Anti-mafia police released
unprecedented footage of a swearing-in ceremony of the
Calabrian-based 'Ndrangheta mafia, shot undercover as part of an
investigation that led to the arrest of 40 suspected mafiosi on
Tuesday.
"It's the first time that the swearing-in, with the
awarding of roles and tasks, has been documented live," said
Milan Prosecutor Ilda Boccassini.
Previously, details of the ceremony that bestows on
mobsters membership in the so-called "santa" (holy) level - the
highest in the 'Ndrangheta - had only ever been recounted
second-hand by former mobsters providing evidence to the State.
The film released by police, shot using a hidden camera, is
poor quality but shows several men sitting on chairs pulled in a
circle.
"In this holy night, in the silence of the night and under
the starlight and the shining moon, I create the holy chain.
With humble words, I create the holy society," says a
dark-haired mafia leader wearing a baseball cap.
The others are warned to use a cyanide capsule and commit
suicide rather than ever betraying their mob clan.
Police later said one of the initiates, who were all
ordered to swear loyalty for the next seven generations of their
families, was only 17 years old.
The secret film came as part of a two-year probe of the
crime syndicate that also led to numerous arrests.
Three of the 'Ndrangheta suspects were put under house
arrest while the rest were taken to jail.
Those arrested in a police sweep across the northern
regions of Lombardy and Veneto and on the southern island region
of Sicily were charged with mafia association, extortion, and
illegal weapons possession.
Investigators claimed the suspects belonged to three clans
operating in the Lombardy provinces of Como and Lecco where they
had infiltrated the local community.
The film of the affiliation ceremony was made during a
convivial gathering of members of the three clans known as a
'mangiata' (feast) and includes references to Giuseppe Mazzini,
Giuseppe Garibaldi and Alfonso La Marmora - three leading
figures of the 19th century Risorgimento movement for Italian
unification.
Investigators said that Garibaldi represented the local
clan leader, Mazzini the treasurer and La Marmora another
high-ranking member.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said Tuesday
that the State must use "all the force at its disposal" to
protect magistrates from the mafia, particularly in Palermo.
He spoke after a meeting of the national committee for
public order and security to discuss the authorities' response
to threats to Sicilian magistrates from organized crime.
"We will use all the force the State has at its disposal,
in terms of men and equipment," said Alfano.
The meeting was called after former mafia boss Vito
Galatolo revealed plans to assassinate prosecutors
including Palermo's Nino Di Matteo, who has also been threatened
from jail by former Cosa Nostra Mafia "boss of bosses" Toto'
Riina.
Galatolo said mafia figures also had a cache of explosives
for the planned attacks, triggering a police hunt for the
weapons.
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