Previously dismissed mob is characterised by ‘primitive’ forms of brutality, say investigators

On 1 April, just as Italy was at the peak of its coronavirus crisis, a man in a protective face mask approached a residential home for vulnerable old people in Foggia in the southern region of Puglia. He was not coming to help residents, however, but rather to blow the home’s doors off with an explosive device.

The incident, in which fortunately no one was injured, came as no surprise to the care home’s owner, Luca Vigilante. He had only recently completed repairs following a bomb attack on the premises in January.

2,500 police deployed in raids centred on Calabria targeting members of ‘Ndrangheta

Italian military police have arrested more than 300 people including politicians and officials on suspicion of membership of the ‘Ndrangheta, in what is being described as the second biggest mafia bust in the country’s history.

About 2,500 officers participated in raids centred on the Calabrian city of Vibo Valentia on Thursday.

Windfarm entrepreneur given nine years for funding mafioso Matteo Messina Denaro

A Sicilian windfarm businessman, known as the “king of wind”, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for bankrolling the No 1 mafia fugitive, Matteo Messina Denaro.

Vito Nicastri, a former electrician from Alcamo in the province of Trapani, was one of the key funders of Denaro’s long spell on the run, a judge in Palermo ruled on Tuesday.