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From Mafia to Organised Crime pp 61–100Cite as

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Case Study 1: Italy and the Structure Model

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Abstract

The third chapter presents the findings from the research in Italy, combining interviews with experts and law enforcement and document analysis to build a discourse around the Italian policing system against mafia and organised crime. The two historical focuses of the chapter are the events surrounding the Sicilian mafia in the 1990s and the rise of the Calabrian ‘ndrangheta. This chapter focuses on the overlapping of the concepts of organised crime and mafia in institutional perceptions in Italy, considering the latest evolution in jurisprudence. It assesses the importance of criminal law provisions and prosecution in the fight against criminal and social dimensions of the mafia phenomenon in the country for the understanding of the Italian structure model of policing organised crime and mafia.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Operazione “Mandanti Occulti Bis”, Procura Della Repubblica presso il Tribunale di Caltanissetta, R.G.N.R. DDA No. 4645/00, Richiesta di Archiviazione.

  2. 2.

    With the word ‘ndrangheta added to the offence of mafia membership in article 416-bis of the Italian Criminal Code (law decree converted with Gazzetta Ufficiale 03.04.2010, No.78).

  3. 3.

    Operation Decollo I, No. 1779-6541/2001 R.G.N.R. DDA.

  4. 4.

    Operation Porto, No. 35/96 and 84/97 R.G.N.R. DDA.

  5. 5.

    Operation Olimpia, No. 86/96 R.G. GIP DDA.

  6. 6.

    Operation Crimine, No.1389/2008 R.G.N.R. DDA.

  7. 7.

    Operation Aemilia, No. 20604/10 R.G.N.R. DDA Bologna, 17375/11 R.G.N.R. GIP.

  8. 8.

    Operazione Mondo di Mezzo, No. 30546/10 R.G.N.R. Roma.

  9. 9.

    Operazione Mondo di Mezzo, No. 30546/10 R.G.N.R. Roma, p. 31.

  10. 10.

    Corte di Cassazione, sez. VI pen. 10 March 2015 [dep. 9 June 2015], no. 24535, p. 21.

  11. 11.

    Article 416-bis (Italian) Criminal Code. Mafia-type unlawful association.

    1. 1.

      Any person participating in a Mafia-type unlawful association including three or more persons shall be liable to imprisonment for 5–10 years.

    2. 2.

      Those persons promoting, directing or organising the said association shall be liable, for this sole offence, to imprisonment for 7–12 years.

    3. 3.

      Mafia-type unlawful association is said to exist when the participants take advantage of the intimidating power of the association and of the resulting conditions of submission and silence to commit criminal offences, to manage or in any way control, either directly or indirectly, economic activities, concessions, authorizations, public contracts and services, or to obtain unlawful profits or advantages for themselves or for any other persons, or with a view to prevent or limit the freedom to vote, or to get votes for themselves or for other persons on the occasion of an election.

    4. 4.

      Should the association be of the armed type, the punishment shall be imprisonment for 7–15 years pursuant to paragraph 1 and imprisonment for 10–24 years pursuant to paragraph 2.

    5. 5.

      An association is said to be of the armed type when the participants have firearms or explosives at their disposal, even if hidden or deposited elsewhere, to achieve the objectives of the said association.

    6. 6.

      If the economic activities whose control the participants in the said association aim at achieving or maintaining are funded, totally or partially, by the price, the products or the proceeds of criminal offences, the punishments referred in the above paragraphs shall be increased by one-third to one-half.

    7. 7.

      The offender shall always be liable to confiscation of the things that were used or meant to be used to commit the offence and of the things that represent the price, the product or the proceeds of such offence or the use thereof.

    8. 8.

      The provisions of this article shall also apply to the Camorra, the ‘ndrangheta and to any other associations, whatever their local titles, seeking to achieve objectives that correspond to those of Mafia-type unlawful association by taking advantage of the intimidating power of the association.

  12. 12.

    Corte di Cassazione, sez. VI, no. 18459 – 22 January 2015.

  13. 13.

    Corte di Cassazione, Sez. VI, no. 1612 – 11 January 2000, Ferone, Rv. 216632.

  14. 14.

    Operazione Mondo di Mezzo, No. 30546/10 R.G.N.R. Roma, p. 32.

  15. 15.

    Corte di Cassazione, sez. II, no. 34147 – 21–30 April 2015.

  16. 16.

    Tribunale di Genova, no. 2268/10 R.G.N.R., no. 4432/12 R.G. GIP, p. 6.

  17. 17.

    Tribunale di Genova, no. 2268/10 R.G.N.R., no. 4432/12 R.G. GIP, p. 338.

  18. 18.

    Corte di Cassazione, s.u. 5.10.1994, no.16 Demitry.

  19. 19.

    Corte di Cassazione, s.u. 27.09.1995 no.30 Mannino; Corte di Cassazione, s.u. 30.10.2002 no.22327 Carnevale; Corte di Cassazione, s.u. 12.07.2005 no. 33748 Mannino.

  20. 20.

    Corte di Cassazione, 14.07.1987, Cillari, no. 8092.

  21. 21.

    Corte di Cassazione, s. VI, 05/05/2009, Bono et al, no. 24469.

  22. 22.

    Tribunale di Catania, Sezione G.I.P., Proc. Pen. No. 4888/07 R.G.N.R. – no. 3496/08 R.G. GIP, p. 109.

  23. 23.

    European Court of Human Rights, S.IV, Contrada v. Italy, 14.04.2015, no. 66655/13.

  24. 24.

    Corte Costituzionale, no. 0048/2015, G.U. 01.04.2015.

  25. 25.

    Corte di Cassazione, s.u 12.07.2005, no. 33748, and Corte di Cassazione, s.VI, 18.06.2014 no. 33885.

  26. 26.

    Corte di Cassazione, s.u 21.04.2015, no. 34147.

  27. 27.

    Tribunale di Catania, Sezione G.I.P., Proc. Pen. No. 4888/07 R.G.N.R. – no. 3496/08 R.G. GIP, p. 117.

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    Anna Sergi

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Sergi, A. (2017). Case Study 1: Italy and the Structure Model. In: From Mafia to Organised Crime. Critical Criminological Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53568-5_3

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