Oct 01 2008
Women rising through Mafia ranks
Rome — Women are filling a power vacuum in the Naples’ Mafia left by jailed male bosses and assuming leadership roles, public prosecutor Simona Dimonte told Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Wednesday.
“Just as women are playing important roles in politics and in companies, the Camorra’s women have broken free from the hearth and are playing executive roles in the organisation,” said Dimonte.
“This is happening especially when the women’s husbands or brothers end up behind bars in a high security prison. The Camorra women become the bosses’ sole contact and transmit their orders to the outside world,” she said.
“Camorra members recognise the women’s authority because they are the bosses’ wives or sisters. In general the women don’t kill but delegate the dirty work,” Dimonte said.
There are exceptions, however, Dimonte noted. She recalled the deadly Camorra feud in the locality of Quindici in 2000 when women from the Graziano clan opened fire on women from the Cava clan, killing three of them.
Police on Tuesday arrested 26 people in the Naples area as part of a crackdown on the Camorra following the killings last month of an Italian businessman and six African immigrants in the Province of Caserta, a mob stronghold.
“The war against the Camorra will continue until it is won,” said Interior Minister Roberto Maroni.
Investigators were acting on 107 arrest warrants issued by Naples prosecutors. It was the largest operation since ‘Spartacus’ in 1998 that led to life sentences for 16 Camorra members.
About 70 of the arrest warrants were issued for suspects who are already awaiting trial or serving prison sentences for other cases.
The suspects are accused of criminal association, extortion and homicide.
Women rising through Mafia ranks – 1 Oct.2008 – AKI – This story was found at: http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.0.2527066862
