Hundreds of years in prison in gigantic trial against mafia – ex-politician must also go to prison Russian general found dead in bed with woman

The highest sentences were imposed on two bosses of the ‘Ndrangheta criminal organization, who each received thirty years in prison. A former member of the ruling party Forza Italia was also convicted: Conservative politician Giancarlo Pittelli has been jailed for eleven years for working for the mafia. Several ex-police officers and other corrupt officials are also sent to prison.

Since the beginning of 2021, more than 300 suspected members or helpers of the mafia have had to answer for the spectacular trial in the city of Lamezia Terme. The prosecutor demanded a total of more than 4,700 years in prison.

The court, chaired by Judge Brigida Cavasino, largely followed this. The reading of the verdicts took several hours. The charges ranged from murder and membership in a criminal organization to drug trafficking and money laundering to corruption in government construction contracts – virtually the entire program.

Strike against the most powerful criminal group

The ‘Ndrangheta from Calabria was once the third mafia organization in Italy, after the Cosa Nostra from Sicily and the Camorra from Naples. Today it is by far the most powerful criminal group, with connections all over the world. According to experts, the cocaine trade in Europe is largely in their hands. Their worldwide turnover is estimated at more than 50 billion euros per year.

With the trial, the Italian state wanted to make it clear that it did not want to accept the work of the mafia. The basis for this were statements from more than fifty different key witnesses who renounced the ‘Ndrangheta. Many now live in witness protection programs.

Normally in the mafia the ‘law of silence’ applies – which means that no one makes statements. According to experts, the ‘Ndrangheta consists of about 150 families. In the 1980s, more than four hundred members of the mafia organization Cosa Nostra were tried in Sicily.

The lawsuit primarily targeted the Mancuso family clan, one of its branches. The two local bosses Saverio Razionale and Domenico Bonavota were each sentenced to 30 years.

The verdict against the clan boss is still pending

However, the verdict against alleged clan boss Luigi Mancuso is still pending. His trial was separate from the gigantic trial. Luigi Mancuso was called “The Uncle”. Others had nicknames like ‘Wolf’, ‘Leg of Lamb’ or ‘Fatbag’ – like one of the big Hollywood movies.

A total of 338 defendants were on trial, including politicians and officials who had adhered to the ‘Ndrangheta in exchange for money. The most prominent case was former MP Pittelli of Forza Italia, who is now the smallest partner in a coalition of three right-wing parties in Rome. It was founded by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who died in June.

The Public Prosecution Service had even demanded seventeen years in prison against Pittelli; it eventually became eleven. An ex-mayor who prosecutors wanted to put behind bars for eighteen years has been acquitted.

32 separate toilets during the process

Due to the enormous dimensions of the trial, a call center in Lamezia Terme was specially converted into a high-security wing – with a courtroom over 100 meters long, 35 meters wide and barred cells. To prevent judges, lawyers, witnesses and mafiosi from accidentally crossing each other, there were even separate toilets: 32 of them.

It is thanks to Chief Public Prosecutor Nicola Gratteri that the trial came about in the first place. The 65-year-old has been fighting the mafia for more than thirty years. After years of investigation, he had hundreds of suspected mafiosi and helpers arrested shortly before Christmas 2019.

The police were on duty that December morning with 3,000 carabinieri. To ensure that the mafia could not be warned by informants from the civil service, Gratteri had the arrest warrants copied abroad.

The raid and the trial were carried out in Italy under the name “Rinascia Scott”: Rinascia means rebirth, Seven William Scott was the name of an American drug investigator who once served in Rome.

Scott is said to have explained to Gratteri how the cocaine trade between Colombia and Calabria works. He died in 2013. Gratteri himself gave up his role as chief prosecutor during the trial. He is now the top prosecutor in Naples – and remains under the strictest protection. (saw/sda/dpa)