Italy: Over 200 Sentenced for Mafia Ties

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Facts

  • An Italian court on Monday convicted more than 200 people, including a former lawmaker and a senior police commander, to a total of 2.2K years in prison at the end of the country's biggest organized crime trial in decades.1
  • A panel of three judges took an hour and 40 minutes to read out the sentences against over 330 defendants accused of murder, arms trafficking, extortion, loan sharking, drug trafficking, and money laundering, among other crimes. Around 130 defendants were acquitted.1
  • The trial began in January 2021 and took place in a purpose-built bunker, with some 900 witnesses testifying and over 400 lawyers representing the defendants. Among those tried were 42 women — unprecedented for a mafia trial.2
  • Those convicted are part of or collaborated with Italy's most powerful crime syndicate, the 'Ndrangheta, which reportedly controls over 80% of Europe's cocaine trade and has an annual revenue estimated at $55B.3
  • The trial primarily focused on the Mancuso crime family — one of the groups that make up the 'Ndrangheta — based in the southern Italian city of Vibo Valentia that prosecutors claim has links to organizations in the US.4
  • This comes after 70 defendants from the original trial were found guilty in 2021 after they opted for a fast-track procedure in lieu of a reduced punishment. Meanwhile, the defense and the prosecution can appeal Monday's ruling.5

Sources: 1The Telegraph, 2CNN, 3The Wall Street Journal, 4The New York Times and 5Reuters.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by The Wall Street Journal. The verdicts in Italy's mafia trial mark a crucial moment in the pursuit of the 'Ndrangheta, which is largely made up of decentralized families with deep loyalties and no obvious leading clan. Prosecutors have jailed key members of the Sicilian mafia since the 1990s but haven't had much luck infiltrating the 'Ndrangheta till recently.
  • Narrative B, as provided by The Telegraph. The 'Ndrangheta convictions are unlikely to kill the criminal network, given its deep roots in over 50 countries. Its elimination will require the reduction of a culture of fear throughout the region. It's a phenomenon that can only be changed with better schools and lower unemployment, which, in turn, will lead to the restoration of faith in the state. Prosecutions alone can't solve this issue.