350 defendants: Italy’s biggest mafia trial in over 30 years opens
A maxitrial opened on Wednesday in southern Italy against the ‘ndrangheta crime syndicate, arguably the world’s richest criminal organisation that quietly amassed power in Italy as the Sicilian Mafia lost its influence.
The hearing against more than 300 defendants opened in a specially constructed bunker on the sprawling grounds of an industrial park in Calabria, the “toe” of the Italian peninsula.
Prosecutors are hoping the trial will be a decisive blow for the ‘ ndrangheta, the Calabrianbased mob organisation that has exploited tens of billions of dollars in cocaine revenues to extend its criminal reach across Europe and into several continents.
Anti-mafia Prosecutor Nicola Gratteri told reporters as he arrived on Wednesday that the trial was a turning point, showing where the ‘ndrangheta is now being called out for its crimes and is being brought to face justice. “Decades ago, people would tremble when talking about Cosa Nostra or when using the word ’ndrangheta, something they would say only in a hidden room, around the fireplace, whispering,” he said. “Today we are beginning to speak out in the open sunlight. In the last two years, we can say we have been seeing a spike in complaints by businessmen, bullied citizens, victims of usury, people who for years have been subject to the pall of the ’ndrangheta.”
Investigators say the ’ndrangheta has established bases in much of western, northern and central Europe, Australia, North and South America and is active as well in Africa.
The trial grew out of the investigation of 12 clans linked to a convicted ‘ndrangheta boss Luigi Mancuso, who served 19 years in Italian prison cells.