12. THE ITALIAN IN BELGIUM: AN ANALYSIS OF THE BONGIORNO-STEINIER CASE*

1. Introduction Just a few years ago, there was a discussion as to whether the Italian Mafia in its various guises – the actual , the ’Ndrangheta (Calabria), the (Naples), and the Sacra Corona Unita () – could and would migrate to north- western Europe. This was obviously a relevant question: why would the Mafia stop south of the Alps, given that it had crossed over to the decades ago?1 The answer to that question has now become clear: the Mafia has already been actively and passively present in this part of Europe for a considerable time.2 The present contribution to the well-deserved liber amicorum for Prof. J. D’Haenens concerns the presence of the Mafia in Belgium. More specifically, it analyses a case that plays a crucial role in answering that question. The Bongiorno-Steinier case involved the circle of Italian immigrants, including Carmelo Bongiorno, an energetic labour subcontractor (‘gangmaster’) operating between the towns of Mons, La- Louvière, and Namur. The case began in late January 1989 with the disappearance of Stéphane Steinier, a journalist with La Nouvelle Gazette, and may soon conclude – in part – with the trial of a number of co-perpetrators/accomplices in the murder of this young man (26 years old) before the Assize Court in Mons. To analyse this case in light of the general discussion referred to at the start of my introduction, I first deal with the migration as such of the Mafia to north-western Europe. Based on reports from the State Task Force, I then indicate how the Italian Mafia has already had large parts of the New York construction industry in its grip for decades. Against this American background I next analyse the Bongiorno-Steinier case and the associated labour racketeering. Finally, I look briefly at the policy introduced in recent years, specifically owing to that case, to eradicate labour racketeering in the construction industry.

2. The Migration of the Italian Mafia to North-Western Europe It would be beyond the scope of this contribution to give a detailed account of the development of the Mafia – in the broad Italian sense of the word – in itself,

* From: ‘De Italiaanse maffia in België: een analyse van de zaak Bongiorno-Steinier’, in: H. D’Haenens, H. De Meyer and A. François (eds.), Liber amicorum J. D’Haenens, Gent, Mys en Breesch, 1993, pp. 147-163. 236 the containment of organised crime and terrorism and of how it is currently organised and operates there. Information about these matters is available in the studies by Blok, Hess, and Arlacchi et al. It is important to note, however, that in the mid-1980s there were warnings from various sides and in no uncertain terms that the Mafia had extended its activities outside Italy.3 It was already common knowledge, of course, that the Mafia trafficked in illegal narcotics partly via southern France (the ‘’).4 But the new reports indicated that it was also carrying on that trade and laundering the proceeds in other parts of Europe. For many years, that warning was not really taken seriously in north-western Europe. It was only in that police and journalists gradually began to publish reports showing that the Mafia had indeed arrived in this part of the world, and that it had gained more than a foothold.5 Those reports made clear that the Italian Mafia in Germany was active not only in drugs trafficking but also in various other fields: , counterfeiting, car theft, labour racketeering, kidnapping, prostitution, gambling, arms trafficking, swindling, etc. Increasingly, various police authorities publicly confirmed these reports, the main one being the Bundeskriminalamt.6 Not so long ago, the latter in fact concluded, on the basis of a national police study, that the Italian Mafia was indeed active throughout Germany in these areas, with all the associated phenomena: murder and mayhem between rival groups and directed at opponents or victims, arson of businesses and homes, intimidation of witnesses and interpreters, etc.7 What the relevant literature does not explain is just how the Mafia actually migrated to Germany. Some facts appear to be clear, however. There were two notable conditions for its migration: on the one hand the fact that Germany is a wealthy country and on the other the increasing pressure exerted on the Mafia by the law enforcement authorities back in Italy. In other words, it was an extremely attractive proposition for the Italian Mafia to take refuge in Germany. Among the conditions that then made it possible to develop criminal activities in Germany similar to those in Italy were, above all, the presence of a sizeable Italian community in many major cities and the fact that the police, government, and judicial authorities were insufficiently prepared to combat such activities. It should also be noted that the migration of the Mafia to Germany took place in a number of phases. It began mainly with mafiosi making use – as they still do – of the Italian community there to hide from the Italian authorities or to operate in Italy itself at lower risk. In the second phase, groups of mafiosi began utilising the same com- munity to develop all kinds of criminal activities in Germany itself: extortion aimed at pizzerias, establishment of sham companies for the distribution of narcotics, etc. And finally, they gradually developed more and more criminal activities outside the Italian community. The person who argued with the greatest authority that the Italian Mafia was also infiltrating other north-western European countries besides Germany was Judge . Of particular importance is the lecture that he gave in 1990 at a Bundeskriminalamt seminar on organised crime in Europe. Referring to the conditions already mentioned and to the further unification of the internal