Dec 23 2008
Roberto Saviano’s life mirrors that of the mobsters who have vowed to kill him: He has gone into hiding, even from his neighbors.
Saviano, 29, is the author who fingered the Camorra mafia in a bestseller. A month ago, Italian police learned of what they call a credible plan to murder him before Christmas. Continue Reading »
Dec 20 2008
Within hours of being arrested in a huge anti-mafia operation by Italian police this week, godfather Gaetano Lo Presti was found dead in his prison cell, hanged by his own belt.
Lo Presti’s apparent suicide has offered a tantalising insight into the inner workings of the world’s most famous mafia organisation as it struggles to rebuild its leadership in the face of a devastating offensive by Italy’s law enforcement agencies. Continue Reading »
Dec 19 2008
Gerlando Caruana was arrested in project Omerta, a Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit investigation, in 1998. Photograph by: Gazette file photo
Despite his stunning admission that he was a “man of honour” in the Sicilian Mafia while he conspired to smuggle large quantities of cocaine into Canada, Gerlando Caruana of Montreal has been turned down for full parole.
During a parole hearing held Friday morning at the Federal Training Centre in Laval, Caruana, 65, finally acknowledged that he and his younger brother Alfonso were part of the Sicilian Mafia, a extremely rare admission among those who are part of the secretive society that originated in Italy and, over the past century, carried over to countries like Canada and the U.S. Continue Reading »
Dec 18 2008
Rome — Internationally acclaimed author and journalist Roberto Saviano has told hundreds of young Italians a war is being fought by the Mafia in southern Italy every day. Speaking at Rome Tre University in the Italian capital late Wednesday, Saviano, author of the top-selling book ‘Gomorrah’, also said many of the victims of organised crime in Italy were under the age of 35. Continue Reading »
Dec 18 2008
Paolo Pesce has been on the run for 17 years and faces life imprisonment for murder. Continue Reading »
Dec 17 2008
Gaetano Lo Presti was one of nearly 100 alleged mobsters arrested in predawn raids Photo: AP
An alleged mafia boss who was arrested in a massive sweep by Italian police hanged himself in a prison cell within hours of being detained.
Police have launched an investigation into how Gaetano Lo Presti was able to commit suicide. Continue Reading »
