Yesterday was a historic day in Italian history.

After nearly three years, one of the country’s largest-ever criminal trials ended. Over 200 people alleged to be involved in ‘Ndrangheta, the Calabrian mafia, were convicted of charges ranging from drug trafficking to money laundering to extortion.

Over 900 witnesses testified in the trial, which took place in a specially built high-security bunker. The presiding judges were under strict police protection during the years-long trial due to the threat of assassinations.

Prosecutors in the case said that the ‘Ndrangheta controls over 80% of cocaine trafficking in Europe, with its international drug business stretching from Latin America to Canada to Australia. They also claimed that the ‘Ndrangheta generates $55 billion in revenue yearly, which is more than Coca-Cola.

According to Ed Vulliamy of The New European: "The ’Ndrangheta operate with the sensibilities of a multinational corporation … albeit one that with an appetite for brutality and murder."

What is the ‘Ndrangheta?

The ‘Ndrangheta is the Calabrian mafia. It is different from the Camorra (which hails from Naples and the surrounding Campagnian region) and La Cosa Nostra (the Sicilian mafia).

The word ’Ndrangheta comes from the Greek andragathía (which means “bravery or virtue”) and ’Ndrina, meaning, “a man who holds fast.”

The ‘Ndrangheta has a less hierarchical structure than the Camorra or La Cosa Nostra. One of the defining characteristics of the 'Ndrangheta is its decentralized family-based structure.

The organization is divided into smaller clans, known as 'ndrine, each with its own leader. These groups operate independently but are bound by a common code of conduct and allegiance to the overall organization. 

Expanding beyond Calabria

The ‘Ndrangheta was historically based in the poor Southern region of Calabria, but it has expanded into Northern Italy and across Europe in recent decades.

During the 1970s and 1980s, the ‘Ndragheta engaged in a campaign of kidnapping and extortion. One of the most notable kidnappees was the grandson of American industrialist Paul Getty. The mafioso who kidnapped him in 1973 cut off his ear and sent it to his family, prompting them to pay a $2.2 million ransom.

The ‘Drangheta has risen to power during a period in which the Italian government was waging war on the traditional mafias. Controlling the inflow of cocaine into Europe has allowed it to establish connections in different countries. It has also given the Calabrians so much cash that they’ve needed to acquire legitimate businesses needed to launder their drug money.

The ‘Ndrangheta has an estimated 20,000 members, but the trial focused on more than mafioso. Local politicians, business owners, and developers involved in the ‘Ndrangheta's plans to acquire legitimate businesses and assets for money laundering purposes were also convicted as part of the trial.

In a separate investigation from earlier this year, police from Italy, Germany, and Belgium arrested ~200 'Ndrangheta-linked individuals and confiscated 23 tons of cocaine worth $2.7 billion.

Beyond Calabria into Northern Italy

In the minds of many Italians (and other people around the world), the Mafia has largely been confined to the poor and rural Italian South. Northern Italy, which is wealthier, more industrialized, and sees itself as superior to the south, has long been seen as outside of the Mafia’s reach. That has changed with the rise of the ‘Ndrangheta.

Dalla Chiesa Jr., an Italian sociologist whose father and mother were assassinated in 1982 shortly after his father was appointed to investigate the Mafia in Palermo, has written extensively on the expansion of 'Ndrangheta beyond Calabria. In his book Passaggio a Nord (Northern Passage), he documents the "systematic, aggressive and determined" expansion of 'Ndrangheta into "the economies of construction, public works, tourism, agriculture and garbage disposal."

Journalist Roberto Saviano, who has lived under police protection since 2006 due to his reporting on Italian organized crime, said that the model of Mafia extortion flipped during COVID.

Instead of taking money from businesses for 'protection', cash-rich Mafia families began lending money to struggling hotels and restaurants, effectively allowing them to take over the businesses.

ART OF THE DAY

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Yours,
Dan