In the first sentencing in one of the country’s largest-ever mafia trials, an Italian judge found 70 defendants guilty.
The case includes the ‘Ndrangheta clan, which is centered in Calabria, Italy’s boot heel, and is considered by prosecutors to be the country’s most powerful mafia organization, significantly outnumbering the more well-known Cosa Nostra gang in Sicily.
The weekend trial comprised 91 defendants and permitted those who were convicted to have their sentences cut by a third.
Prosecutors sentenced some of the individuals identified as prominent ‘Ndrangheta members to prison terms of up to 20 years.
The first punishment, according to chief prosecutor Nicola Gratteri, served as a foundation for the larger proceedings, which began in January in the Calabrian city of Lamezia Terme and involved more than 300 accused.
Extortion, drug trafficking, and theft are among the crimes leveled against the mobsters.
Gratteri one of the country’s most respected anti-mafia magistrates, said “We continue our job with the tranquility and firmness required for such an important trial.”
He went on to say that the majority of the 19 defendants acquitted in the trial were only minor suspects.
The last time Italy tried hundreds of alleged Mafiosi at the same time was in 1986 in Palermo, Sicily, a case that marked a turning point in the struggle against Cosa Nostra and the start of the organization’s steep decline.
In contrast to the Palermo case, the Calabrian prosecution features a large number of white-collar workers and does not target the ‘Ndrangheta clans’ top hierarchy.
