Hundreds of alleged members of the 'Ndrangheta - Italy's most powerful organised crime group - and their white-collar collaborators face sentencing this week following a historic, nearly three-year trial.
While it has stealthily expanded to now operate in more than 40 countries, in Italy the 'Ndrangheta has suffocated the local economy, infiltrated public institutions and terrorised its people for decades. Allegations include mafia association, attempted murder, drug trafficking, extortion, loan sharking, abuse of office and money laundering.
Prosecutors have asked for 30 years each for a dozen of Mancuso's top associates in charge of selecting targets for hits or extortions and maintaining relations with other mafias. Some 67 defendants who were part of the original indictment have already been sentenced, after opting for a speedy trial. Those who opposed the mafia discovered dead puppies, dolphins or goat heads on their doorsteps, torched cars or smashed up storefronts.The courtroom is a former call centre converted to accommodate hundreds of lawyers, outfitted with more than 20 television screens piping in images of incarcerated defendants and informants by video link.
Source: Law Daily Report (lawdailyreport.net)