'Ndrangheta members sentenced to hundreds of years in prison
For almost three years, the court in Calabria, Italy, tried more than 300 members of the world's most dangerous and economically powerful mafia group. The trial brought to light how well connected the mafiosi were in society. Their sentences have now been decided.
It was June 7 of this year when the Attorney General Nicola Gratteri demanded a prison sentence of 4,700 years in total against 322 suspected members and associates of the Calabrian mafia 'Ndrangheta in the maxi-trial in the Calabrian city of Lamezia Terme. Gratteri, who was recently transferred from Calabria's capital Catanzaro to Naples, has become a symbol of the fight against the 'Ndrangheta, which is now one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the world. It is thanks to him that this trial came about. He was the lead investigator of the "Rinascita Scott" operation. The raid led to 334 arrests on December 19, 2019 - including in Germany and Switzerland.
Almost four years after this successful investigation and more than five months after Gratteri's plea, the verdict has now been reached: the judges imposed prison sentences of several hundred years on the defendants. The sentences were read out over several hours. The highest sentences were handed down to two 'Ndrangheta bosses, who each received 30 years in prison. A former member of parliament from the ruling Forza Italia party was also sentenced. Conservative politician Giancarlo Pittelli has been sentenced to eleven years behind bars for being in the service of the mafia. Several ex-police officers and other corrupt officials were also sent to prison. The court thus largely followed the demand of Attorney General Gratteri.
The trial lasted two and a half years. The three judges deliberated in strict isolation for almost four weeks before announcing the verdict. The fact that the judges were all women can also be seen as an important change in mentality. The charges included the usual crimes of organized crime: drug trafficking, money laundering, extortion, usury and corruption. In addition to these crimes, however, the deep roots of the mafia group in society also played an important role in this process. Gratteri emphasized in many interviews that the power of the mafia in general, but primarily that of the 'Ndrangheta, was based on relationships and networks. This was their most important asset. It was the only way they could establish "branches" in 40 countries worldwide.
The 'Ndrangheta patent
The "Rinascita Scott" operation showed how this worked. The operation focused primarily on the Mancuso clan, which exercised its power from the Calabrian town of Vibo Valentia. Among the clan members arrested in 2019 are lawyers, local and regional politicians, police officers, carabinieri, financial police officers, entrepreneurs, freemasons and doctors. Most of them were innocent citizens until their arrest. This model of social networking has become the 'Ndrangheta patent.
The verdict has now been awaited with particular anticipation. On the one hand, because the trial was declared in the media as the first maxi-trial in Mafia history due to the large number of defendants. Secondly, because for the first time, members of the 'Ndrangheta were also prepared to testify against the organization.
There had already been a maxi-trial against members of the Italian Mafia in 1986. The "Maxiprocesso di Palermo" began in February 1986. At that time, 475 members and henchmen of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra sat in the dock. The trial ended in February 1992 with 346 convictions and a total prison sentence of 2,265 years. This was thanks to the two investigating judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. The satisfaction of the verdict was short-lived, however, as it was followed by a tragic aftermath that shook the whole of Italy: In the same year, both investigating magistrates, Falcone in May, and Borsellino in July, were victims of mafia bomb attacks.
The bitter truth
However, it is not right to compare the current trial against the 'Ndrangheta with the one in Palermo, says Anna Sergi, Professor of Criminology at Essex University in the UK. "The maxi-trial in Palermo led to a paradigm shift. Before that, it was difficult to define and describe Cosa Nostra as a uniform criminal organization with a precise structure. Afterwards, that was no longer the case," she tells ntv.de.
According to Sergi, things are different in the current trial against the 'Ndrangheta. The fact that the organization is a mafia group has not only been known since the trial started in 2021. The "Infinito" trial from 2011 already led to these findings, and the fact that it took place in Milan contradicted the previous narrative that northern Italy was not affected by the mafia plague. This was a bitter realization, especially for the politicians. Over 300 defendants also stood trial in the "Infinito" trial.
The Calabrian mafia was dealt a bitter blow with today's verdict. However, it is even more important that resistance against this criminal organization, which is now networked in many countries, is growing in Calabria. The turning point was the arrests in 2019, when many residents of Vibo Valentia took to the streets in December 2019 and announced their resistance to the 'Ndrangheta.
Source: www.ntv.de
