Explosion near anti-Mafia magistrate’s home

ROME — A bombing in southern Italy has damaged the apartment house of a magistrate who investigates the ‘ndrangheta crime syndicate.
Authorities say the pre-dawn explosion Thursday in Reggio Calabria was apparently the latest act of intimidation by the ‘ndrangheta, a global cocaine trafficker. It shattered windows and the door, but magistrate Salvatore Di Landro and [...]

The Mafia among us

“How we have been invaded by the Mafia,” headlines l’Express, which reports on “a European economy tainted” by Italian organised crime. According to Francesco Forgione, a former chairman of the Italian parliament’s anti-Mafia commission, and the author of Mafia Export, Europe has turned “a blind eye to the presence of the Mafia. Its invasion began [...]

$A1.15b seized over Mafia links in Italy

Italian police on Saturday confiscated 800 million euros ($A1.15 billion) in cash and property belonging to a Mafia-linked businessman in Sicily, a statement from the Carabinieri paramilitary police said.
The money and property were frozen following the arrest of one of Sicily’s most successful businessmen, Michele Aiello, 56, who has since been jailed for 15-and-a-half years [...]

Blog Del Narco, A Danger To The Drug Mafia In Mexico

Blog Del Narco videos are widely searched in Mexico, since it is an anonymous blog that unveils the truth behind the ramping drug war in Mexico.
Hitherto unknown to everyone, the blog Del Narco has been gathering heat among the people of Mexico who are able to understand the drug monopoly that is storming their country [...]

Low note for ‘Tony Soprano’

THE Tony Soprano of Australia last week pleaded guilty to cocaine importation. Arrested in 2007, Alen Moradian gained the moniker from an email sent to him by his disgruntled wife Natasha, which was previously tendered as evidence during the trial.
“Why do you just sit there and show off, ‘I am the man, I am the [...]

Draghi Says Mafia Has Used Crisis to Infiltrate Real Economy

European Central Bank council member Mario Draghi said that organized crime groups have used the crisis to infiltrate all levels of the real economy, and banks must do a better job of screening their clientele.
Between the end of 2009 and the beginning of this year, inspections at 120 banks showed that there had been inadequate [...]

Inside the Nitrous Mafia, an East Coast Hippie-Crack Ring

Summer concert season means jamming to the familiar hiss of ‘hippie crack’
A hiss pierces the air as music fans wait in line outside the Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg. Across the street from the venue, a man stoops over his tank, inflating balloons and passing them to his associates by the fistful. He shuts off the [...]

Mafia-Connected Haitian Ponzi Schemer Michael J. Muzio Sentenced to 13.5 Years

Michael J. Muzio, one of four co-conspirators in a Ponzi scheme that targeted South Florida Haitian-Americans, has been sentenced to 163 months in federal prison.
In April, New Times told you about the $14.3 million dollar scheme, which offered to double investors’ cash in 90 days. Two of Muzio’s cronies have already been sentenced to [...]

Senior Italian opposition figures accuse Berlusconi of collusion with Mafia

SENIOR ITALIAN opposition figures yesterday accused the centre-right government of media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi of collusion with the Mafia because of the way in which the ministry of the interior has handled Mafia supergrass, Gaspare Spatuzza. Opposition figures reacted angrily to reports that the ministry had decided to withdraw full protection from Spatuzza because of [...]

Unlucky Lotto winners coerced by Camorra Mafia

Naples police say local mobsters shook down winners of a €33 million ($40.62 million) lotto, using threats to extort tens of thousands of euros out of some of the 30 winners.
Winners of Italy’s lottery and number-picking lotto games usually stay anonymous.
But Avellino Carabinieri paramilitary commander Giammarco Sottili told reporters a local Camorra organised crime clan [...]

Next Page »