“The law is equal for all”. In front of the text, which was painted on the wall behind the judge’s desk, hundreds of verdicts were read out in the mafia trial that ended after nearly three years in the southern Italian city of Lamezia Terme.
When, after an hour and a half, the three judges read out the names of the 338 defendants, it was clear that 200 of them had also been sentenced – to a total prison sentence of 2,200 years.
The “Rinascita Scott” trial, targeting the Calabrian mafia ‘Ndrangheta, is also the biggest against organized crime in Italy in 30 years.
Among the accused were well-known members of the organization, such as Domenico Tomaino, called “Il lupo” – “The Wolf”, who was sentenced to 17 years in prison. Here was also Francesco Barbieri, nicknamed “Il Cicco” – “The Thick Ice”, who was sentenced to 24 years.
Huge security deposit
But also much more well-respected members of society such as mayors and politicians were among the defendants – including the lawyer and former senator for the right-wing party Forza Italia, Giancarlo Pittelli.
Pittelli was sentenced to 11 years in prison for collaborating with the mafia, which was a significantly lighter sentence than the 17 years that the prosecution had requested, writes Tend.
The trial had been moved to a former call center in the southern Italian city, which had been converted into a high-security bunker. To make it easier for lawyers and defendants to follow the process, screens had been set up in the ceiling of the room – and the security burden around the trial has been enormous.
50 defectors behind the charges
Murder, extortion and money laundering are just some of the ingredients in the large amount of testimony given over the years by over 900 people – many via video link. But the hundreds of prosecutions have mainly been made possible by 50 defected mafia members, who by speaking to the prosecutors have broken the mafia’s “omertà” law of silence.
The defectors have detailed how the ‘Ndrangheta, by threatening, abusing and killing, keep large parts of Calabrian society in terror.
Among other things, they have testified about ambulances that were used to transport drugs – and how people who opposed the ‘Ndranghetan’s advance found dead puppies, severed goat heads or dead dolphins in front of their front doors.
But the former mafia members have also told how people who refused to submit to the organization have been murdered – and how their bodies have subsequently never been found.
Most famous of the defectors is Emmanuele Mancuso, nephew of Luigi Mancuso, called “Zio Luigi” – “Uncle Luigi”, writes La Repubblica. However, Mancuso, who is the leader of one of the ‘Ndranghetan’s most powerful clans in the city of Vibo Valentia, will have his case tried in a separate indictment.
Controls the cocaine trade in Europe
The ‘Ndrangheta has experienced a resurgence in recent years as the Sicilian mafia Cosa Nostra and its Neapolitan counterpart the Camorra have been weakened by repeated police crackdowns.
Today, the organization, which has an annual turnover of approximately 50 billion euros, is considered to be the most powerful of the Italian crime syndicates. The ‘Ndrangheta is also believed to control up to 80 percent of the European cocaine trade.
The extensive investigative work before the trial in Lamezia Terme was already started in 2016 by Nicola Gratteri, who was then a prosecutor in the Calabrian city of Catanzaro. And despite the fact that many members of the ‘Ndranghetan have now been arrested, Gratteri, who has been living under police protection for 30 years, believes that a trial is in no way enough to break the organization.
– As soon as I finish this trial, I will deal with another one, he said in an interview with BBC Earlier this year.