https://www.corrieredellacalabria.i...la-roma-criminale-che-non-vuole-padroni/the interview
The 'ndrangheta in “Criminal Rome” that “does not want masters”
Giuseppe Scarpa's novel tells the story of the reality of the underworld in the Capital, where "two tons of cocaine are consumed every month"
Published: 25/04/2025 – 15:30
ROME The Eternal City crowns a new King, but Rome does not "want masters". In the Capital, cocaine trafficking is the core business of organized crime: pushers preside over the drug dealing areas, they look like crazy balls. Life goes by quickly, like the exchange of money in the shade of a café in the center, in the alleys of the suburbs, in the forgotten corners and in the hidden ones. Sandro Marinelli is the "Boia", the protagonist of " Roma Criminale " , the new book by Giuseppe Scarpa: a thoroughbred and investigative journalist, television author, reference signature of the judicial news of the daily newspaper La Repubblica .
"Rome is a particular city, it has neither the mafia, nor the camorra, nor the 'ndrangheta. It takes everything it can take." The confession collected by colleague Alberto Nerazzini is enlightening!
"Rome has everything inside, in the same way. Inside there are all the criminal organizations, not only Italian ones, but the European ones . There is the Albanian mafia and then the Camorra, 'Ndrangheta and Cosa Nostra. The Iranian mafia, specialized in the sale of shaboo, and the Nigerian mafia. And then, again, the local mafias, the Roman ones."
Money laundering has come under the scrutiny of the Roman Prosecutor's Office. What is the role of the 'ndrangheta in the "black bank"?
"Certainly, the 'ndrangheta is among the strongest mafias in Rome : it mainly manages drugs, they act as wholesalers, as large suppliers . In this, the 'ndrangheta is the most powerful, Cosa Nostra has a subordinate role. Just think of the large container ships that transport cocoa and sugar, departing from South America, arriving in Turkey and stopping off the Sicilian coast. And what happens there?! They throw significant quantities of cocaine or hashish into the sea, they attack the GPS and the men of Cosa Nostra take care of the recovery in a relationship of subordination with the 'ndrangheta ."
From Milan to Rome, is the axis between Cosa Nostra, Camorra and 'Ndrangheta ever stronger?
«The Hydra investigation is very interesting, it is fascinating to study and investigate the axis that unites Cosa Nostra-Camorra and 'Ndrangheta. In Rome, the Camorra appears to be a bit more quarrelsome than the 'Ndrangheta , which instead manages to be more effective».
In your novel, the Eternal City crowns a new King. But am I remembering wrong or does Rome not want masters?
"You are right, Rome does not want masters! The city does not accept the presence of an unchallenged leader, at most it "allows" a first among equals. Anyone who tries to sit on the throne of the city, trying to become the leader of the Roman crime, ends up dead. This is told in fictional form in my book, which is not inspired by real characters but by pure fantasy events. However, the story is linked to my work as a reporter at Repubblica and which over the years has allowed me to tell the bloody events related to the criminal galaxy that shakes Rome. Crime, in the Capital, has one goal: to be a seed in the sale of cocaine. Rome, says a collaborator of justice - among the most powerful drug traffickers - consumes two tons of cocaine a month . A city with its nose perpetually covered in flour". (f.benincasa@corrierecal.it)
