Aberdeen tires of Mafia ties
THE DOCKS of Aberdeen, where sea spray merges with drizzle, may be a far cry from the sun-scorched streets of Naples and their crime gang connotations but Scotland’s oldest Italian community has made the Granite City its home.
Claims by EU-funded research that the Scottish oil and gas hub was a mafia stronghold sparked intrigue from the Sopranoswatching public. But with Aberdeen Italians, it has begun to wear thin. ‘‘ It is racial stereotyping,’’ said one restaurateur. ‘‘ Do you really think if we were gangsters we’d be in Aberdeen? It would be the Miami lifestyle, driving a Ferrari with a beautiful lady on each arm. It is cold and wet here.’’
However, Aberdeen’s mafia connections are not a myth. In 2004, Antonio La Torre, the owner of two of the most popular Italian restaurants, was identified as a key player in the feared Naples crime gang, the Camorra. Known as The Don on The Don – a reference to a city river – he was jailed for 13 years for extortion and racketeering.
Michele Siciliano, his lieutenant and fellow restaurateur, was also extradited and imprisoned. In 2007, Dorothy Fasola, a fish supplier, was arrested over armed raids worth up to £150 million and jailed in Italy for five years. Today, La Torre is under house arrest in Italy, while Fasola is thought to be back in the fish business.
In Aberdeen, however, their legacy continues to hamper those trying to do legitimate business.
Antonio La Torre, 26, The Don’s nephew, said Aberdeen no longer has any ‘‘ big timers’’. Speaking from a cafe called Virginia’s, the barista was fed up with everyone ‘‘ thinking that because we are Italian, we must all be the same’’.
‘‘ There used to be some affiliations with the Camorra, but not now,’’ he said.
Transcrime research centre, conducting the EU study, claims that within the ‘‘600-strong Italian community’’ are members the Camorra who control catering, public works, food retail and wholesale and property sectors. Police Scotland said that there was no evidence to support the claims.
‘‘Six hundred-strong Italian pensioners more like,’’ said Gabriele Gabbriellini, owner of Casa Gabriele, a restaurant accused of mafia affiliations. ‘‘Italians in Aberdeen don’t even speak Italian no more. They no Mafia. To put bluntly, this is bulls**t,’’ he said.
For two Neapolitan brothers, who run one of the city’s most respected restaurants, the claims that businesses are still being used for mafia money-laundering are the final insult. ‘‘We are from an Italian police family,’’ said the manager, choosing to remain anonymous. ‘‘We understand the severity of the mafia.’’