The Mafia Capitale is the name given to an
organized crime
Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...
organization,
and subsequent investigation, involving the government of the city of
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, in which members stole money destined for city services and carried out other criminal activities such as
racketeering
Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercion, coercive, fraud, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. ...
,
conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
,
money laundering
Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
,
illegal works, and
bribery
Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or Offer and acceptance, acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official ...
in the public administration. It operated in the city of Rome.
In 2020, Italy's
Supreme Court of Cassation
A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...
ruled out the
mafia
"Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...
character of the criminal acts.
Background
A police investigation by Rome's chief prosecutor Giuseppe Pignatone revealed a network of corrupt relationships between some politicians and criminals in the Italian capital, which attracted international attention.
It led to a request of 37 arrests.
The criminal actions took advantage of the recent influx of immigrants to Italy, gaining public contracts to manage migrant reception centres.
[ The criminal organization also used its connections to secure lucrative public contracts, before accepting payments for substandard or, sometimes, non-existent services. Among those investigated are former mayor ]Gianni Alemanno
Giovanni "Gianni" Alemanno (born 3 March 1958) is an Italian politician who from April 2008 until June 2013 was mayor of Rome for The People of Freedom. He was the secretary of the National Movement for Sovereignty from 2017 to 2019.
Career
At ...
and the bosses Salvatore Buzzi and Massimo Carminati
Massimo Carminati (; born 31 May 1958), referred by the press as one of "the kings of Rome", and in the context of the onset of the "Mafia Capitale" investigation nicknamed as ''il Cecato'' ("The Blinded One"), is an Italian underworld figure and ...
, a former member of Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari
The Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari (), abbreviated NAR, was an Italian neofascist, neo-fascist armed militant organization active during the Years of Lead (Italy), Years of Lead from 1977 to November 1981. It committed over 100 murders in four year ...
and Banda della Magliana
The ''Banda della Magliana'' (, the "Magliana Gang") was an Italian criminal organization based in Rome. It was founded in 1975. Given by the media, the name refers to the original neighbourhood, the Magliana, of some of its members.
The '' ...
,'Ndrangheta
The 'Ndrangheta (, , ) is a mafia-type organized crime, criminal syndicate originating from the Calabria region of Italy. Gratteri & Nicaso, ''Fratelli di Sangue'', pp. 65–68 This body, also referred to as the Commission in reference to the ...
.
A 1,200-page arrest warrant was issued in December 2014, and was followed by dozens of arrests.mafia association
In Italian law, Article 41-bis of the Prison Administration Act, also known as carcere duro ("hard prison regime"), is a provision that allows the Minister of Justice or the Minister of the Interior to suspend certain prison regulations and impose ...
was filed, including the allegations of corruption and illicit funding. On 20 July 2017, Carminati was sentenced to 20 years in jail, along with other various sentences of his associates. On 11 September 2018, Carminati was sentenced to 14 years and six months on appeal, with Buzzi sentenced to 18 years and four months.
In popular culture
The events of the Mafia Capitale investigation are the basis for the 2015 film ''Suburra
The Suburra, or ''Subura'' (from the latin ''Subura'') was a vast and populous neighborhood of Ancient Rome, located below the '' Murus Terreus'' on the '' Carinae'' and stretching on the slopes of the Quirinal and Viminal hills up to the offs ...
'', as well as the 2017 TV series '' Suburra: Blood on Rome''.
References
{{Reflist
1999 establishments in Italy
2014 disestablishments in Italy
Crime in Rome
Organized crime events in Italy
Organised crime groups in Italy
Italian Mafia