Italian police and the FBI
arrested 19 people in a big joint operation on Wednesday after a
probe revealed alleged ties between Sicily's Cosa Nostra mafia
and New York's Gambino Crime Family.
The Italian side the operation, which involved over 200
police and was code-named 'New Connection', targeted the
Inzerillo clan, a Palermo group that was decimated by late Cosa
Nostra 'boss of bosses' Totò Riina in a turf war in the 1980s.
Investigators believe that the Inzerillo clan had
reconstructed its stronghold in the Palermo district of Passo di
Rigano.
The suspects, alleged bosses and underlings, are accused of
crimes including mafia association, aggravated extortion and
fraud.
Their ring allegedly had its paws in a wide range of
businesses, such as wholesale food supplies, gambling outlets
and online betting.
The arrested people included Francesco and Tommaso Inzerillo,
respectively the brother and cousin of Totuccio Inzerillo, a
boss murdered by Riina's Corleonesi group in the 1980s.
Salvatore Gambino, the mayor of the province of Palermo town
of Torretta, was arrested too.
He is accused of external participation in mafia association.
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