A court in Italy has convicted more than 230 defendants at the end of one of the country’s largest-ever mafia trials, which targeted the ‘Ndrangheta crime group in its heartland in the southern region of Calabria.
More than 330 suspected mobsters and their alleged associates, including white-collar professionals, had been facing an array of charges, such as extortion, drug trafficking and theft, in a trial that lasted almost three years.
It took judges just one hour and 40 minutes to read their verdict on Monday, Italy’s ANSA news agency reported. The heaviest penalties were handed to Saverio Razionale and Domenico Bonavota, two local Calabrian mafia leaders, both given 30-year sentences.
“Today’s ruling means a whole province of Calabria has been liberated from the top brass of the criminal group,” Nicola Gratteri, one of Italy’s best-known magistrates and a former lead prosecutor in the case, told Reuters.
Among those convicted was Giancarlo Pittelli, a lawyer and former politician with the Forza Italia party – a member of the national ruling coalition – who was sentenced to 11 years in prison for mafia collusion and passing on information.
Gratteri, who changed jobs two months ago to become chief prosecutor in Naples, said that confirming the connection between the ‘Ndrangheta and a network of professionals was a pivotal aspect of the verdict.
Link from www.aljazeera.com