Anti-mafia agency warns of growing risk of violence

(ANSA) - Rome, August 5 - Italy must prepare for an increase in mafia violence as a strategy of relative quiet that extended for years by organized crime has come to an end, the country's Anti-mafia Directorate said in a report to Parliament Tuesday.
    The agency said it has found signs of a coming rise in violence between mafia clans and singled out the Naples-based Camorra as the most aggressive, noting that half of the mafia murders last year were committed by groups belong to the Camorra.
    It also warned that the 'Ndrangheta mafia is a "serious and persistent threat in Calabria" and that is especially adept at infiltrating local government and has shown it has strong organization capabilities.
    The workings of the Camorra mafia were outlined in the novel Gomorrah by writer Roberto Saviano, who has been forced into 24-hour police protection after death threats from the powerful Casalesi Camorra clan.
    The agency noted that mafia organizations are getting a stronger foothold in the economy, which it said "powers the mafia and contaminates the socio-cultural environment" of communities.