania.
Below are the most prominent names in organized crime in Italy:
Sicilian Mafia: Cosa Nostra
Sicilian gangs are role models for other mafias. They began managing the local judiciary in the 19th century and have grown in power and sophistication ever since.
Cosa Nostra, meaning “our thing”, is believed to be the original mafia based on family clans.
She is famous for the “omertá”, a code of silence to demonstrate total loyalty. Those who do not comply are considered traitors and risk being tortured or executed. Violators can result in punishment for entire families.
Matteo Messina, who had been in hiding for three decades, would have continued to issue orders to his subordinates through a system called Pizzini, leaving small folded paper notes under a stone on a farm in Sicily.
Many Sicilians are repelled by the crime family clans for pizzo, a form of blackmailing local merchants disguised as “protection money” by the Italian mafia.
The Cosa Nostra gained notoriety in the United States by becoming an organized crime force in Chicago and New York. She established herself as the epitome of the Italian Mafia.
In the years since the drink was banned during Prohibition in the 1920s, it garnered a lot of power through alcohol sales.
His main businesses in recent years have been drug trafficking, illegal dumping of toxic waste and money laundering.
According to the FBI, the Cosa Nostra and the other three major groups Camorra, ‘Ndrangheta, and Sacra Corona Unita have a total of about 25,000 members.
However, Anna Sergi, a Mafia researcher at the University of Essex in the UK, told the BBC that these figures are only estimates as they are “secret organizations with secret members”.
Cosa Nostra was at war with the Italian state during the reign of leader Salvatore “Toto” Riina.
Credit, Getty Images
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Salvatore Riina, head of Cosa Nostra, was arrested in 1993 and died in 2017
In May 1992, Riina’s men detonated a bomb that killed prosecutor Giovanni Falcone, his wife and three bodyguards.
Two months later, his men attacked again, killing Falcone’s successor, Paolo Borsellino, and five of his bodyguards with another bomb.
Riina died in 2017 at the age of 87 while serving a 26life sentence for murder.
Credit, AFP
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This village, owned by the Sicilian mafia, was confiscated by the authorities and turned into a hotel
Both society and the Italian authorities have fought vigorously against Cosa Nostra in recent years.
An antimafia group called Libera Terra coordinates new businesses, including hotels, with the money and assets confiscated from the mafia.
And police arrested several of his relatives, confiscated many of his businesses and increasingly isolated the capo in the recent siege of Matteo Messina in recent years.
Both the Cosa Nostra and the Camorra, the Neapolitan mafia, have been severely weakened by the police in recent decades.
Neapolitan Mafia: Camorra
The Camorra originated in the Campania region and its most influential members are concentrated in Naples and Caserta.
Their main business is drug trafficking and their methods are extremely brutal.
They also receive extortion money from construction companies, toxic waste disposal companies and the textile industry. And his shop includes garments imitating Italian fashion pieces.
The workings of the Camorra were documented by the Italian journalist Roberto Saviano, who wrote the bestselling Book of Gomorrah.
Saviano has lived with the constant protection of bodyguards for years after receiving multiple death threats.
Credit, Getty Images
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Three bodyguards protect journalist Roberto Saviano (centre) who has received death threats for the publication of his book ‘Gomorrah’, which deals with the Neapolitan mafia.
In an interview with the American public broadcaster PBS, Saviano explained that the Camorra and the ‘Ndrangheta have a less hierarchical structure than the Cosa Nostra but are more powerful, with younger leaders and much more violence.
Another important aspect of the Neapolitan mafia is that women play an important role as couriers, bookkeepers and payers for members of the organization.
Calabrian mafia: ‘Ndrangheta
The region is at the “foot” of the “boot” that represents the map of Italy, Calabria is close to Sicily and the ‘Ndrangheta was originally an offshoot of the Cosa Nostra.
Its name comes from the Greek “andragathia” which means courage and loyalty.
The ‘Ndrangheta has now established itself as the most powerful mafia in Italy, especially after heavy police action against the Camorra and the Cosa Nostra in recent decades.
Its activities span all continents of the world and generate around 60 billion US dollars per year in one of the poorest regions of Italy.
Their “currency” is cocaine. The group dominates the world market and is estimated to control up to 80% of drug trafficking in Europe.
Credit, AFP
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Pasquale Condello, historical leader of the ‘Ndrangheta, was arrested in Calabria in 2008
In 2019, a joint international operation by Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Bulgaria led to the arrest of 335 suspects linked to the group, including lawyers, accountants and former parliamentarians.
All were members of or associated with the Mancuso family, one of the 150 family clans that make up the ‘Ndrangheta.
It was the biggest coup in the history of this group and the process started two years ago in Calabria. The charges include murder, extortion and drug trafficking. More than 70 members have already been convicted.
Apulian mafia: the Sacra Corona Unita
It is the smallest mafia group in Italy. It is headquartered in the Apulia (Apulia) region in the south of the country.
In addition to human trafficking, its members specialize in activities such as cigarette, drug and arms smuggling.
Puglia is a natural gateway for illicit trade from Balkan countries.
Many of the clans in this region are said to have close ties to criminal gangs in Eastern Europe.