The Mafia.

The 'Ndrangheta, Outside Italy, part 4.   Spain.   According to Giuseppe Lombardo, Public Prosecutor at the Anti-Mafia District Directorate of Reggio Calabria, the ‘Ndrangheta has established a strong and discreet presence in Spain, which he describes as the crossroads of international drug trafficking in Europe. For decades, the 'Ndrangheta has maintained branches and operatives in Spain, engagin...

The 'Ndrangheta, Outside Italy, part 3.   Canada.   During a press conference in Vaughan, Ontario, Fausto Lamparelli of the Italian State Police, offered this comment about the relationship between the 'Ndrangheta in Ontario and Calabria:   "This investigation allowed us to learn something new. The 'Ndrangheta crime families in Canada are able to operate autonomously, without asking permission or...

The 'Ndrangheta, Outside Italy, part 2.   Canada.   According to a May 2018 news report, "Siderno's Old World 'Ndrangheta boss sent acolytes to populate the New World" including Michele (Mike) Racco who settled in Toronto in 1952, followed by other mob families. By 2010, investigators in Italy said that Toronto's 'Ndrangheta had climbed "to the top of the criminal world" with "an unbreakable umbil...

The 'Ndrangheta, Outside Italy, part 1.   The 'Ndrangheta has established branches abroad, mainly through migration. The overlap of blood and mafia family seems to have helped the 'Ndrangheta expand beyond its traditional territory: "The familial bond has not only worked as a shield to protect secrets and enhance security but also helped to maintain identity in the territory of origin and reproduc...

Law enforcement operations in Italy.   The 'Ndrangheta has expanded its operations into Northern Italy, primarily for drug trafficking and investment in legitimate businesses, which can be used for money laundering. In May 2007, twenty individuals identified as 'Ndrangheta members were arrested in Milan. On 30 August 2007, a large-scale police raid involving hundreds of officers targeted San Luca,...

Modern history.   Until the 1960s, the 'Ndrangheta primarily confined its operations within Italy to Calabria, focusing mainly on extortion and blackmail. Their involvement in cigarette smuggling expanded their reach and facilitated contacts with the Sicilian Mafia and the Neapolitan Camorra. With the initiation of large public works projects in Calabria, skimming of public contracts became a sign...

Characteristics.   In 2007, Italian anti-organized crime agencies estimated the 'Ndrangheta's annual revenue to be approximately €35–40 billion (equivalent to US$35–40 billion), representing roughly 3.5% of Italy's GDP. This revenue is primarily generated from illicit drug trafficking, but also from ostensibly legitimate businesses such as construction, restaurants, and supermarkets. The 'Ndranghe...

Power structure.   Historically, individual family power structures served as the primary governing bodies within both Cosa Nostra and the 'Ndrangheta. These family structures have remained central to power dynamics, even after the establishment of superordinate bodies. While Cosa Nostra created the Sicilian Mafia Commission in the 1950s, the 'Ndrangheta established a superordinate body only in 19...

Structure.   Organizational structure.   Similar to the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, the 'Ndrangheta is structured as a loose confederation of approximately one hundred groups, referred to as cosche or families. Each group asserts authority over a specific territory, typically a town or village, although their control over the monopoly of violence in these areas is not always absolute or fully legitimize...

'Ndrangheta.   The 'Ndrangheta is a mafia-type criminal syndicate originating from the Calabria region of Italy. Emerging in the 19th century, it has developed into one of the world's most powerful and pervasive organized crime entities. Characterized by a decentralized, horizontal structure composed of autonomous operating units known as 'ndrine, the organization's foundational structure is based...

The Camorra, Current Status.   With most of the old Camorra clans decapitated, and their bosses either dead or arrested, the organization is experiencing a rise in youth criminal gangs trying to take their places. This phenomenon is called Paranza, Camorra terminology for a criminal group led by youngsters or "small fish". Whilst the older bosses often operated out of the limelight, these young cr...

The Camorra, Outside Italy, part 3.   Camorra-South American drug cartels.   The links between the South American drug cartels and Camorra clans dates back to at least the 1980s, having stabilized numerous privileged drug channels from South America to Europe over the years.   According to investigations, the Camorra member Tommaso Iacomino allegedly negotiated with the head of Peruvian and Colomb...

The Camorra, Outside Italy, part 2.   Switzerland.   The Camorra has had a presence in Switzerland for more than 50 years, undertaking money laundering but also arms trafficking and drug trafficking. The Casalesi clan is present throughout the country, and according to the investigations into the clan, it has numerous Swiss bank accounts. In 1992, Ciro Mazzarella, the late boss of the Mazzarella c...

The Camorra, Outside Italy, part 1.    Despite its origins, it presently has secondary ramifications in other Italian regions, like Lazio, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont in connection with the centres of national economic power.  From the 1980s onwards, with its massive involvement in drug trafficking, the Camorra expanded its operations to other countries, particularly Spain. The organizat...

Efforts to fight the Camorra, part 2.    On 23 October 2019, the Italian police dismantled the Montescuro clan, arresting 23 important members of the organisation. The clan was headed by the elderly boss Carmine Montescuro, nicknamed 'Zì Menuzzo' , a leader of remarkable criminal charisma, who for at least 20 years played the role of mediator in the wars between various clans. According to the inv...

Efforts to fight the Camorra, part 1.    The Camorra has proven to be an extremely difficult organisation to fight within Italy. During the 1911–12 trial, Fabroni gave testimony on how complicated it was to successfully prosecute the Camorra: "The Camorrist has no political ideals. He exploits the elections and the elected for gain. The leaders distribute bands throughout the town, and they have r...

The Camorra, Activities.   Compared to the Sicilian Mafia's pyramidal structure, the Camorra has more of a 'horizontal' structure. As a result, Camorra clans act independently of one another and are more prone to feuding. This, however, makes the Camorra more resilient when top leaders are arrested or killed, as new clans and organisations emerge from the remnants of old ones. Clan leader Pasquale...

The Camorra, History.   The most accepted hypothesis is that the term "Camorra" was born directly in Campania, around the 16th-17th century, finding its original etymological root in the same expression in Neapolitan and being formed from the junction of the words c' 'a-morra (with the morra), in reference to the homonymous street game. The first official use of camorra as a word dates from 1735,...

The Camorra.   The Camorra is an Italian Mafia-type criminal organization and criminal society originating in the region of Campania. It is one of the oldest and largest criminal organizations in Italy, dating to the 18th century. The Camorra's organizational structure is divided into individual groups called "clans". Every capo or "boss" is the head of a clan, in which there may be tens or hundre...

The Mafia.   Informally or generally, a mafia is any of various criminal organizations that include, or bear a strong similarity to, the original Sicilian Mafia, the Italian-American Mafia, or other Italian organized crime groups. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of disputes between criminals, as well as the organization and enforcement of illicit agreements be...