Mafia Articles and News
Conflicts rarely start out with gunfire. They begin in quieter ways caused by a disagreement, an insult or even an unpaid debt. Initially, both sides tend to contain the situation, relying on warnings and backchannel messages through intermediaries to ease tensions. Nonetheless, such measures are not always effective. No war…...
Benedetto Santapaola was a name that struck fear across Sicily. Over decades, the man known as “Nitto” rose to become one of the most powerful bosses in the Sicilian mafia. An influential figure who played a key role in shaping the mafia’s power base. More significantly, he helped forge a…...
In the age of podcasts, Youtube channels and fast turnaround online journalism, plagiarism isn’t an accident — it’s practically a business model, that includes credit quietly stripped away in the scramble for clicks. What is originality? Undetected plagiarism. William ralph inge The mob genre walks a thin line between originality…...
To a person charged with a crime, a defense lawyer isn’t just “a lawyer.” They are trusted intermediaries, and often the difference between freedom and a prison sentence. A defendant often views his or her lawyer as savior-like—that is if the attorney is not cooperating with law enforcement. Each betrayal…...
Italy’s commitment to combating organized crime has long been a defining feature of its political, legal, and institutional agenda. The Italian state has developed one of the most sophisticated and influential anti–organized crime systems in the world. While criminal organizations such as Cosa Nostra, ’Ndrangheta, Camorra, and Sacra Corona Unita…...
In George Orwell’s 1984, the infamous phrase “Big brother is watching you” relates to constant surveillance much like the FBI’s long-term monitoring of the mafia and investigations aimed at exposing and dismantling it. We are rapidly entering the age of no privacy, where everyone is open to surveillance at all…...
Social media platforms are essentially public megaphones for the entire world. People will pay attention if you have something compelling to say. In a nutshell, public posts are fair game, so it should come as no surprise that law enforcement treats social media as a 24/7 evidence generator. Big brother…...
Padua, Italy Born in Fontaniva, in the province of Padua, Italy, life blessed Giuliano Velo with a wealthy family. His father, Bellarmino, ran a company that prefabricated buildings. Velo, however, fell in with organized crime and became a member of the Mala de Brenta also referred to as the Venetian…...
Once a playground for Italy’s southern aristocracy, Castel Volturno in present day, is a lawless wasteland. In recent decades, the seaside town, located in Campania’s province of Caserta, is home to a large immigrant population, particularly from West Africa. It is also home base to one of Italy’s oldest and…...
During the mid-1980s, the mafia, precisely boss Salvatore Biondino, ruled the San Lorenzo district of Palermo. An area once replete with historic villas, and green spaces, all replaced with blocks of poorly built apartments constructed by mafia-owned companies. At the time, the influence and violence of the mafia caused a…...
