Ndrangheta most insidious mafia says Napolitano

The Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta mafia has become” perhaps the most insidious breed of organized crime in Italy,” Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said Thursday.The Italian State and Calabria itself must step up the fight against the deep-rooted syndicate, the president told law enforcement chiefs and local authorities. Napolitano congratulated police for cracking down hard on ‘Ndrangheta since the murder of a top regional official in 2005 and the vendetta slaying of six mobsters in Duisburg, Germany, in 2007.

Many clans have been decapitated and huge asset seizures have been made, he said.
But a “more systematic” approach is needed, especially in the light of a recent bombing at a Reggio courthouse and race riots involving fruit pickers in the town of Rosarno which some think may have been sparked by the mob.
“We representatives of the State must not just make fleeting appearances in Calabria”.
“We must develop a more systematic approach to affirm law and order”.

Recent victories against ‘Ndrangheta may have been a “turning point” but more was needed, the president said.
In his talks with prosecutors and local and regional authorities, he said, he had stressed the need to “reinforce the magistrature and all the State resources in Calabria”.

But Calabrians themselves must try to resist an organization whose regional stranglehold and foreign reach has helped it overtake Cosa Nostra as the greatest challenge to the State, he said.
Calling the Mob “Calabria’s own worst enemy”, Napolitano said the region “must mobilize more, express its energies and its capacity to react more than it has done”. However, he stressed that this cannot be done as long as ‘Ndrangheta is seen as a major provider of jobs in a region with one of Italy’s highest unemployment rates.

“We can’t wait for a transformation of the region that removes the earth in which the Mob is rooted,” he said, calling for “more development, more jobs and a brighter future for the region’s young people”.
Schools, civic associations, businesses and trade unions can do “a lot,” he said.
In response, Reggio Mayor Giuseppe Scopelitti called for a “new governing class that doesn’t want to make deals with ‘Ndrangheta”.

“There is a serious economic and social emergency in Calabria today but we must give a strong response to the anti-State Leviathan on the national and local level,” the mayor said. There was a brief scare after Napolitano’s talks when a car full of explosives and weapons was found near Reggio airport but police ruled out any link, stressing the vehicle was off Napolitano’s route and the ammunition was probably meant for attacks on local businesses. CABINET TO LAUNCH NEW ANTI-MAFIA STRATEGY IN REGGIO. Napolitano’s visit came a week ahead of a special cabinet meeting in Reggio on January 28 to unveil the government’s new anti-mafia plan.

The Supreme Council of Magistrates (CSM), the judiciary’s self-governing body, also plans to hold sessions in Reggio.
Napolitano hailed these moves, saying “it must be clear to all Italians that Calabria is in the front line in the fight against crime and for the security and freedom of our country”. “The State, in all its forms, must be in the front line with Calabria”.

Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said earlier this week that the plan’s linchpin will be a new agency, based in Reggio, to handle assets confiscated by the mafia.

The agency would control auctions to make sure assets did not fall back into the wrong hands.
Homes, farms and other assets confiscated from Italy’s mafias have been turned to public use in recent years including the villa of jailed ex-Cosa Nostra chief Toto’ ‘the Beast’ Riina which has become the Corleone tax HQ. In the latest seizure, on Thursday, police in Rome confiscated a villa, two bars and a concert promotion company, all in the Italian capital, traced back to an ‘Ndrangheta boss.

‘Ndrangheta, whose name means ‘heroism’ or virtue’ in ancient Greek, long lived in the twin shadow of its Sicilian cousin Cosa Nostra and the Camorra in Naples. But its power has been growing for years and it is now regarded as the strongest and most impenetrable of Italy’s mafias. Aside from controlling the European cocaine market, from which it generates an estimated 36 billion euros (nearly $56 billion) in turnover a year, ‘Ndrangheta has also moved into the lucrative illegal waste disposal racket.

The need to launder its illicit profits has seen ‘Ndrangheta spread north, in particular to Rome and Milan, where it has invested in legal businesses.

These included a Dolce Vita landmark in Rome, the Cafe’ de Paris, which was impounded by authorities last summer.

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Tags: 'Ndrangheta, Italy, Organized Crime, The EU