EU condemns Italy for regime of prison applied to mafioso
The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Italy on Thursday for applying the "Article 41bis" regime, also known as "hard jail", to Sicilian Mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano of Cosa Nostra
The European Union criticized the Italian government for having maintained the prison regime even after the convicted person presented sensitive health conditions.
Italy decided to renew the application of the regime of hard jail to Bernardo Provenzano on March 23, 2016. He remained under the 41bis until his death on July 13 of that same year, caused by complications from bladder cancer that had been fighting for years.
According to the Court, the Italian Ministry of Justice violated Article 3 of the European Convention on the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment.
Detainees under the 41bis regime are deprived of all programs of activities within the seats and are kept completely isolated, forbidden from any interpersonal relationship.
Generally, 41bis is applied to those convicted of mafia crimes in Italy. Experts point out that the prolonged duration of this application can cause harmful effects, such as changes in mental faculties, often irreversible. Amnesty International defines the regime as "cruel, inhuman and degrading".
News from Italy
Moderator: Capos
Re: News from Italy
Western European liberal stupidity at its finest.aleksandrored wrote: ↑Tue Oct 30, 2018 5:33 am EU condemns Italy for regime of prison applied to mafioso
The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Italy on Thursday for applying the "Article 41bis" regime, also known as "hard jail", to Sicilian Mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano of Cosa Nostra
The European Union criticized the Italian government for having maintained the prison regime even after the convicted person presented sensitive health conditions.
Italy decided to renew the application of the regime of hard jail to Bernardo Provenzano on March 23, 2016. He remained under the 41bis until his death on July 13 of that same year, caused by complications from bladder cancer that had been fighting for years.
According to the Court, the Italian Ministry of Justice violated Article 3 of the European Convention on the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment.
Detainees under the 41bis regime are deprived of all programs of activities within the seats and are kept completely isolated, forbidden from any interpersonal relationship.
Generally, 41bis is applied to those convicted of mafia crimes in Italy. Experts point out that the prolonged duration of this application can cause harmful effects, such as changes in mental faculties, often irreversible. Amnesty International defines the regime as "cruel, inhuman and degrading".
All roads lead to New York.
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SonnyBlackstein
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Re: News from Italy
Sicilian anti-extortion activist arrested on suspicion of extortion
Italian police have arrested a Sicilian consultant who made his living by helping victims of extortion. The man, according to authorities, embezzled public funds and threatened his clients for additional money.
The head of the Sicilian Anti-extortion Association, Salvatore C., has been arrested by Italy's financial police for allegedly committing extortion himself, officials said on Sunday.
Italy's Guardia di Finanza said the suspect was also charged with embezzlement and fraud, according to the DPA news agency.
The suspect made his reputation by helping victims of extortion and loan-sharking in the region of Italy dominated by the Mafia. The campaigner presented his activity as "a job" to his clients, pledging to help protect them and ensure they received compensation from the state.
According to investigators, however, the anti-extortion expert also demanded illegal payments from his clients. He would use intimidation tactics on victims already targeted by extortionists, and threaten to drop the case midway unless he received a 3-5 percent cut of the likely compensation money, Italian daily la Reppublica reports, citing police sources.
Italian police claim that Salvatore C. demanded bribes in at least three cases, including from a manager of a bookshop, when he said that paying him a 3 percent cut would speed up the compensation procedure. In a separate occasion, he received an envelope containing €1,500 ($1,705) from a family of a victim killed by the Mafia, after he threatened to stop his assistance as they were set to be granted additional funds from the state. Finally, a foreign national who owned bar in Sicily was forced to pay €3,000 under similar circumstances.
The authorities also believe that the head of the anti-extortion NGO embezzled some €37,000 of public grants for his personal use. In another incident which drew attention from the police, Salvatore C. allegedly advised a person to get a false diagnosis in order to get more money.
The consultant has been put under house arrest.
Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/si ... p-qnRZeVfs
Italian police have arrested a Sicilian consultant who made his living by helping victims of extortion. The man, according to authorities, embezzled public funds and threatened his clients for additional money.
The head of the Sicilian Anti-extortion Association, Salvatore C., has been arrested by Italy's financial police for allegedly committing extortion himself, officials said on Sunday.
Italy's Guardia di Finanza said the suspect was also charged with embezzlement and fraud, according to the DPA news agency.
The suspect made his reputation by helping victims of extortion and loan-sharking in the region of Italy dominated by the Mafia. The campaigner presented his activity as "a job" to his clients, pledging to help protect them and ensure they received compensation from the state.
According to investigators, however, the anti-extortion expert also demanded illegal payments from his clients. He would use intimidation tactics on victims already targeted by extortionists, and threaten to drop the case midway unless he received a 3-5 percent cut of the likely compensation money, Italian daily la Reppublica reports, citing police sources.
Italian police claim that Salvatore C. demanded bribes in at least three cases, including from a manager of a bookshop, when he said that paying him a 3 percent cut would speed up the compensation procedure. In a separate occasion, he received an envelope containing €1,500 ($1,705) from a family of a victim killed by the Mafia, after he threatened to stop his assistance as they were set to be granted additional funds from the state. Finally, a foreign national who owned bar in Sicily was forced to pay €3,000 under similar circumstances.
The authorities also believe that the head of the anti-extortion NGO embezzled some €37,000 of public grants for his personal use. In another incident which drew attention from the police, Salvatore C. allegedly advised a person to get a false diagnosis in order to get more money.
The consultant has been put under house arrest.
Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/si ... p-qnRZeVfs
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scagghiuni
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Re: News from Italy
Massive Italian anti-mafia operation results in scores of arrests
Italy's anti-mafia police have struck a major blow to the Italian mob in an international sting. Rival groups were said to have worked together to make billions through online gambling.
Italy's National Anti-Mafia Directorate (DNA) arrested 68 members of organized crime families across Italy on Wednesday, with help from Eurojust — the EU's judicial agency — and police from Britain, the Netherlands, Serbia and Switzerland. Those arrested were members of the country's three major crime syndicates: Sicily's Cosa Nostra, Calabria's 'Ndrangheta and Apulia's Sacra Corona Unita (SCU).
Some 800 officers were involved in the raids, which were also aided by information given to authorities by a Sicilian mobster who feared the gangs "would never have let him quit," because of their thirst for money. The man had infiltrated the mafia's online gambling operations.
The new mob
Although previously rivals, the three families agreed to work together to embark on an online gambling scheme that authorities say netted them almost €4.5 billion ($5 billion). On Wednesday, authorities seized €1 billion in goods and cash in Albania, Austria, Britain, Germany, the Isle of Man, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Romania, Serbia, the Seychelles and Switzerland.
Federico Cafiero de Raho, the head of the Italian anti-mafia unit, explained the novelty of the new cooperation between previously rival groups: "The 'Ndrangheta and the mafias of Sicily and Puglia [Apulia] no longer exist. They are now fluid organizations that manage different businesses between them."
Cafiero de Raho told journalists: "We have an increasingly clear picture. We can see from ongoing investigations how the mafia works together in different sectors. We need to establish whether there is a fixed leadership or if the deals change depending on the territories involved."
Secluded meetings at a mountaintop sanctuary
In the course of the online gambling investigation, prosecutors in Calabria said they also uncovered a secret meeting spot favored by the 'Ndrangheta: Our Lady of the Mountain (pictured above), a secluded Catholic sanctuary nestled in the Aspromonte mountains. The sanctuary is located outside the village of San Luca, where the organization was founded.
Apulian prosecutors in Bari said they think the Sacra Corona Unita was instrumental in facilitating collaboration between the Sicilian and Calabrian families. They added that "the younger generation made a decisive contribution to the business" by using technical know-how to help the powerful Martiradonna family break into the lucrative online gambling business.
The scheme
Authorities said the groups used a number of websites to collect bets in exchange for promotion and protection. Suspects arrested in Wednesday's sting are accused of crimes such as the illicit transfer of cash, illegal online betting activities and tax evasion.
Italian state prosecutors also published pictures that some suspects had posted of themselves on social media. The photos showed the overweight mafiosi sporting Rolexes and brand new Ferraris, others featured them relaxing in bathrobes at health spas or dining in fancy restaurants.
Nicola Morra, who now heads the Italian parliament's anti-mafia commission said: "We must defeat the mafia. We must fight every illegality, every silence, as they are fertile ground for that disgusting weed that we must tear up with all our strength."
Italy's anti-mafia police have struck a major blow to the Italian mob in an international sting. Rival groups were said to have worked together to make billions through online gambling.
Italy's National Anti-Mafia Directorate (DNA) arrested 68 members of organized crime families across Italy on Wednesday, with help from Eurojust — the EU's judicial agency — and police from Britain, the Netherlands, Serbia and Switzerland. Those arrested were members of the country's three major crime syndicates: Sicily's Cosa Nostra, Calabria's 'Ndrangheta and Apulia's Sacra Corona Unita (SCU).
Some 800 officers were involved in the raids, which were also aided by information given to authorities by a Sicilian mobster who feared the gangs "would never have let him quit," because of their thirst for money. The man had infiltrated the mafia's online gambling operations.
The new mob
Although previously rivals, the three families agreed to work together to embark on an online gambling scheme that authorities say netted them almost €4.5 billion ($5 billion). On Wednesday, authorities seized €1 billion in goods and cash in Albania, Austria, Britain, Germany, the Isle of Man, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Romania, Serbia, the Seychelles and Switzerland.
Federico Cafiero de Raho, the head of the Italian anti-mafia unit, explained the novelty of the new cooperation between previously rival groups: "The 'Ndrangheta and the mafias of Sicily and Puglia [Apulia] no longer exist. They are now fluid organizations that manage different businesses between them."
Cafiero de Raho told journalists: "We have an increasingly clear picture. We can see from ongoing investigations how the mafia works together in different sectors. We need to establish whether there is a fixed leadership or if the deals change depending on the territories involved."
Secluded meetings at a mountaintop sanctuary
In the course of the online gambling investigation, prosecutors in Calabria said they also uncovered a secret meeting spot favored by the 'Ndrangheta: Our Lady of the Mountain (pictured above), a secluded Catholic sanctuary nestled in the Aspromonte mountains. The sanctuary is located outside the village of San Luca, where the organization was founded.
Apulian prosecutors in Bari said they think the Sacra Corona Unita was instrumental in facilitating collaboration between the Sicilian and Calabrian families. They added that "the younger generation made a decisive contribution to the business" by using technical know-how to help the powerful Martiradonna family break into the lucrative online gambling business.
The scheme
Authorities said the groups used a number of websites to collect bets in exchange for promotion and protection. Suspects arrested in Wednesday's sting are accused of crimes such as the illicit transfer of cash, illegal online betting activities and tax evasion.
Italian state prosecutors also published pictures that some suspects had posted of themselves on social media. The photos showed the overweight mafiosi sporting Rolexes and brand new Ferraris, others featured them relaxing in bathrobes at health spas or dining in fancy restaurants.
Nicola Morra, who now heads the Italian parliament's anti-mafia commission said: "We must defeat the mafia. We must fight every illegality, every silence, as they are fertile ground for that disgusting weed that we must tear up with all our strength."
Re: News from Italy
Interesting.
For years, while gambling was the bedrock racket for the American mob, it seemed it was of minimal importance to their cousins across the pond who depended more on extortion, drug trafficking, and public contracts. However, in more recent times, it seems gambling has become a major racket for the Italian syndicates.
For years, while gambling was the bedrock racket for the American mob, it seemed it was of minimal importance to their cousins across the pond who depended more on extortion, drug trafficking, and public contracts. However, in more recent times, it seems gambling has become a major racket for the Italian syndicates.
All roads lead to New York.
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scagghiuni
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Re: News from Italy
in the latest 10 years italian syndicates invested heavily in gambling sector, they have a total monopoly over it (online gaming, bet points, slot/video poker machines) it is as lucrative as the drug trafficking if not more nowadaysWiseguy wrote: ↑Wed Nov 14, 2018 4:41 pm Interesting.
For years, while gambling was the bedrock racket for the American mob, it seemed it was of minimal importance to their cousins across the pond who depended more on extortion, drug trafficking, and public contracts. However, in more recent times, it seems gambling has become a major racket for the Italian syndicates.
Re: News from Italy
"Those arrested were members of the country's three major crime syndicates: Sicily's Cosa Nostra, Calabria's 'Ndrangheta and Apulia's Sacra Corona Unita (SCU)."
Camorra not in top 3?
Camorra not in top 3?
Re: News from Italy
https://www.yahoo.com/news/rome-police- ... 05918.html
Rome police evict, plan to demolish alleged mobsters' homes
Rome police evict, plan to demolish alleged mobsters' homes
Re: News from Italy
Italian authorities seized more than €1.5 billion of assets linked to fugitive mafia boss
Italian authorities seized €1.5 billion in business assets linked to the notorious Cosa Nostra mafia.
This week, the Directorate of Anti-Mafia Investigations (DIA), seized real estate and tourism properties - resorts, golf clubs and shipping boats - belonging to the heirs of late mafia boss Carmelo Patti, who died in January 2016 at the age of 81.
The heir, Matteo Messina Denaro, 56, is the mob boss of the Sicilian mafia Cosa Nostra and has been wanted by Italian authorities since 1993 for planting bombs that killed 10 people in Florence and Milan.
This seizure "is certainly one of the most important in the Italian judicial history," said a statement from the (DIA). "It also allowed to establish links with many characters close to or belonging to the mafia family of Castelvetrano," they added.
Source: https://www.euronews.com/2018/11/24/ita ... mafia-boss
Italian authorities seized €1.5 billion in business assets linked to the notorious Cosa Nostra mafia.
This week, the Directorate of Anti-Mafia Investigations (DIA), seized real estate and tourism properties - resorts, golf clubs and shipping boats - belonging to the heirs of late mafia boss Carmelo Patti, who died in January 2016 at the age of 81.
The heir, Matteo Messina Denaro, 56, is the mob boss of the Sicilian mafia Cosa Nostra and has been wanted by Italian authorities since 1993 for planting bombs that killed 10 people in Florence and Milan.
This seizure "is certainly one of the most important in the Italian judicial history," said a statement from the (DIA). "It also allowed to establish links with many characters close to or belonging to the mafia family of Castelvetrano," they added.
Source: https://www.euronews.com/2018/11/24/ita ... mafia-boss
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johnny_scootch
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Re: News from Italy
To my knowledge the Camorra doesn't actually exist as an organization in the same way Cosa Nostra or the 'Ndrangheta does with initiation rituals and similar hierarchal structures across member groups. Today Camorra/Camorristi is merely a label given to Neapolitan crime groups and criminals not at all referring to a specific city/provincial wide criminal conspiracy.
Maybe some of the guys from Italy can chime in if I'm wrong here.
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CabriniGreen
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Re: News from Italy
There was a big Casalesi gambling bust awhile back....
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CabriniGreen
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Re: News from Italy
Actually I think until recently they were the dominant group....
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scagghiuni
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Re: News from Italy
sicilian mafia is the biggest in gambling in italyCabriniGreen wrote: ↑Wed Nov 28, 2018 3:02 pm There was a big Casalesi gambling bust awhile back....
johnny_scootch is right about camorra, except casalesi/nuvoletta and a few others clans that are members of cosa nostra