Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate warning: never underestimate the mafia, which has its eye on public contracts and invests with ‘opaque’ financial flows
‘The truth is a losing currency,’ writes Beatrice Monroy in her intense and poignant novel, which has just been published by Zolfo. The novel tells the story of the desperation experienced by the people of Palermo, and their subsequent cultural and civil revolt against the Mafia massacres and the silence imposed by complicity and fear towards the bosses of the ‘Cosa Nostra’ and the ‘grey world’ of those who turn a blind eye. The story begins with the murders of Giovanni Falcone, Paolo Borsellino, and the men and women of their security detail in May and then July 1992. And that provocative phrase about the defeat of truth actually highlights its opposite: the irrepressible need for truth and justice, for civil life and democracy, which is growing within the city and Sicily. This will finally mark the end of the mafia era and the beginning of a society based on rights, duties, freedoms and responsibilities. The exact opposite, in fact, of Cosa Nostra, the ‘ndrangheta and the Camorra.
The need for truth, legality, civil life, the market economy, social development and sustainable entrepreneurship naturally extends beyond the island’s borders. It is back in the spotlight right now due to certain news events. The warning from the Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate (DIA) about criminal clans’ renewed interest in public contracts throughout Italy (we will discuss this in more detail below). And the release from prison of Giovanni Brusca, a ferocious mafia murderer who has served his sentence for 150 murders and for pressing the detonator that caused Falcone’s death. After 25 years in prison and 4 years of probation, he was granted freedom as a consequence of his decision to become a ‘collaborator of justice’, informing magistrates on Mafia activities, crimes and strategies. This was an application of the ‘pentiti’ law, whereby informants receive reduced sentences or even freedom in exchange for information. Advocated by Giovanni Falcone himself, the law was introduced in an attempt to break the Mafia’s code of silence and prevent the massacres organised by the ‘Corleonesi’, led by Totò Riina. Brusca was one of the leaders of this group and one of its most ruthless assassins.
A law to be respected and applied. However, if we read the statements of the victims’ relatives carefully, it is clear that there is a feeling that justice is not being served. Among them is Alfredo Morvillo, the brother of Francesca Morvillo, who was married to Falcone and was also killed in the Capaci massacre along the Punta Raisi highway. Morvillo said: ‘Brusca has served his sentence, but he remains a criminal.’ And Maria Falcone, sister of the magistrate: “The law was applied, but I am very bitter. I don’t believe that this is justice, either for the family members or for decent people” (Corriere della Sera, 6 June).
Setting aside the bitterness, the excellent work carried out by the magistrates of Palermo against Cosa Nostra in the last fifteen years of the twentieth century remains a positive legacy. This work was made possible thanks to the contribution of two ‘collaborators of justice’, Tommaso Buscetta in particular, but also Salvatore Contorno. The work culminated in the large-scale trial that began in February 1986 and concluded with hundreds of convictions, confirmed by the Court of Cassation in spring 1992.
‘The State has won, the Mafia has lost’ is an accurate summary of that period, given that the bosses are in prison and Mafia activity has been drastically reduced. Taking into account the fact that the trials were conducted in full compliance with the procedures and guarantees, and based on serious police and carabiniere investigations, it is a fair summary. However, unfortunately, this is not the full story. Other criminal organisations, starting with the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta, have replaced the Sicilian clans in the international drug trafficking circuit, forming alliances with South American and Eastern ‘narcos’. And, in any case, the links between organised crime and ‘grey areas’ in economic, political and public administration circles have been restored, despite being disrupted by judicial investigations in Palermo, Rome and Milan.
Several comments on the anniversary of the Capaci massacre bear witness to this: ‘Falcone and Borsellino, the still open accounts and the risk of new pollution’ (Corriere della Sera, 23 May); ‘33 years after the massacre, the mafia still has its troops’ (Il Sole24Ore, 24 May).
And the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, offered words of commemoration that are important for collective memory and civil conscience: ‘The mafia has suffered very heavy blows, but the work of eradication must continue, taking into account its transformations, its new links with economic and financial activities, and the grey areas that emerge where civic commitment gives way to indifference’.
Here we are again, reminded that the need for truth cannot be a ‘losing currency’. And neither can the need for effective government action and responsible political commitment against organised crime, with preventive and repressive interventions and transparent administration.
Moreover, the law introducing new, more severe, specific and effective measures to combat the Mafia was developed by parliamentarians of different political persuasions: the Communist Pio La Torre and the Christian Democrat Virginio Rognoni, who was Minister of the Interior at the time. It was approved by a large majority in Parliament on 13 September 1982, just a few days after General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa was assassinated in Palermo. He had been sent there by the government as Prefect, but without the necessary powers of authority. It is a well-constructed law capable of tackling mafia associations by following the threads of their interests and business criminal ties. The investigations of Falcone, Borsellino and the other anti-Mafia magistrates would have made intelligent and competent use of it.
The latest Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate report (Il Sole24Ore, 28 May) reveals the reality of the mafia threat. In 2024, it identified ‘opaque’ financial activities totalling 49.2 billion euros, and detailed investment operations and money laundering from illicit sources within seemingly legitimate activities. The ‘Ndrangheta is at the forefront, but the Camorra and Sicilian clans are also active, particularly in Milan (‘Mafia, the shadows over Lombardy. A spotlight on contracts, football ultras and the Olympics’, was the headline in La Repubblica, 28 May) but also in Piedmont, Liguria, Veneto and Emilia. And there is a timely focus on subcontracting in the public works sector and related activities, particularly in finance and services, which are susceptible to money laundering.
In short, the risk of market and economic pollution, and of business activity being disrupted, is always high. In addition to the necessary commemorations, it is worthwhile intensifying political and administrative initiatives to guarantee legality, transparency and the functioning of markets and competition. This is an essential economic and civil choice.
(photo Getty Images)
‘The truth is a losing currency,’ writes Beatrice Monroy in her intense and poignant novel, which has just been published by Zolfo. The novel tells the story of the desperation experienced by the people of Palermo, and their subsequent cultural and civil revolt against the Mafia massacres and the silence imposed by complicity and fear towards the bosses of the ‘Cosa Nostra’ and the ‘grey world’ of those who turn a blind eye. The story begins with the murders of Giovanni Falcone, Paolo Borsellino, and the men and women of their security detail in May and then July 1992. And that provocative phrase about the defeat of truth actually highlights its opposite: the irrepressible need for truth and justice, for civil life and democracy, which is growing within the city and Sicily. This will finally mark the end of the mafia era and the beginning of a society based on rights, duties, freedoms and responsibilities. The exact opposite, in fact, of Cosa Nostra, the ‘ndrangheta and the Camorra.
The need for truth, legality, civil life, the market economy, social development and sustainable entrepreneurship naturally extends beyond the island’s borders. It is back in the spotlight right now due to certain news events. The warning from the Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate (DIA) about criminal clans’ renewed interest in public contracts throughout Italy (we will discuss this in more detail below). And the release from prison of Giovanni Brusca, a ferocious mafia murderer who has served his sentence for 150 murders and for pressing the detonator that caused Falcone’s death. After 25 years in prison and 4 years of probation, he was granted freedom as a consequence of his decision to become a ‘collaborator of justice’, informing magistrates on Mafia activities, crimes and strategies. This was an application of the ‘pentiti’ law, whereby informants receive reduced sentences or even freedom in exchange for information. Advocated by Giovanni Falcone himself, the law was introduced in an attempt to break the Mafia’s code of silence and prevent the massacres organised by the ‘Corleonesi’, led by Totò Riina. Brusca was one of the leaders of this group and one of its most ruthless assassins.
A law to be respected and applied. However, if we read the statements of the victims’ relatives carefully, it is clear that there is a feeling that justice is not being served. Among them is Alfredo Morvillo, the brother of Francesca Morvillo, who was married to Falcone and was also killed in the Capaci massacre along the Punta Raisi highway. Morvillo said: ‘Brusca has served his sentence, but he remains a criminal.’ And Maria Falcone, sister of the magistrate: “The law was applied, but I am very bitter. I don’t believe that this is justice, either for the family members or for decent people” (Corriere della Sera, 6 June).
Setting aside the bitterness, the excellent work carried out by the magistrates of Palermo against Cosa Nostra in the last fifteen years of the twentieth century remains a positive legacy. This work was made possible thanks to the contribution of two ‘collaborators of justice’, Tommaso Buscetta in particular, but also Salvatore Contorno. The work culminated in the large-scale trial that began in February 1986 and concluded with hundreds of convictions, confirmed by the Court of Cassation in spring 1992.
‘The State has won, the Mafia has lost’ is an accurate summary of that period, given that the bosses are in prison and Mafia activity has been drastically reduced. Taking into account the fact that the trials were conducted in full compliance with the procedures and guarantees, and based on serious police and carabiniere investigations, it is a fair summary. However, unfortunately, this is not the full story. Other criminal organisations, starting with the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta, have replaced the Sicilian clans in the international drug trafficking circuit, forming alliances with South American and Eastern ‘narcos’. And, in any case, the links between organised crime and ‘grey areas’ in economic, political and public administration circles have been restored, despite being disrupted by judicial investigations in Palermo, Rome and Milan.
Several comments on the anniversary of the Capaci massacre bear witness to this: ‘Falcone and Borsellino, the still open accounts and the risk of new pollution’ (Corriere della Sera, 23 May); ‘33 years after the massacre, the mafia still has its troops’ (Il Sole24Ore, 24 May).
And the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, offered words of commemoration that are important for collective memory and civil conscience: ‘The mafia has suffered very heavy blows, but the work of eradication must continue, taking into account its transformations, its new links with economic and financial activities, and the grey areas that emerge where civic commitment gives way to indifference’.
Here we are again, reminded that the need for truth cannot be a ‘losing currency’. And neither can the need for effective government action and responsible political commitment against organised crime, with preventive and repressive interventions and transparent administration.
Moreover, the law introducing new, more severe, specific and effective measures to combat the Mafia was developed by parliamentarians of different political persuasions: the Communist Pio La Torre and the Christian Democrat Virginio Rognoni, who was Minister of the Interior at the time. It was approved by a large majority in Parliament on 13 September 1982, just a few days after General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa was assassinated in Palermo. He had been sent there by the government as Prefect, but without the necessary powers of authority. It is a well-constructed law capable of tackling mafia associations by following the threads of their interests and business criminal ties. The investigations of Falcone, Borsellino and the other anti-Mafia magistrates would have made intelligent and competent use of it.
The latest Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate report (Il Sole24Ore, 28 May) reveals the reality of the mafia threat. In 2024, it identified ‘opaque’ financial activities totalling 49.2 billion euros, and detailed investment operations and money laundering from illicit sources within seemingly legitimate activities. The ‘Ndrangheta is at the forefront, but the Camorra and Sicilian clans are also active, particularly in Milan (‘Mafia, the shadows over Lombardy. A spotlight on contracts, football ultras and the Olympics’, was the headline in La Repubblica, 28 May) but also in Piedmont, Liguria, Veneto and Emilia. And there is a timely focus on subcontracting in the public works sector and related activities, particularly in finance and services, which are susceptible to money laundering.
In short, the risk of market and economic pollution, and of business activity being disrupted, is always high. In addition to the necessary commemorations, it is worthwhile intensifying political and administrative initiatives to guarantee legality, transparency and the functioning of markets and competition. This is an essential economic and civil choice.
(photo Getty Images)