Contemporary Developments: 1993-2009      

 

 

The Mafia in Berlusconi’s Italy

Today the mafia is “white”: it’s not loud, it doesn’t kill as much as in the 80’s, and there is not much talking on the mafia in the media.

1993: When Riina was arrested nobody checked is house: usually the police search even the house of a common dealer…: Colonel Mori of the Carabinieri is under investigation for this reason; when accused, he has been immediately protected by the Right

1995: The Andreotti trial begins

1996: Dell’Utri under investigation

2001: Corrado Carnevale condemned in Palermo, verdict reversed in 2002 by the Supreme Court of Justice Corte di Cassazione

2003. President of Sicily Salvatore Cuffaro under investigation for external adherence to the mafia

2004: Dell’Utri condemned to 9 years of prison for mafia association, he is appealing

 

n  The first enterprise in Italy

The most important development in the 90’s is the more than 1000 informants who spoke out against Cosa Nostra; with just 3 informants in the 80’s it was able for the antimafia pool to set the Maxi-Trial; more than 1000 were not only not enough to achieve any real prosecution against the politicians covering the criminals, but did not prevent from establishing itself as the first enterprise in Italy

 

n  The most intelligent homicide: the murder of the judicial system

During the so called Second Republic (1994-today), thanks to the help of the political parties, the mafia from the risk of disappearing has become the first enterprise in Italy

During this years, many laws have passed that ended to help both organized crime and the politicians (under accuse for similar crimes)

Today a mafia informant has got just 150 days to release his testimony

This discourage mafia-informants: such a short period of time is often not enough to tell a whole life in the mafia; plus, Mafiosi, when realizing their testimonies, they are careful to study all the details to not put their relatives and friends at risk

The 41bis law (isolation and harsh conditions of life in prison for Mafiosi to keep them isolated from the organization) is not as effective as it used to be in the 90’s; the control has been progressively loosened since the mafia quit to be considered an emergency (especially after September 11th): According to a report by the DIA released in 2004, Riina, in prison since the beginning of 1993, is still the boss of Cosa Nostra

 

Lunardi, Minister of Public Works, Tg5 News, August 22nd 2001

“Mafia and Camorra have always existed, unfortunately there are and we have to live together with this realities; everybody will solve these problems as better believes…”

 

Lunardi, Minister of Public Works, Tg5 News, August 22nd 2001

“Mafia and Camorra have always existed, unfortunately there are and we have to live together with this realities; everybody will solve these problems as better believes…”

Some days later, interviewed by Journalist Enzo Biagi:

   “…We have got to live with the mafia as well as with other realities, for example 7000 victims of car accidents per year…”

 

Taormina is a member of the Government; he doesn’t feel the non-compability with the office of member of the Parliament and to quit with his activity of layer by members of his same coalition.

July 26th 2001 is defending in Bari Francesco Prudentino, one of the bosses of the Sacra Corona Unita

 

Feb 2002

A document released after a debate at the Senate by the Center-right coalition states that some magistrates use their office to further anti-liberal purposes. It also states that the Magistrature is not an independent estate but just an order, as for example the pharmacists…

It’s weird that the anti-liberal purposes are represented by corruption crimes…

 

Dec. 5th 2001: The Conference in Bonn on the future of Afghanistan establishes that:

The judicial power in Afghanistan will be independent… (Le Monde, Dec 6th 2001)

Interview to Berlusconi, reported by the magazine Panorama, Nov 8th 2001:

 “…In the last ten years there has been in Italy a civil war…; foreign journalists do not want to admit that an entire political system, the Christian Democrat and Occidental based one, has been swept away by a part of the magistrature; the Judicial system has been used for political purposes…”

 

Berlusconi’s statement at a press conference in Granada (Spain), Nov 13th 2001:

 “…In Italy there has been a civil war fought by the magistrature…”

(If there has been a civil war during the 90’s in Italy is the one brought on by mafia-type organizations with more than 2000 people dead data from the Annual reports of the Minister of the Interior)

 

Berlusconi, public speech, January 24th 2004, attack on the magistrature:

 “…The magistrature is infiltrated by Communist judges…”

 

Cardinal Ruffini, after the Ciaculli bomb, 1963 (quoted in F. Renda, Storia della Mafia, Palermo, 1998):

“The mafia does not exist; it is just an invention of the communists”

 

Totò Riina, quoted in “La Repubblica”, May 26th 1994:

 “…it’s the Communists that bring about these arguments; the Government has to be careful of these communist attacks…”

 

Oct. 15th-19^th 1999: European Council meeting in Tampere (GB)

Decision on the reciprocal recognition of the judicial authorities of the countries members of the European Union

 

Dec 4th, 2001:
Meeting in Bruxelles between the delegations of all the States members of the EU

To decide on what crimes to apply the European warrant for arrest:

All the States agree on a list of 32 typologies of crimes; the Italian delegation proposes to limit the list to just 6 typologies, excluding corruption, fraud and money recycling…

At the end the Italian delegation has to sign the agreement

 

Bruxelles, Feb 28th 2002

The Ministers of Interiors and Justice of the countries members of the EU decide on faster and common procedures to confiscate goods originated by terrorism and organized crime.

The decision is taken after the only opposition of the Italian Minister of Justice Castelli

 

Fake Balance

Reform of Jen 2002: according to this reform the prescription for a forged balance crime is anticipated from 15 to 7,5 years for companies that are quoted in the stock exchange market; for all the others the prescription is reduced to 4 years. With this reform all the accuses to Berlusconi for fake balances would fall

 

The Rogatorie Law (Sept 2001)

Modifies the penal code in order to establish difficult procedures so that the proof coming from a different State can be used in Italy. Further, the law is retroactive: all the proofs coming from abroad already existing cannot be used in a penal trial.

http://www.esmartstart.com/_framed/50g/berlusconi/econ_en5.htm (Economist)

Berlusconi is under trial in Milan, accused of having corrupted magistrates. In this trial the most important part of the accusation comes from foreign bank documents.

The effects of this reform are favorable for all the criminal organizations.

 

The amnesty for the money… Law n. 383, Oct 18th 2001

This law authorizes capitals illegally exported abroad to come back to Italy in an anonymous form just paying 2,5% of the amount of money that is coming back to Italy.

Effects… For each million Euro coming back, it’s enough to pay 2,5% of the returning money to remain anonymous

This law gives criminal organization the opportunity to re-import money in Italy, reinvest them in legal activities, paying a minimum amount of money

 

Sept 2001: No escort for the magistrates

The escort for the magistrates is either reduced, or (in most of the cases) abolished because is considered a “status symbol”.

Among those whose escort is reduced there is Giancarlo Caselli: he can now rely on just a driver and one security man. Sometimes both have been recalled to do other functions and Palermo’s Chief Prosecutor Caselli has remained completely isolated.

 

March 19th 2001: the Biagi assassination by the New Red Brigades

BR killed Biagi, a professor from the Bologna University working for the Government to a reform of the labor market. Biagi was left without escort by the previous decision of the government.

After this homicide, some magistrates obtain their escort back, but not the Head of the Palermo's Prosecutors Gian Carlo Caselli…

 

The Libera and Libera Terra Organizations

Libera was founded in 1995 to promote education to legality, particularly in the schools. Has promoted a law, approved, on the social utilization of the goods confiscated to the mafia.

Libera Terra is a project by Libera to create social cooperatives to produce high-quality agricultural products on 200 hectares of land confiscated to the mafia

 

Jen 31st 2002

The Government (through the ministry of Instruction) with a short letter denies the possibility to carry on the activity of courses on legality in the schools; the reason is because

“The reasons of the activities promoted by Libera are not clear”

The Courses that the Ministry finances are:

-          8 courses on skiing

-          2 on golf

-          4 on sailing

-          1 on ancient dance from the 15-16 centuries

-          1 on gym for older people

                                 … but not Libera…

 

Program of the Minister of the Interior on the priorities of the Ministry (released Feb. 15th 2002). Priorities of the Government:

-          Thefts in houses

-          Prostitution

-          Bag snatchings

-          Illegal migration

-          …

-          …

-          …mafia…

 

 

Oct 26th 2001: public statement of the Diego Cammarata, major of Palermo

            “…the major has not to fight the mafia: this task belongs to other authorities…”

 

March 21st 2001 Verdict of the Palermo court: to make business with Cosa Nostra is not a crime

Many pentiti accuse two brothers, both entrepreneurs, of being associated to the mafia

As proofs there also two tickets signed by Provenzano: in the first one Provenzano asks Ilardo, boss of Caltanissetta, to arrange things so that important public works will be carried out by the Cavallotti brothers. In the second Provenzano thanks…

The verdict states:

 “…the Cavallotti brothers were adjusting public contracts through the control system organized by Cosa Nostra…”

But this is not considered a proof that they adhere to or make business with Cosa Nostra

 

2006: Provenzano arrested

Provenzano was arrested April 11° 2006 after  43 years of fugitiveness during which he always lived around Corleone; in the shack where he was arrested, the police found the pizzini that he was using to control the organization: for the first time we have written sources produced by the mafia

Mafia and Politics: the mafia today is stronger than ever

Today the links between mafia and politics are stronger than ever; in the 15 years the mafia has demonstrated its real face, that is its political power; real Mafiosi are not able to load a gun: they are politicians, administrators, lawyers, bankers, white collars, accountants, and managers (already in the 60’s the Antimafia Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry had recorded this prevalent profiles among Mafiosi)

 

Links with all the Political Parties

Many informants accuse Berlusconi to have laundered the money of Cosa Nostra and to be linked with the mafia through Senator Marcello Dell’Utri, condemned to 9 years of prison for mafia

 

Mafia and the Centre-Left Coalition

(Walter Veltroni and Clemente Mastella)

Walter Veltroni began his 2008 electoral campaign in Palermo; he invited a member of the Anti-racket organization Addio Pizzo to speak; a few days later his coalition did candidate in Sicily a politician who had been under trial for mafia and who had been intercepted on the phone giving order to a Mafioso;

When in power (2006-2008), the Centre-left coalition had as Minister of Justice Clemente Mastella, who had been the witness at the marriage of a Mafioso