A huge Mafia trial against Ndrangheta begins in Italy with 350 suspects

Italy’s largest mafia trial in more than 30 years began today when hundreds of suspected members of the ‘Ndrangheta – believed to be the richest criminal syndicate in the world – took a stand.

The maxi trial, which is expected to last at least a year, will involve 355 defendants, 400 lawyers and 900 witnesses charged with crimes such as murder, drug trafficking and extortion, money laundering and abuse of office.

Among the accused are Mafia boss Luigi Mancuso, known as “The Uncle,” and his alleged accomplices, who have a variety of nicknames, including“The Wolf”, “Fatty”, “Sweetie”, “Blondie”, “Little Goat” and “The Wringer”.

According to prosecutors, the gang has infiltrated almost every aspect of life in the Calabria region of Italy where the trial takes place, from town hall to hospitals to cemeteries and even courts – while their empire also spanned the globe from Australia to Canada and Germany extended to Germany in the United States, where business was done with the Sinaloa cartel by El Chapo.

An ex-senator from Forza Italia party of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Giancarlo Pittelli, is also among the defendants after he was accused of being a middleman between the Ndrangheta and the world of politics, banking and other powerful institutions.

At the center of it all is Nicola Gratteri (62), Italy’s top mafia prosecutor, who defied threats that he was a “dead man” when he went to court on Wednesday.

Italy’s largest mafia trial in more than 30 years opened on Wednesday when more than 350 suspects face a judge in a special courtroom (pictured) in the southern Calabrian town of Lamezia Terme, in the heart of the ‘Ndrangheta area

Anti-mob prosecutor Nicola Gratteri (center) said it was an “important day” and told reporters in court that the trial “would give the idea of ​​what the Calabrian mafia is today – no longer a mafia of Shepherds devoted to kidnapping but a large criminal society ‘

Mob is your uncle: Among the accused is Mafia boss Luigi Mancuso, known as “The Uncle”.

Gratteri, who has been under police escort for the past 30 years, said it was an “important day” and told reporters in court that the trial “would give the idea of ​​what the Calabrian mafia is today – not a mafia of shepherds more to kidnap but a big criminal company ‘.

He added, “Decades ago when people talked about Cosa Nostra or used the word ‘ndrangheta’, something they would only say and whisper in a hidden room by the fireplace, he added.

“Today we start talking in open sunlight.”

“Over the past two years we have seen an increase in complaints from business people, bullied citizens, usury victims and people who have been exposed to the Ndrangheta for years, Graterri, who has spent more than 30 years fighting the mob,” added.

He was later sitting in the front row of the courtroom when Judge Tiziana Macri began reading out the names of the defendants, none of whom were present in person but who attended via videoconference. Their faces were shown on dozens of televisions mounted above gray desks.

The first three hours of the trial’s opening day were consumed by the court’s formal phone call from the defendants and their lawyers.

Among the defendants are Chef Luigi Mancuso “The Uncle” and others nicknamed “The Wolf”, “Fat”, “Sweetie”, “Blondie”, “Little Goat” and “The Wringer”.

Defendants detained for convictions in other cases could watch the proceedings through a videoconference.

The trial arose from an investigation into 12 clans linked to a convicted Ndrangheta chief. That number is Luigi Mancuso, who was imprisoned in Italy for 19 years for running one of the most powerful Ndrangheta crime families in the city of Vibo Valentia.

The trial, which is expected to take at least a year and likely longer, involves 355 defendants, more than 900 prosecutor’s witnesses, and an unprecedented number of collaborators, as close family ties within the Ndrangheta discourage the coats.

Before the trial, several television screens were set up in the specially converted courtroom

Judge Tiziana Macri began reading out the names of the defendants, none of whom were present in person but who attended via video conference. Their faces could be seen on dozens of televisions mounted above gray desks

The trial, which is expected to take at least a year and likely longer, includes 355 defendants, more than 900 prosecutor’s witnesses

In Italy, so-called “maxi trials,” which include numerous defendants and countless charges, are considered to be the best judicial resource against the country’s various organized crime groups, of which the “Ndrangheta” are now considered to be the most powerful that controls much of the country Cocaine flows to Europe.

The most famous “Maxi Trial” of 1986-7 dealt a heavy blow to Sicily’s Cosa Nostra, resulting in 338 convictions, but prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino were later murdered by the crowd.

The ‘Ndrangheta has expanded well beyond its traditional drug trafficking and loan shark areas. The crime syndicate is now using shell companies and frontmen to reinvest illicit profits into the legitimate economy.

In many parts of Calabria, it has infiltrated virtually every aspect of public life, from town hall to hospitals to cemeteries and even courts, experts say.

Authorities believe there are around 150 Ndrangheta families in Calabria and at least 6,000 members and affiliates in the area. That swells to thousands worldwide, although estimates are unreliable.

In Italy, so-called “maxi trials”, which include numerous defendants and countless charges, are considered the best legal resource against the country’s various organized crime groups

The current trial, which is expected to take at least a year and likely longer, includes 355 defendants, more than 900 prosecutor’s witnesses, and an unprecedented number of staff. Pictured: A police officer enters the high-security courtroom before the trial today

Nicola Morra, President of the Italian Anti-Mafia Parliamentary Commission, arrives today for the Mafia trial at the courthouse

The organized crime group generates more than 50 billion euros a year, according to Gratteri, who calls it the richest such organization in the world.

In an interview with AFP before the trial began, the prosecutor described the “Ndrangheta as a network of families, each with power over subordinates”.

“I have to start with the idea that there is an organization, like in a company, like in a large multinational company, with a boss and then like a pyramid to all the other members,” he said, explaining the need for the “maxi-experiment”.

Gratteri had tried for decades to bring the Mafia to justice – and over the years he faced numerous threats.

Italian police intercepted a phone call between two members of the mafia who described Gratteri as a “dead man walking,” the Wall Street Journal reported.

Authorities believe there are around 150 Ndrangheta families in Calabria and at least 6,000 members and affiliates in the area. That swells to thousands worldwide, although estimates are unreliable. Pictured: The specially converted courtroom today

Among the defendants is former parliamentarian and ex-senator Giancarlo Pittelli