An appeals trial into Calabrian 'Ndrangheta mafia crimes in and around Turin on Thursday produced 45 convictions, nine more than the first-instance trial where 36 convictions were returned. Among those convicted in the 'Minotaur' case was the mayor of the town of Leinì, Nevio Coral, who got eight years in jail.
In March prosecutors requested 63 defendants be sentenced on appeal to a total of 609 years in the mega-trial into the presence of the 'Ndrangheta in the greater Turin area.
They asked the appeals court to uphold a 10-year sentence for mafia association against Mayor Coral and for 15 years against Rosario Marando, who was acquitted at his trial of first instance and who was recently arrested in Rome in connection with the kidnapping of the son of a Calabria clan boss.
The largest investigation into organized crime in the Italian north-west in the past 15 years, Minotaur began in 2006 and culminated in 146 arrests in 2011.
Prosecutors built their case around the revelations of informant Rocco Varacalli, who identified ten "locals" or 'Ndrangheta mafia groups in the greater Turin area that were in direct contact with the clans back home in Calabria.
Their operations aimed at infiltrating local administrations, muscling in on public contracts, and extortion.
The subsequent trial resulted in 38 acquittals and 36 convictions, with sentences totaling 266 years in prison and ranging from 21.5 years to 20 months.
The supreme Court of Cassation has upheld another 50 guilty verdicts.
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