The largest mafia trial in Italy’s history is ongoing, with 355 accused on trial for various offences, from membership and collusion with the ‘Ndrangheta crime syndicate to arms trafficking and murder. In a recent CBC article and radio episode, Megan Williams clearly outlines how the community environment of the Calabria region in Italy has allowed the criminal syndicate to thrive. Williams’ coverage helps understand the necessity of looking beyond the commission of crimes and enforcement of the criminal code to adequately address the problem of Organized Crime.
Williams notes how the ‘Ndrangheta in Calabria has become the wealthiest and most powerful transnational criminal syndicates in Italy and beyond. The group’s criminal activities started with public sector fraud and kidnapping for ransom, but its current wealth and power ultimately has come from the syndicate’s extensive role in importing and selling cocaine in Europe. Now, the ongoing trial shows how the ‘Ndrangheta has growing numbers of white-collar workers and professionals working to invest its enormous illicit profits in the legitimate economy. Those arrested include white-collar workers, police officers, former parliamentarians, mayors, and lawyers.
Like many criminal syndicates, the ‘Ndrangheta relies on a patriarchal, hierarchical system of family relations and loyalty, reinforced by incentives and violence. Children are raised to embrace the Mafia’s values and culture from a young age, and marriages are still arranged to forge alliances. The syndicate’s demonstrated willingness and competency in employing a combination of inducements and violence to exert their power has resulted in many citizens accepting the syndicate’s power and its demand for silence. The impact of Organized Crime in Calabria is manifold. The region’s governance suffers from inefficiency, and public infrastructure suffers from a high level of corruption. Unfinished public construction projects are everywhere, and illegally dumped garbage lines the roads.
The normalization of the syndicate’s activities and methods is such that people without Organized Crime involvement rely on the syndicate to smoothen and expedite their interactions with private businesses and public institutions. The assistance is unsurprisingly subject to reciprocity. Moreover, the infiltration and assimilation with the legitimate economy are such that even seasoned anti-Mafia activists find it difficult to determine the boundaries between criminal operations and legitimate businesses.
Opposition is rare and is perceived either as fruitlessly heroic or downright foolish, as experienced by Mr. De Masi, a factory owner who refused to pay protection money and testified against the ‘Ndrangheta. He has since relocated with his family and lives under 24/7 police protection. Mr. De Masi, however, objects to the media portraying his defiance to the criminal syndicate as heroic. On the contrary, he maintains that describing his opposition as extraordinary and all-powerful justifies and normalizes the compliance and submission of ordinary people.
The lead prosecutor in the ‘Ndrangheta trial recognizes the importance of addressing the local environment that allows the criminal syndicate to thrive. Prosecutor Nicola Gratteri has actively prosecuted the Mafia for over 30 years; he grew up in Calabria with some of the ‘Ndrangheta members he has subsequently put behind bars. He calls for public sector reform and economic development in the region to begin to address governance issues and the economic and cultural influence that the crime syndicates wield over the population. He understands how authorities and the public need to be informed of the nature and extent of the Organized Crime problem to generate the national and transnational attention and emphasis needed. Mr. Gratteri strives to raise public awareness and understanding of Organized Crime by sharing his knowledge of the ‘Ndrangheta.
The trial is taking place in Calabria, the stronghold of the ‘Ndrangheta, to send a message – not to the crime syndicate but to the public in the area. The prosecution wants the public to see the 900 witnesses arriving to testify at the trial and, in so doing, denouncing the ‘Ndrangheta. The prosecution is seemingly sending a message to the region’s people that they too can abandon compliance and submission to the syndicate’s violent methods and the insisted code of silence.
The significance of community environment for the rise (and hopefully fall) of the Italian ‘Ndrangheta is an essential context for the current public discussion about Organized Crime in Canada. This discussion centres on the Cullen Commission inquiry into money laundering in British Columbia’s casinos, exposing some of the environment in which domestic Organized Crime thrives. The commission heard how the focus on tax revenues from the casinos overshadowed concerns about suspected money laundering. It also became clear that the province’s gaming regulator thought those suspected of laundering money for Organized Crime were simply too dangerous to investigate and hence didn’t investigate their suspected criminal activities. Finally, infighting between institutions tasked with addressing the problem allowed Organized Crime to flourish. Accordingly, the Cullen Commission shows Organized Crime to thrive in a favourable environment of government institutions that suffer from self-centric focus and cannot reconcile competing priorities and values necessary for a holistic approach.
Ms. Williams’ coverage of the Calabria’s ‘Ndrangheta trial and the group’s history presents a highly cautionary tale. The favourable environment in a small region of Italy facilitated the rise of the wealthiest and most powerful transnational criminal syndicates in Italy and beyond. I suggest that we heed the warning and strive to better understand and address the environment in which domestic Organized Crime thrives.
