A raft of major trials into the
Calabria-basd 'Ndrangheta mafia's infiltration of the economy of
he northern region of Piedmont are under threat because courts'
inability to set up video conferences with jailed mafiosi who
are COVID positive but asymptomatic, Turin prosecutors say.
The prosecutors in the Piedmont capital are set to send a
warning over the threat to Italy's anti-mafia directorate and
the penitentiary agency DAP, sources said Tuesday.
Due to the lack of videolinks, they said, hearings have suffered
long delays.
These delays are threatening to allow convicts out of jail as
their preventive custody terms expire, the prosecutors have
warned.
At least one trial has already been derailed.
It was the 'Phoenix-Carminius' 'maxi-trial' at the court in
Asti.
'Ndrangheta has long infiltrated the economies of Piedmont and
other northern and central regions.
It is Italy's richest and most powerful mafia thanks to its
control of the European cocaine trade.
The other mafias in Italy are Sicily's Cosa Nostra, and the
Camorra in Campania.
There is a smaller mafia in Puglia, the sacra Corona Unita
(United Holy Crown, SCU), which is generally considered less
dangerous and expansive.
But Italy's top anti-mafia prosecutor on Monday dubbed it public
enemy no.1.
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