Framing Mafia Infiltration in the Public Construction Industry in Italy, Final
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FFRAMING MMAFIA NFILTRATION IN THE IINFILTRATION IN THE PPUBLIC CCONSTRUCTIO N IINDUSTRY IN IITALY FINAL REPORT A study financed by the Commission d’enquête sur l’octroi et la gestion des contrats publics dans l’industrie de la construction (Contract No. xxxxxxx) Submitted by Valentina Tenti , Ph.D., Researcher in Criminology Montreal, August 2nd 2012 1 Mafia Infiltration in the Public Construction Industry in Italy. A review of case studies Document written by Valentina Tenti, Ph.D., and edited by the Quebec‟s Commission d‟enquete sur l‟octroi et la gestion des contrats publics de la construction 2 Mafia Infiltration in the Public Construction Industry in Italy. A review of case studies Table of contents Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................................. 5 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 7 1. Aim and objectives of the report ............................................................................................................. 7 2. Working definitions................................................................................................................................. 8 Organized crime ......................................................................................................................... 8 Mafia infiltration ........................................................................................................................ 9 Mafia enterprise ........................................................................................................................ 10 3. Data sources and analysis ...................................................................................................................... 11 Literature review ...................................................................................................................... 12 Access and analysis of case studies .......................................................................................... 12 4. Limitations ............................................................................................................................................ 16 5. Report structure ..................................................................................................................................... 17 PART I ............................................................................................................................................................ 19 COSA NOSTRA ................................................................................................................................................. 21 1.1 Structure and organization .................................................................................................................... 23 1.1.1 The structure of the Cosa Nostra families ............................................................................... 24 1.1.2 Coordination mechanisms in Cosa Nostra .............................................................................. 26 1.2 Rituals and codes of conduct ................................................................................................................. 29 1.3 Functions and goals ............................................................................................................................... 32 THE „NDRANGHETA ......................................................................................................................................... 37 2.1 Structure and organization .................................................................................................................... 38 2.1.2 The structure of the „Ndrangheta families............................................................................... 39 2.1.2 Coordination mechanisms in the „Ndrangheta ....................................................................... 42 2.2 Rituals and codes of conduct ................................................................................................................. 45 3 Mafia Infiltration in the Public Construction Industry in Italy. A review of case studies 2.3 Functions and goals ............................................................................................................................... 46 THE CAMORRA ................................................................................................................................................ 51 3.1 Structure and organization ..................................................................................................................... 52 3.2 Rituals and codes of conduct ................................................................................................................. 53 3.3 Functions and goals ............................................................................................................................... 54 PART II ........................................................................................................................................................... 57 CASE STUDY NO. 1: SICILY Master builders, Master criminals: corruption and racketeering in the Sicilian construction industry ........... 59 CASE STUDY NO. 2: CALABRIA Free port: mafia infiltration in the works for the completion of the Gioia Tauro port .................................... 67 CASE STUDY NO.3: CAMPANIA Insight into the “System”: mafia infiltration by Camorra clans ...................................................................... 74 Findings and Conclusions ................................................................................................................................ 81 7.1 A catalog of organized criminal activities in Italy‟s construction industry ........................................... 81 7.2 Elements of how mafia infiltration occurs in the public construction industry in Italy ........................ 86 7.3 Why the construction industry is permeable to organized crime........................................................... 90 7.3.1 Racketeering susceptibility ..................................................................................................... 91 7.3.2 Racketeering potential ............................................................................................................. 94 7.4 Concluding remarks ............................................................................................................................... 95 References ....................................................................................................................................................... 97 4 Mafia Infiltration in the Public Construction Industry in Italy. A review of case studies 5 Mafia Infiltration in the Public Construction Industry in Italy. A review of case studies Acknowledgments The author wishes to express her thanks to TRANCRIME - Joint Research Centre on Transnational Crime (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore-Università degli Studi di Trento) where she was provided the opportunity to develop her expertise in the study of organized crime and crime prevention issues from January 2006 to October 2009. Acknowledgment is due to Ernesto U. Savona, Professor in Criminology at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan and Director of TRANCRIME. The author must also thanks Francesco Calderoni (researcher at TRANCRIME) and Sara Martocchia (former researcher at TRANCRIME) with whom the author has collaborated as a researcher in the project Implementation of criminal analyses – Macro-activity 3. Case studies, conducted by TRANCRIME in the period 2007-2008. This research project was financed by the Ministry of the Interior, Department of Public Safety (Italy) within the National Operational Programme for the Development of Southern Italy. From that experience, the author has significantly benefited in developing her knowledge of the inward working of the Italian organized crime and her expertise in the assessment of the risk of mafia infiltration in the legitimate industries. Sections of this work are the result of that experience. 6 Mafia Infiltration in the Public Construction Industry in Italy. A review of case studies 7 Mafia Infiltration in the Public Construction Industry in Italy. A review of case studies Introduction 1. Aim and objectives of the report The aim of the present study is to outline the Italian mafia organizations, namely Cosa Nostra, „Ndrangheta and Camorra, and to frame the phenomenon of mafia infiltration in the public construction industry in Italy. In particular, the main objectives of the report are: 1. to single out specificities of the southern Italian mafia phenomenon and to provide a description of the three traditional Italian organized crime groups (Cosa Nostra, „Ndrangheta and Camorra); 2. to illustrate patterns of mafia infiltration in the public construction industry in Italy; Drawing on the understanding of the above objectives, this study will sharpen our understanding of the Italian organized crime phenomenon in Italy in the first place. It will also provide a depiction on the dynamics of mafia infiltration in the public construction industry in Italy in an attempt to illustrate how and why Italian organized crime groups have plagued this industry. This will be done through the examination of evidence from past research