More than 200 defendants in one of Italy’s biggest mafia trials for generations have been sentenced to a total of 2,200 years in jail.
The three-year trial saw individuals allegedly linked to the ‘Ndrangheta sentenced for crimes ranging from extortion to drug trafficking.
Those sentenced included a former Italian senator, though the verdicts can still be appealed.
The ‘Ndrangheta is one of Europe’s most influential criminal organisations.
Among the most notable people to be sentenced was Giancarlo Pittelli, a lawyer and former senator for ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi’s party Forza Italia. Pittelli received an 11-year sentence for collusion with a mafia-type organisation.
Others convicted included civil servants, professionals across various industries and high-ranking officials, who were critical to the ‘Ndrangheta’s success in infiltrating the legitimate economy and state institutions.
The judges presiding over the case were put under police protection over fears for their safety.
The trial, the largest of its kind since the 1980s, saw judges examine thousands of hours of testimony. Former mobsters turned collaborators with the justice system testified about the activities of the Mancuso family and their associates, who wield extensive control over the province of Vibo Valentia.
The Mancuso family, from the town of Limbadi, are one of the most powerful of the 150 clans which make up the ‘Ndrangheta.
Most of the defendants were arrested in December 2019, following an extensive investigation spanning at least 11 Italian regions, which began in 2016. Approximately 2,500 officers took part in raids targeting suspects in Vibo Valentia, an area primarily controlled by the ‘Ndragheta’s Mancuso clan.
More than 50 former mafia members agreed to cooperate with the trial, among them Luigi Mancuso’s nephew, Emanuele.
Their testimony shed light on the inner workings of one of Italy’s most powerful mobs.
The trial revealed that ‘Ndrangheta members allegedly concealed weapons in cemetery chapels, used ambulances for drug transportation and diverted public water supplies to grow marijuana.
Those who opposed the organised crime group faced grim consequences, including finding dead puppies and goat heads left in front of their houses, torched cars and vandalised shop windows.
