yes, due to the pressure of the police many murders are avoided, but even Ndrangheta and Camorra kill very little these days compared to the past

Resorting to violence was always the last choice. In 1978, however, a war broke out between the mafia groups, because some members started working with the police and government. High treason of course for the mafia and Italy turned into a bloodbath. The war was openly fought with a corpse on every street. The citizens also did not like the mafia anymore, that has changed again honest people again turn to the Mafias.

it's true that violence is the last choice, but in 1980s they killed almost with impunity, today is different

Businessman with mafia connections arrested in Tunisia by Interpol. He had been wanted since May

The brief period of fugitive status of the entrepreneur from Licata Angelo Salvatore Stracuzzi, the recipient, in Italy, of a personal precautionary measure in prison, for fraudulent transfer of assets, as well as disturbed freedom of auctions and extortion, aggravated by the mafia method, has ended in Tunisia. He was arrested in Hammamet. He had been wanted since May. The operation was conducted by the Economic and Financial Police unit of Palermo, coordinated by the Public Prosecutor's Office of the capital, with the collaboration of Interpol. Stracuzzi, in the past, has already been hit by a preventive asset seizure and by the measure of special public security surveillance, because he was considered close to Cosa Nostra, a family from Agrigento, accused of having played an active role with a business entity organic to a clan from Licata. Stracuzzi was arrested by the Brigade Criminelle of the Tunisian police, as part of an action developed in constant coordination with the Guardia di Finanza.

https://www.today24.info/imprenditore-in-odor-di-mafia-arrestato-in-tunisia-era-ricercato-da-maggio/

«Pignatone in relations with Cosa Nostra bosses»

Ingroia attacks the former Reggio prosecutor accused of an alleged cover-up of the “Mafia Appalti” investigation

ROME "Giovanni Brusca told me that Dr. Pignatone had dealings with important mafia men, that he was available to Cosa Nostra. He said he had learned it from Totò Riina. We sent the reports to the Caltanissetta prosecutor's office where they were archived." This was said by the former Palermo prosecutor Ingroia according to what "Il Giornale" reports, with reference to the affair that is involving the former prosecutor of Reggio Calabria and Rome Pignatone, now president of the Vatican Tribunal, investigated for an alleged cover-up of the "Mafia-contracts" investigation. "The investigation - explains Ingroia - concerned mafia entrepreneurs who had had direct dealings with his father. Pignatone's father was a leader of Sicilian politics, a man close to Salvo Lima and therefore to the Andreotti faction. In the papers that we sent to Caltanissetta without results there was also the story of the apartments that the mafia builders who are the subject of the Mafia-Appalti investigation had sold at very low prices, essentially as gifts, to the Pignatone family. Among these was the one that Dr. Pignatone enjoyed and where I believe he still lives». Even Ingroia – claims “Il Giornale” – finds it «disconcerting that Pignatone, summoned by the Caltanissetta prosecutors, refused to answer, and even more disconcerting that he continues to preside over the Vatican tribunal».

https://www.corrieredellacalabria.it/2024/08/09/pignatone-in-rapporti-con-i-boss-di-cosa-nostra/

Cosa Nostra makes ice cream in Palermo: boss Micalizzi arrested, 1.5 million euros seized

https://ground.news/article/cosa-no...calizzi-arrested-15-million-euros-seized

Businessman arrested in Brazil for Mafia, money laundering
Searches in Italy, Brazil, Switzerland, 50 mn seized

An Italian businessman who has worked in Brazil for many years was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of Mafia offences and money laundering in a joint Italo-Brazilian operation.
Tax police out of Palermo and the Brazilian federal police arrested the entrepreneur, originally from Bagheria near Palermo, Giuseppe Bruno, who had long since moved to Natal, Brazil, judicial sources in the Sicilian capital said.
They said an investigation by the Palermo anti-Mafia investigative directorate (DDA) and the Second Federal Court of Rio Grande Do Norte, has uncovered an organisation that allegedly laundered Mob money in business ventures in the South American country.
Police seized approximately 50 million euro as well as assets and property belonging to 17 individuals, all under investigation, and to 12 companies operating in the real estate, construction and catering sectors.
Searches were carried out in several Italian regions, in Brazil and in Switzerland, the sources said.

https://www.ansa.it/english/news/ge...82d20b5-6f60-4e15-9e13-6a53529edf33.html

Eurojust supports large-scale anti-mafia operation leading to arrest and freezing of EUR 50 million

An investigation lasting over two years has uncovered an intricate money laundering scheme run by a mafia family from Palermo. The total value of their profits is estimated at over EUR 500 million. They reinvested the profits of their crimes in multiple companies in Brazil. Cooperation between Italian, Brazilian and Swiss authorities led to the arrest of a member of the organised crime group (OCG) during an action day on 13 August, as well as the freezing of financial assets worth EUR 50 million during several searches in Italy, Brazil and Switzerland.

To support other major mafia families, the OCG was involved in various criminal activities, including extortion, money laundering and the fraudulent transfer of valuables. An integrated network of financial professionals in Italy and around the world helped the OCG to invest its profits in companies in Italy, including a well-known hotel.

In 2016, the suspects moved their activities to Brazil to support another Italian criminal and launder more of their profits. The money arrived in Brazil through multiple transit bank accounts and with the support of their network of financial professionals in Italy.

generic image
One of the main members of the mafia family moved to Natal, Brazil, to start several companies using straw men and shell companies. Most of the companies were involved in large real estate and construction projects, such as a building site near the northeastern coast of Brazil. As these real estate projects were guaranteed to generate exceptionally high profits, it was easy for the OCG to hide their criminal gains. The total assets of the family are estimated at over EUR 500 million.

The Italian and Brazilian authorities have been investigating the activities of the OCG since 2022 through a joint investigation team (JIT), set up with the support of Eurojust. Their investigations uncovered the activities of the OCG in Switzerland. Through Eurojust, the Swiss authorities were involved in the JIT’s investigations.

On 13 August, a large coordinated operation took place in Italy, Switzerland and Brazil, with support from Eurojust. In Italy, 21 searches were carried out at the homes of the OCG members and the offices of their companies. A suspect was arrested in Brazil and financial assets worth EUR 50 million euros belonging to 17 individuals (all under investigation) were seized, as well as 12 companies involved in the real estate, construction and hospitality sectors. In Switzerland, the house of an Italian businessman was searched.

https://www.eurojust.europa.eu/news...ading-arrest-and-freezing-eur-50-million

I suppose all of that sums up why the Albanians aren't as big as the Italians.

Is there not a thread on organized crime in Ireland?

Sicilian Mafia’s Pagliarelli family set up shop in Brazil, aimed to make half a billion euros, €?50 million seized instead https://gangstersinc.org/2024/08/14...illion-euros-e50-million-seized-instead/

"The total assets of the family are estimated at over EUR 500 million" they weren't trying to make half a billion they already had that in assets.

Explain...

The way I read it in Italian and English sources is that they invested around 50 million euros in Brazil which, according to Italian authorities, in total value could exceed 500 million euros. If everything worked out. But instead the worth is 50 million. The sum that was seized.

I think the shitty Italian-to English translations are responsible for much of the confusion.

Times has changed after Provenzano more business-like, for example Messina Denaro was called "manager" of wind energy. The boss had sensed the turnover not only in Sicily..
He liked to invest in renewable energies. The old mafia bosses did not understand this interest and were distant from it. The sector that has grown the most in recent years in Sicily has been wind power. Dozens of plants that produce today 3,3 Gigawatts per year and they see the Region in third place in Italy.
If you go around killing people that would jeopardize everything !

“Dear Uncle…”. The Boss’s Rise and That Bond with the Fugitive Godfather

PALERMO – Who knows if in this round of millions between Swiss banks, Brazilian companies, Chinese firms and front men in Singapore there isn’t also a trickle that leads to the last of the fugitive godfathers.

A suggestion, a hope, but it is inevitable when speaking of Giuseppe Calvaruso that the association with Giovanni Motisi arises .

Mafia Apprenticeship
When he was not yet a big shot in the Pagliarelli mafia district, Calvaruso had shown his reliability in the most delicate of tasks: managing Motisi's time as a fugitive , before the "pacchione" (as the godfather was nicknamed) disappeared into thin air.

Calvaruso worked hard to provide cover for Motisi, who had been on the run since 1998. The fugitive’s wife was once seen entering the flower shop “La Violetta ,” then run by Vincenzo Cascino on Via Maqueda. Cascino’s car was rigged with bugs. In May 2002, the florist was arrested along with Calvaruso.

“Dear uncle…”

The families of Calvaruso and Motisi were very close . “Dear aunt and uncle, how are you? I hope you are well, very well indeed. I miss you very much but I will know how to wait: surely there will be a day when we will see each other again, it will be a day of happiness for both you and for us, all we need is faith in God”: this is what Calvaruso’s sister wrote, also addressing the fugitive.

The latter also escaped arrest on June 3, 2002 , but his escape lasted only a few months. In 2006 he finished serving his first sentence.

By screening his life, investigators came to the last certain news about the presence in Sicily of Motisi. In particular in a house in the Casteldaccia district and in via Enrico Toti, not far from the University of Palermo.

“The only ones who went there were me and him…”, Calvaruso said in 2016 of himself and Cascino, referring to his association with the fugitive.

In Italy or abroad?

Linked to Motisi but also close to Settimo Mineo, who chaired the meeting of the dome convened in 2018 in a house in Baida, but also to Gianni Nicchi and Vincenzo Giudice , also regents of the district, it was obvious that Calvaruso would take power.
The repentants reported that it was Mineo himself who chose him as his heir. “Now the short has to come in… there is no one , it’s his turn. He needs the replacement”, they said of him.
The police released a new identikit of the “pacchione” some time ago . Motisi is alive, even though some people over the years have spread the rumor that he was dead . Is he in Italy or abroad?

https://livesicilia.it/palermo-mafia-giuseppe-calvaruso-giovanni-motisi-latitante/

Sicilian town angered after ‘vile’ social media post by son of mafia boss

Corleone’s leaders say Salvuccio Riina’s message tarnished efforts to free community from reputation linked to crime

https://www.theguardian.com/world/a...-media-post-son-of-mafia-boss-toto-riina

Catania: Paratore clan empire dismantled, assets worth 100 million confiscated

https://www.agenzianova.com/en/news...nd-confiscated-assets-worth-100-million/

Sicilian town bans Mafia-themed souvenirs
Agrigento wants to change its brand and image on the global scene

Francesco Miccichè, the mayor of Agrigento (in Sicily) has banned the sale of souvenirs that allude to the Mafia. The ordinance issued by the mayor aims to promote a cleaner and more cultural image of the town in the eyes of the tourists.

"Considering that the sale of such products in the territory of Agrigento humiliates the local community, which has been committed to spreading the culture of legality for years, I order a ban on the sale of any type of object that praises, or refers in any way and form, to the mafia and organized crime," wrote the mayor in his announcement, as quoted by TG24.

The municipal police will have the duty to inspect gift shops to see whether they are selling any of the prohibited merchandise. In case of violations, there will be fines, although their size is not clear.

Agrigento prepares to be Italy’s capital of culture
Agrigento, located in southern Sicily, definitely has many cultural sights and heritage not linked to Cosa Nostra to offer to visitors. It’s best known on the tourist trail for its Valley of the Temples, a UNESCO heritage site since 1997. The multitude of temples in question dates back to the period when Sicily was an Ancient Greek colony in the 5th century BC.

Unfortunately, this being the Sicilian countryside, the presence of the Mafia is also well-known. Only a month ago, for example, the local police detained seven people connected to dealings between organized crime and politicians.

The souvenir shops have banked on this notoriety by offering tourists different magnets, figures or keychains depicting various “mafioso” symbols such as Sicilians dressed in traditional clothes and carrying the lupara sawn-off shotgun. It’s these types of memorabilia that the mayor wants to see gone.

Part of the drive for cleaning up the city’s image is also the fact that Agrigento is prepping to be Italy’s Capital of Culture for 2025.

Panorama of the Sicilian city of Agrigento, Source: Depositphotos


https://www.themayor.eu/en/a/view/sicilian-town-bans-mafia-themed-souvenirs-12724

One of Sicily's wealthiest mafiosi and businessmen Nino Paratore.

the government has definitively seized the assets of the businessman Andrea Impastato from Cinisi (Palermo), worth 150 million euros. Impastato is the son of the boss Giacomo and brother of Luigi (killed in 1981). He was suspected of laundering the money of the bosses Lo Piccolo and Provenzano.

A video call from Borgo Vecchio revealed the name of the Brancaccio boss

PALERMO – The news arrived in prison via video call. It was Jari Ingarao who reportedly let Rosario Montalbano ’s cellmate know that Giuseppe Arduino had taken over power in Brancaccio.

Montalbano himself tells the story , having decided to collaborate with the Palermo District Anti-Mafia Directorate.

Two reflections are immediate. The first concerns the ease with which prisoners come into possession of a cell phone. The second: Ingarao was well informed about the dynamics of a mandamento to which he does not belong.

Last February, Ingarao was sentenced on appeal to 16 years, 10 months and 20 days in prison. He was allegedly a supporter of the Borgo Vecchio mafia bosses, the brothers Angelo and Girolamo Monti. Jari Ingarao is the son of Nicola , once regent of the Porta Nuova mandamento, killed in 2007 by the Lo Piccolo family of San Lorenzo. His brothers Danilo and Gabriele were sentenced in the same trial.

In 2011, until the day of his previous arrest, Giuseppe Arduino occupied the step below the triumvirs of the Brancaccio mafia : Cesare Lupo, Antonino Sacco and Giuseppe Faraone.

He was once an unsuspecting hotel porter , then he waited his turn in prison. In 2020, after serving a 10-year sentence, he would have taken over the scepter of power. A circumstance known even far from his territory, namely in Porta Nuova. In that same year, the man from the phone call to prison also ended up in prison: Jari Ingarao.

Nothing more is known. Montalbano's statement is omitted. The reason for the phone call remains a mystery.

https://livesicilia.it/palermo-mafia-videochiamata-borgo-vecchio-brancaccio/

540 kg of cocaine worth 100 million euros were seized in Italy, 5 people were arrested; drugs hidden in fishing boats

https://pamfleti.net/english/bota/k...uro-ne-itali-arrestohen-5-person-i242747

Last year in April police seized 3 tons of cocaine in Catania and in July another 5 tons. Looks like Catania is bigger than Palermo when it comes to drug trafficking.

2 tons last year, the 5 tons were seized in Porto Empedocle (Agrigento)

One of them is Serbian, connected to most powerful clan in Montenegro/Balkans.

One of the big brokers in Catania is Santo Sicali.

Santo Sicali’s life is based on family, horses and drugs, lots of drugs. He moves marijuana and cocaine from one end of Europe to the other, collaborating with Calabrian, Apulian, Albanian and Dutch traffickers, and handles money and drugs, managing to do business with everyone in the Catania area, supplying two mafia clans such as the Cappello-Bonaccorsi and the Santapaola. The forty-year-old Sicali, nicknamed “Spaccatello”, managed to do it without attracting too much attention, to the point that his double life, one as an honest man and one as a drug dealer, gave its name to the operation that landed him and eleven other people in jail: “Alter ego” .

https://livesicilia.it/sicali-droga-catania/

The direct line to the narcos of Brazil: this is how the Sicilian mafia tries to undermine the primacy of the 'ndrangheta in drug trafficking

Cosa Nostra is trying to return to being the first criminal power in Italy. For decades, in fact, it has been ousted from the mafia primacy by the 'ndrangheta. The secret of Calabrian organized crime is to have coffers full of billions in drug revenue. The Sicilian bosses, therefore, are trying to compete with their Calabrian "colleagues" - to whom up to now they have paid millions of euros to supply themselves with cocaine - to find direct contacts with the South American drug cartels.

And to oust the 'ndrine, the island's mafiosi may have sought new drug routes, different from those already explored and known. One of these is the one "intercepted" by investigators from the Catania Guardia di Finanza's Gico that connects Brazil to the Mediterranean. Over five quintals of pure cocaine were seized by the military during an operation in the stretch of water between Catania and Ragusa. The military boarded a fishing boat from the Syracuse navy as soon as it brought on board the floating packages abandoned by a cargo ship. Which, according to a series of clues, had left from a Brazilian port several days ago. The Sicilian mafia would naturally have received a part of the "drug booty". The rest would have been sold by the broker - perhaps even a member of Cosa Nostra - who was waiting for the load all over Europe.

The broker

Identifying the broker who had hired the fishermen for the transport and was supposed to receive the cocaine load on Tuesday is now the investigators' priority. The Syracusan fishermen would be simple laborers. Paid by the “token” for the delicate work of recovering the floating packages. It is the most exposed moment of the entire operation, the most risky. And for this reason the profit had to be equated with the risk of ending up behind bars. As it ultimately happened.

The criminal chain was interrupted thanks to the ability of the financiers to anticipate the steps of the drug "ferrymen". The economic loss for the South American cartel was huge. The news of the seizure will have already reached overseas. But when these things happen, communications are prohibited, a wrong move can open a gap to defeat the narcos. In the meantime, the investigators have 100 million euros of cocaine in their hands.

The buyers will be impatient. But even with them there is silence at the moment. And it is in this chain that the mafias could insert themselves: Cosa Nostra and Camorra. Because the 'ndrangheta might not be involved, the Calabrian clans have their direct channels with the cocaine producing countries. And it would be inexplicable why drugs destined for the 'ndrine should end up in the hands of Sicilian fishermen.

Ever closer

Narcos and Cosa Nostra therefore seem to be getting closer and closer. And without intermediaries. A criminal scenario already anticipated last year in the columns of La Sicilia. But which the Palermo prosecutor, Maurizio de Lucia, also spoke about after a record seizure - five tons of cocaine - which took place in July 2023 off the coast of Agrigento aboard a fishing boat that left from Calabria with a crew also made up of Sicilians. The drugs had been brought out to sea on that occasion by the mother ship flying the flag of Palau. The investigators said that they had stolen 850 million euros of illicit profits from the mafia. Nothing like the Financial Act.

But a few months earlier, the same financial police of the Gico of Catania had made another record seizure. That time, however, no boats, but only the waterproof packages that were floating in the waves off the coast of Sicily. When the financial police finished weighing the packages, the scales read 2 tons. The system is called 'drop off': the merchant ship abandons the cargo at sea, a fishing boat picks it up and takes it to its destination. To avoid the many seizures, the narcos would have added the "airborne" control. Perhaps a few days ago something went wrong.


https://www.lasicilia.it/cronaca/il...drangheta-nel-traffico-di-droga-2254475/

Part of Saviano's interview with Antonio Patti.