Dec 20 2006
ITALIAN POLICE ARREST SCORES IN CRACKDOWN ON MAFIA CLAN IN SOUTHERN ITALY
ROME: Italian police said Wednesday they were arresting scores of people in a crackdown on a Mafia clan in the southern Italian city of Bari, including several women alleged to have a leading role in the organization.
The Carabinieri paramilitary police said they were looking for more than 100 suspected mobsters in Bari. The suspects were accused of Mafia association, drug trafficking, illegal possession of weapons and attempting to smuggle drugs into prisons where Mafia bosses were being held.
Police did not say how many had been apprehended so far, but said those arrested included eight women.
Police said the women were suspected ensuring that orders given by imprisoned Mafia bosses were carried out. They allegedly provided for the payment of legal fees to lawyers as well as paying associates of the clan, police said.
Women have started taking a more active role in the mob as Mafia men are put behind bars in crackdowns, investigators say. However, female Mafia bosses remain rare.
Police also seized €25 million (US$33 million) worth of assets, which included butcher’s shop, clothing stores and several apartments.
| The Associated Press - Published: 2006-12-20 03:40:03 - http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/20/europe/EU_GEN_Italy_Mafia_Arrests.php
