The Sicilian mafia is indestructible! Posts tagged ‘Italian mafia’

"The police most likely won," one Sicilian told me and told me about the current situation of the mafia in Italy. There is hardly a region in Italy where there is no mafia. It exists both in the south and in the north of the Apennine Peninsula, mafia clans just come from the south, and they prefer to do business in the north of the country, where big money is spinning and it is easier to launder it. Theoretically, the mafia has several regional names, such as "camorra" in Naples, but the essence is the same everywhere. AT last years most of the mafia leaders imprisoned, imprisoned them before, but this did not differ in efficiency. The prison in Naples, where they were previously kept, was called the "Hotel 5 stars" - everything was possible there for money. Now the situation has changed.

Mafia bosses are trying to be kept in prisons in the north, for example, in Milan, where they are not so strong. The conditions of detention have also become much tougher - this is solitary confinement without any connection with the outside world, it is harsh, but effective, Don can no longer manage the clan from here. But the mafia itself has been greatly transformed in recent years, brutal and armed mafiosi are a thing of the past, the mafia's destiny is the economy. But here they, rather, even gained strength. For example, in the Sicilian resort of Trapani, the local mafia is very strong and firmly holds the economy of the commune in its hands. In the very north of Italy, in the Trentino-Alto Adige region, mafiosi from Calabria are actively buying up cafes and restaurants. It's simple, this is how money is laundered - in the tax office, the owner of the bar claims that he sold 100 cups of coffee, but in fact 10. Money from 90 unsold cups becomes clean. Another popular business of the mafia is the big supermarkets on the outskirts of the city, where a lot of money passes and it is easy to launder dirty cash. In the same Sicily, most of the large stores retail chains belongs to mafia clans. That is, the mafia itself is practically invisible, it has been transformed into a criminal financial institution.

In Sicily, the mafia is strongest in large cities - Palermo, Catania, and so on. But there are areas where there is no mafia - these are Ragusa and Syracuse. At the same time, the main income of mafia clans or families remained drug trafficking, weapons and racketeering. True, as I was told, the business is not very aggressive. That is, it is quite possible to ask permission and conduct a similar business in the neighboring area. You can pay with the mafia in any currency and in the regions, for example, by selling drugs in Germany (an active partner of the Sicilian mafia), you can get paid with weapons on the spot and vice versa. A kind of exchange.

Emigrants are also likely to be involved in this business - whether the visitor sells trinkets or sells drugs - his activities are connected and partially controlled by the mafia. The local communities of the same Sri Lankans pay the mafia. Racket hasn't gone away either, if you want to run a business without problems, pay. Not everyone experiences this, but they can. Cafe and shop owners form associations and support each other if one of their members is threatened or their property is damaged. For example, a tourist office in Palermo or a cafe-bar in Terrasini, with this sticker they inform that they do not pay extortionists.

Another type of business, the results of which I was able to see personally, is theft during construction. highways. There are really bad roads in Sicily, there, of course, the situation is not like ours - somewhere there is a beautiful highway, but somewhere there is a track, no, it’s just that the level of roads throughout the island is about the same and it’s bad, for Europe, at least. A lot of road sections are being repaired, that is, they are fenced, there are a lot of signs, but no work is being done. It is believed that the mafia steals about 50% of the cost of the road and it is in its interests to constantly maintain the condition of the roads in a bad, pre-repair condition. Related to this are the problems with the railway communication in Sicily - railways a little, trains run infrequently. The mafia simply does not allow the development of railway transport, since there is not much to steal here or it is difficult to control transportation.

But murders still happen, although their number has dropped dramatically. If in the 70s the mafia in Sicily killed about 300 people a year, now it is 6-7 people over the same period. The police, however, also act harshly. I was told a case when one of the mafiosi was found tied up on the railway tracks, the police took advantage of the situation and accused him of preparing to undermine the railway track.

The Sicilian and Italian mafia is not a fairy tale and the lot of filmmakers, it really exists, and although its clans are not as strong as before, and many have switched to a semi-legal position, it is still dangerous and is constantly being fought against.

on the street of Palermo

Modern pop culture has turned the mafia almost into the main brand of Sicily. Today, the situation has changed significantly: in Sicily, you are unlikely to see mafiosi who look like characters " Godfather”, but nevertheless, the mafia in Sicily still exists. This is one of the reasons why Sicily remains one of the poorest regions in Italy. Many hotels, restaurants and shops in Sicily are forced to pay the pizzo mafia - the so-called protection and patronage fee, which negatively affects their revenue and hinders further development business. But some brave people are fighting this phenomenon.

How can a phenomenon like the mafia continue to exist in our time? This is a difficult question, but it is primarily due to social factors, such as the unemployment rate, lack of trust in the authorities on the part of residents, lack of confidence in law enforcement agencies. An important role is played by the mentality of Italians, who are used to being suspicious of social services and innovations.

According to some estimates, only in Palermo, the capital of Sicily, more than 80% of small businesses are forced to pay to the mafia. It is believed that only the southern cities of Italy bring the mafia more than 20 billion euros a year. But the mafia in its current state continues to pose a danger to the Sicilians themselves rather than to tourists, who should primarily beware of pickpockets, and not local mafiosi.

What dangers can lie in wait for tourists in Sicily?

In general, modern Sicily is a fairly safe place for travelers. Here it is necessary to observe the same precautions as in other European cities. If you are in a crowd of people, keep an eye on your bag and valuables. Do not leave bags, phones, cameras and other things unattended.

The biggest danger in Sicily is not even street thieves, but drivers. In Sicily, especially in Palermo, there is only one rule traffic: the fastest one survives. Drivers are reluctant to yield to pedestrians, even at crosswalks. However, if you are planning a trip to small towns and villages, you will be worried about another problem: the poor quality of roads or their absence. However, between major cities modern highways have been built and there is nothing to be afraid of.

It is also worth being especially vigilant when shopping in markets or in small private shops. Always check prices and count your change carefully. And do not take such cases too close to heart: in Sicily, they profit not only from tourists, but also from local residents.

When communicating with Sicilians, try not to use the word "mafia", especially in in public places. You are a guest in Sicily, the problems of organized crime do not concern you, so there is no reason to raise this issue. For many Sicilians, this is a sensitive topic that they are not ready to discuss with strangers.

Although the streets of Sicily are generally safe, we advise unaccompanied women not to go outside after dark. In Sicily, it is not customary for a woman to walk alone at night, this immediately attracts attention. Local women go out at such times only accompanied by a man, and it is better for foreign travelers to follow their example as well.

In Italy, there is an ongoing fight against the mafia. Only from 1991 to 2011, property (villas, houses, art objects, etc.) was confiscated from mafia organizations for a total value of more than two billion euros. The main problem for the police is the phenomenal ability of the mafia to instantly grow into the society in which its representatives are located, and their strong ties. The Italian authorities take this problem so seriously that since 1991 there has been a separate view penitentiary institutions and a separate special service dealing exclusively with convicted mafiosi - the Penitentiary Police. The author of samizdat, Maria Vopilovskaya, tracked down one of the employees of this structure and persuaded samizdat to tell how the department works and why it is dangerous for a representative of the Camorra to put even a pencil in their hands.

The phenomenon of the Italian mafia is known to many at least from numerous classic works of fiction: from the films The Godfather and The Mafia Only Kills in Summer to the books Gomorrah and Malavita. In these works, regardless of the reliability of the plot and the accuracy of the images, an important point is often taken out of brackets - the almost inevitable imprisonment without the right to parole for representatives of criminal gangs.

The fact is that the scale of the spread of the mafia in Italy is so great that in 1991, under the government of Andreotti, the Department public safety The Ministry of the Interior of the Italian Republic was forced to establish the Anti-Mafia Office (La Direzione Investigativa Antimafia, literally "Antimafia Investigation Department"). In constant interaction with other police structures, it is engaged in identifying criminal connections, funding channels, searching for leaders and members of criminal communities and their accomplices. Giovanni Falcone, the instigator of the Antimafia decree-law, was killed shortly after its adoption, along with his wife, by hitmen from Cosa Nostra.

The state body responsible for the execution of detentions and punishments was founded at the same time and became known as the "Penal Police Corps". This police formation is subordinate to the Department of Penitentiary Institutions of the Ministry of Justice, and more recently it has become under the control of the Anti-Mafia Department, with which the police of the penitentiary corps are joint work. It is responsible for the execution of penitentiary functions: ensuring order and security in places of deprivation of liberty, escorting, work on the rehabilitation of prisoners and other duties related to the field of penitentiary law, in particular, ensuring the functioning of pre-trial detention facilities. Approximately 46,000 people with the status of civil servants are employed in the penitentiary special formation. An agent of the penitentiary police, on condition of anonymity (the name is known to the editors), told samizdat how the police are now fighting the heads and accomplices of mafia clans, how “special regime” prisons function, and why Italy will forever remain a “mafia country”.

C., who works in Rome, claims that in Italy, despite all the established structures, mafia groups are still strong and dangerous. The most famous of them are the Sicilian clan "Cosa Nostra", the Neapolitan mafia "Camorra" and "Ndragheta" from Calabria. If even twenty years ago the problem of the mafia affected mainly the southern regions and Sicily, now the clans are expanding into prosperous Northern Italy, other European countries and the USA, where they are trying to diversify their investments, processing huge proceeds from illegal drug trafficking and weapons. The criminal "powers" of the mafia extend to the economy, politics and public life. Their field of activity is well known to many. This is extortion, racketeering, garbage collection, the construction of toll roads, a tribute of ten percent of the profits from various shopping malls, and so on. Most businessmen prefer to "keep out of trouble" and pay tribute to the mafia. For those who disagree, a standard set of "arguments" has been prepared: threats against family members, arson of cars, beatings, torture.

A distinctive feature of the Italian mafia is its total penetration into everyday life Italians. In Naples, in every quarter on the walls of residential buildings you can see warning red inscriptions "Camorra". What happens in such areas is well known to the police. Not a single trattoria or tobacco shop will work properly without kickbacks to the boss "managing" this territory. And in any bar, he will be provided not only with a morning espresso with cornetto, but also a full meal with antipasti, first course, dessert and the best wine of Campania. It is not necessary to say that both law enforcement officers and residents of the city know them by sight. The latter, by the way, even without having their own business, must obey the boss. Situations reach the point of absurdity.

Colleague S. from the Neapolitan police unit says that he periodically receives applications for different members"Camorra". One resident complained to samizdat that for six months someone forced the residents of the quarter, and in particular her, to give him car keys in the evening, and in the morning she found cigarette butts and used condoms in the salon. No one had the opportunity to refuse - they could break the windows in the car or something worse. The police, of course, accept the statements, and then safely put them aside, because "it's pointless to fight the petty mafia." Moreover, in some areas, the carabinieri are afraid to even look after midnight, guided by the thought “it’s better not to touch it again, God forbid it will be even worse.” Local residents find themselves in a hopeless situation, they have to constantly adapt to the game by the rules of the mafia. In such difficult situations, the carabinieri or the state police (Polizia di stato) turn to their colleagues from the penitentiary police for help. The fact is that in case of urgent need, the police of this unit have the right to apply certain measures to maintain public order and security.

Nevertheless, according to the interlocutor of samizdat from the penitentiary police, the mafia will never completely disappear, at least from southern regions, where for half a century the inhabitants have been subject to the rules established by the Camorra, and not by the democratic state that Italy calls itself. “They absorbed this way of life and thinking with their mother's milk. Many young people think that if they join a clan, they will secure a serene future for themselves,” sums up S.

In addition, the incredible vitality of the mafia is due to another important point: many clan members are relatives. “Their ties are based on family, blood ties. It is almost a tribal structure, which is main secret their strength and ability to survive. A son will never testify against his father, and vice versa,” explains one of the largest researchers of the Italian mafia, Enzo Siconte. S. confirms this argument with the expression "he is dumb, like a member of the 'Ndrangheta", which has taken root among his colleagues - employees of the special services. However, he says that his colleagues are not going to let the mafia problem take its course: “If the Anti-Corruption Office did not exist or we worked for ** bis, Berlusconi, suspected of having links with the mafia, would still be in office. prime minister, and the developed northern regions would become like Calabria or Sicily,” he says.

Indeed, the official statistics provided by the Anti-Corruption Department show that the agency is more or less successful in its work. For example, from 1991 to 2011, property (villas, houses, art objects, etc.) was confiscated from mafia organizations for a total amount of more than two billion euros. And this number is constantly growing. Legendary bosses are slowly dying out. In November 2017, Toto Riina, the head of Cosa Nostra, the “boss of all bosses”, one of the most influential mafiosi in Italy, who brought the entire government under control, died in a Parma prison. Now the police continue to work to eliminate criminal clans. More recently, on February 8, 2018, the head of the Spada (Sword) family in Ostia was arrested. The investigation showed that Carmine's boss, referred to as "Romoletto", ran literally everything in the Roman neighborhood - from drug trafficking to housing business. It is obvious that he, like all other mafiosi, will face a difficult fate. In Italy, mafia bosses receive a life sentence. Often not just one - the same Riin had twenty-six of them. Back in the middle of the 20th century, such unpleasant issues were resolved with "their" judge or, if it was not possible with him, then with the head of the prison and the escorts. Or, for example, in the early 90s, Salvatore Lima, a prominent politician and friend of former Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, was killed in Palermo in retaliation for the fact that the latter did not save a number of criminal authorities from prison. Now, says S., such a scheme is absolutely unviable.

In Italy, there are about ten prisons that accept prisoners with a "maximum level of danger" (and there are about 7,000 of them) who have committed particularly serious crimes. These include the creation of a mafia clan and the conduct of illegal business. C., who agreed to talk to samizdat, ended up in the penitentiary police seven years ago, after serving in the army, which is optional in Italy. At the age of 20, he passed the national selection conducted by the Anti-Mafia Office in conjunction with the Ministry of Justice, and entered the mobile task force of the penitentiary police, numbering just over a thousand people across the country and working with prisoners with the maximum danger index.

Then he first got into one of the "special regime" prisons near Rome. By the way, all prison staff, upon entering the service, sign a special contract that provides for the so-called "surcharge for limited freedom" ("indennità di semilibertà") in the amount of six euros per day.

Despite the fact that the prisoners are especially dangerous criminals, S. tries to work calmly and, as he emphasized, “as professionally as possible, in accordance with the rules and the law”: “There are terrible days, the shift lasts 12 hours or longer, at the end you feel crazy fatigue. When unpleasant incidents occur, for example, prisoners unite, pass notes not considered by employees to each other, or a conflict arises between them, one has to deal with it toughly. It would be foolish to deny that in prison everything is done without assault. Once a prisoner, while in the rest room, asked my colleague for paper and a pen, as if he wanted to draw something. When a colleague leaned over to see what he was drawing, he hit him in the face and broke his nose. At that moment I was nearby - drinking coffee with other employees in the next office. Naturally, we ran up, struck several blows and immediately took the criminal to the cell. It was unpleasant, but there was no other way out. In any case, I try to come home and forget about work: it should not affect my relationships with loved ones.

This story is not unique. Such situations occur from time to time in different prisons, and the police report them to without fail. Some of them can be found in the news section on the official website of the police. For example, at the end of February 2018, a similar incident occurred in a Turin prison. While in the psychiatric ward of the prison, the prisoner inflicted several strong blows on the face and back of two penitentiary police officers, who then ended up in intensive care.

Twenty years ago, a policeman could sacrifice not only his health, but also his life. In 1995, in the midst of a tough fight against the mafia, 27-year-old penitentiary police agent Giuseppe Montalto was killed by hitmen from Cosa Nostra. Giuseppe served in a prison in Palermo, where especially dangerous criminals, including mafiosi, were kept. The agent was killed near his father-in-law's house, along with his wife and newborn daughter. As it turned out later, his "guilt" was the confiscation large sum money that the members of Cosa Nostra tried to give to their boss. Giuseppe's killer was subsequently sentenced to life in prison.

All police officers working in prisons in this regime undergo a medical examination every few months and psychological test. Some may be temporarily suspended from work, but such cases are rare.

C. maintains that, despite the need to use force within the law, any torture in the prisons where he worked is excluded. Employees are constantly monitored, unscheduled inspections are carried out, “wiretapping” is installed even in office premises. The observance of order is monitored not only by the head of the prison, but also by agents of the central investigative group of the penitentiary police. Their powers, in addition to anti-terrorist activities and the fight against organized crime, also include the investigation of crimes committed by prison staff.

However, a high-profile torture scandal once touched on an Italian prison in Asti. Five prison police officers were tried in 2011 for abuse of office. Their case involved the torture of detainees Claudio Renne and Andrea Chirino, who publicly spoke about the so-called "smooth cell" or "zero cell". This is an absolutely empty room, in which there is no bed, no sink with a toilet, no windows, no handles - nothing. According to the collected testimonies, the prisoners were locked there sometimes only for a few hours, in other cases for a week or more. Several times a day, caretakers could come and beat the prisoner. One of them, Carlo Marchiori, who died in 2005, wrote to his father about "cell zero": "I was lying naked on a dirty, wet floor, sometimes two caretakers came to me, brought water. They made me kneel and gave me ten slaps. Then ten more slaps. Then I fell. But in order not to feel all alone, not to go crazy, I even waited for these moments. C. calmly comments on this case, saying that he condemns the unprofessionalism and bestial behavior of people who have at least some share of power, but emphasizes that there is not and cannot be any built system of torture: “We do not have any devices, terrible machines or anything else that can hurt people. What happened in Asti is the outrage of five motherfuckers. It’s amazing that they found each other at all, in my team no one would even have come up with such an idea. ”

From time to time, S. has to work not only with convicted members of mafia organizations, but also with people indirectly connected with the mafia and under investigation. In such cases, all law enforcement officers wear special masks that almost completely cover the face. This is done for safety reasons: no one wants to be "found by a yard dog in a ditch next to their own porch the next day." But at the same time, it is almost impossible to force a captured clan member to speak: “These people have blood on their hands, threats or real torture from the investigation will almost always be useless. A conditional member of the 'Ndrangheta has seen ten times more violence in his life than a conditional policeman. In addition, he knows that they will definitely come for him if any information is leaked. In general, if a conversation started between the police and the prisoner, then the reason is simple: most likely, he, having calculated all the pros and cons, is trying to make a deal with the investigation, giving out some information about the “family”. Most often, this information confuses even more: some statements may turn out to be false, some may not, but everything needs to be checked.

Therefore, the Anti-Mafia Directorate, together with the central investigation team of the penitentiary police, applies alternative methods unraveling mafia networks and capturing the heads of clans: surveillance, wiretapping, in rare cases, recruiting members of organizations, which is the most inefficient and unpredictable method. You need to understand that all members of the "family" are bound by "omerta", a sort of code of honor, one of the main commandments of which is silence and non-information to the police about the affairs of the clan, even if you are caught. Special supervision now goes for everyone who works with migrants. When strong grounds for arrest are found, the police conduct a large-scale operation. At the end of January 2018, the police detained 45 members of the Camorra from the Moccia clan, which controls a number of cities in the regions of Campania and Lazio. Among those arrested is the head of the clan, Luigi Moccia. During the investigation, the channels of communication of the mafia bosses in prison with the outside world were revealed, which allowed them to continue to control the clan. This, by the way, is one of the serious problems that turns the work of the police to catch the mafia into a “fight against windmills". Bosses of criminal groups even from prison manage to run their business. Despite such excesses, the prison system tries to take into account these risks.

For example, police officers dealing with mafia prisoners must move from one prison to another every four months along with some prisoners. S. explains that this is a forced measure. On the one hand, a prisoner short term does not have time to establish any personal relationship with the prison officer. On the other hand, this measure prevents the possibility of rallying the criminals themselves. “I have moved from one prison to another several times. From Rome to Milan, then to Palermo, then back to Rome. It doesn't look like what many people imagine for some reason. We don't fly Alitalia business class while drinking wine. And there is no bus tour of the new city either. Such transfers take place at night without stopping. We form teams, a briefing is held, at which each policeman is explained his task. All employees change into civilian clothes. Our service transmits the route to the police posts, and the police block the roads. This is probably one of the most dangerous aspects of my job. But, as you can see, I'm still alive," sums up S.

The 5 Families themselves were formed after the so-called Castellammar Mafia War between two Sicilian families, Salvatore Maranzano and Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria, for dominance in the criminal world of New York. The fact is that, in the hierarchy of the Italian mafia, its highest level is the title of capo di tutti capi literal translation into Russian the head of all chapters, the highest rank in the mafia structure of Cosa Nostra. Only two dons managed to use this title in the entire history of the Italian-American mafia, and both did not live long at all.

The adoption of Prohibition in the United States led to the rapid growth of the Italian mafia structure, the Sicilian Cosa Nostra gradually seized power in the Little Italy region, and the Neapolitan Camorra flourished in Brooklyn. The rapid enrichment of families allowed them to penetrate into all spheres of life in the city. And if initially families treated each other more or less loyally, like compatriots, however, the clash of business interests of families gradually began to lead to conflicts between them. Against the backdrop of a general get rich quick the two families of Salvatore Maranzano and Joe Masseria stood out in particular.

The dons of both families had great authority in the city and both claimed the highest title in the mafia organization. After declaring himself the "boss of bosses" Joe Masseria, the Castallammar War (1929-1931, named after the native Sicilian city of Salvatore Maranzano) for spheres of influence flared up quite long by mafia standards. The war was accompanied by constant skirmishes, kidnappings and murders on both sides. In the end, Joe Masseria was killed, as a result of a conspiracy between Salvatore Maranzano and capos from the Misseria family, Lucky Luciano and Vito Genovese. By order of the capo, during lunch in one of the restaurants, Joe Masseria received about 20 gunshot wounds, after which he died and the Castellammarian war was over. Subsequently, one of the five families will be named Genovese.

After defeating Masseria, Maranzano became the next "boss of bosses". However, he sat in this post for no more than half a year and was killed by the same Lucky Luciano, who betrayed his don and took his place in the family. Despite such actions, Lucky Luciano enjoyed great authority in the underworld and after the murder of Maranzano acted much wiser than his predecessors. It was he who came up with the idea of ​​​​creating the "Commission", a meeting of all the bosses to solve problems that arise between families. Such a meeting was described in the book The Godfather. Since then and to this day, no one else dared to assume the title of capo di tutti capi, and in New York, 5 families of governors have formed in the city so far.

Genovese family

After the charges against Genovese were dropped in 1946, Vito returned to America, but did not receive practically any authoritative place in the family. Vito, realizing that he does not have enough strength for a direct confrontation with Costello, expressing visible devotion to him, begins to slowly subdue the capos of the family, especially those associated with robbery and protecting prostitution. Gradual pressure on Costello led to his overthrow, Costello himself handed over the reins of the family in favor of Genovese. This happened after an attempt on his life, although Costello was only wounded, he recognized the attacker as a Genovese man. In order to avoid further assassination attempts and the inevitable war, he himself resigned.

Gambino family

After the advice of the “Commission”, they decided to leave Albert as a family don, one after receiving the title, Anastasia finally went crazy, he began to kill too much and for no particular reason. Gambino took advantage of this, in collusion with Genovese, on the advice of the "Commission", a decision is made to kill Anastasia and Carlo Gambino becomes the don of the family. Genovese had no idea that Gambino would do the same to him later.

Lucchese family

Colombo family

Bonanno family

So, the promised ... today I will talk about what excites the mind of a person as soon as the word Sicily is pronounced - about the famous Sicilian mafia. However, fans of The Godfather will be disappointed: thanks to the tireless struggle of the prosecutor Falcone, the capital of Sicily today has become almost the quietest and most peaceful city in all of Italy. They say that the mafia is even more than that - it is very interested in tourists coming to Sicily and Palermo as well, because tourism makes up a significant part of the income for this island.

"Mafia" is an exclusively Sicilian concept. In other regions of Italy, similar organizations bore and bear different names ("Ndrangetta" - in Calabria, "Sacra Crown Unit" - in Apulia, "Camorra" - in Naples).

It is generally accepted that the mafia is a fairly complex branched criminal organization with its own strict laws and traditions, whose history goes back to the Middle Ages. In those distant times, people armed with swords and lances, hiding their faces under hoods, were hiding in the underground galleries of Palermo - members of the mysterious religious sect "Beati Paoli". The very name "mafia" appeared in the XVII century. It is assumed that the word is based on an Arabic root meaning "protection"; there are also other interpretations of it. - "refuge", "poverty", "secret murder", "witch" ... In the 19th century, the mafia was a brotherhood that protected "unfortunate Sicilians from foreign exploiters", in particular, from the time of the Bourbons. The struggle ended with a revolution in 1860, but the peasants, instead of their former oppressors, found new ones in the person of their compatriots. Moreover, the latter managed to introduce into the life of Sicilian society the relations and code of conduct that had developed in the bowels of a secret terrorist organization. The criminal orientation quickly became the cornerstone of the "brotherhood", the corruption with which it supposedly fought was in fact the basis of its existence, mutual assistance turned into mutual responsibility.

In general, after the death of Falcone and Borsellino, the most severe repressions were carried out on the island, aimed at destroying the mafia bosses, or at least ensuring that they were in prison. And they say that now the mafia has a female face, which means that the clans are controlled by the wives of mafiosi who are in prison, carrying out all activities at their direction.

For those who are interested, a bit of history... Today, Palermo Airport bears the names of Falcone and Borsellino, who have become a legend in today's Italy.

In the 1950s and 60s of the last century, the Italian government, under pressure from democratic forces, began an official fight against mafia crime. A special body was created - "Antimafia", a number of major leaders of this organization were arrested. The next wave of the fight against the mafia swept across the country in the late 70s and early 80s. Prosecutor Giovanni Falcone and his successor Paolo Borsellino, like no other, worked hard to clear Sicily of the mafia. Falcone, who became the prototype of the famous Commissioner of Catania, announced in 1980 that he was starting to fight the "curse of Sicily." For the first time, he ensured that the arrested criminal violated the omerta law - a conspiracy of silence that makes the mafia invulnerable - and testified against other mafiosi. Departure from the "omerta" according to the laws of the underworld is punishable by death. And Falcone convinced the state that people who testify against the mafia and their families need to be protected. By this, he somewhat dispelled the fear of the revenge of the powerful clans of Sicily. In addition, Falcone achieved the adoption of an article in the criminal code, according to which the mafiosi who ended up in prison must be kept in absolute isolation. Thus, the offender could not direct the actions of his family from imprisonment. In just one of the many trials against the mafia, Falcone sent 342 criminals to jail for a total of 2,665 years. Naturally, the activities of Falcone could not please the mafia, accustomed to considering itself the only real power in Sicily. And the criminal community has taken retaliatory steps. In 1992, Giovanni Falcone, along with his wife, was blown up in a car on their way from the airport to the city.

Today, mafia members aren't as flashy as we had the pleasure of seeing in The Godfather or Once Upon a Time in America, they don't roam the city in smart suits and polished shoes. Rather, all these attributes of wealth, of course, are present in the current members, but the mafia has firmly established itself in politics and business, having completely lost its former gloss. Today in Sicily there are no companies, either small or large, that do not deduct their percentage of the mafia, no matter who writes about this and what.

It is authentically known that small shops pay from 500 to 1000 euros per quarter, jewelry stores and others selling expensive goods - 2500-3000 euros, big shops pay 5000 euros. Shopkeepers whose family members are in prison are exempted from fees, as are those merchants whose relatives serve in the police. Store owners who lost loved one are exempt from payments for one quarter. If a person decides to open a new store in Sicily, then he has to pay a large amount of money in order to get permission from the mafia. Mafiosi who come to Sicily from other regions must give 3% of their income to local mafia bosses.

No one would ever dare, living on this island, to do something like this ... this is not my opinion, but heard from different people with whom we were able to talk on this topic. They all began to speak rather reluctantly, trying to keep quiet, but the husband knows how to chat with anyone, and people began to tell him their stories and how everything really is.

Mafia is alive! And there's nothing you can do about it!