Follow. “We should be careful not to speak generically about Masonry – being a Mason is not a crime.”But those arrested had used their Masonic links to further the ‘Ndrangheta’s business interests, he said, without giving further details of the British lodges.The arrested politician was Giancarlo Pittelli, a former senator with Forza Italia, the centre-Right party led by Mr Berlusconi, who was prime minister three times.We rely on advertising to help fund our award-winning journalism.We urge you to turn off your ad blocker for The Telegraph website so that you can continue to access our quality content in the future.Police seized more than 20 weapons, including rifles and side arms
Cosa Nostra State prosecutors say the arrests are the "one of the biggest blows ever inflicted" on the mafia come after the first gathering of mob families for more than 25 years. Filed Under: Dana Tyler, Frank Cali, Local TV, New York. Night-time raids were conducted by 2,500 paramilitary police officers, some of them equipped with night-vision goggles, as well as soldiers from the army’s parachute regiment and elite helicopter-borne tactical units.The coordinated raids targeted the feared ‘Ndrangheta mafia from Calabria, the southern region that forms the toe of the Italian boot.Police said they had dismantled a sophisticated criminal web that linked Mafiosi with politicians, lawyers, accountants and Freemasons.In one of the properties that was raided they found a scrap of paper with details of the secret blood oath which new members of the ‘Ndrangheta must swear, replete with esoteric references to swords and white horses.Among the 334 people arrested was a former MP in Silvio Berlusconi’s party and a colonel in the police force, as well as the head of the association of mayors in Calabria.They were charged with crimes ranging from murder and extortion to loan sharking, money laundering and mafia association.Many of the raids were conducted against ‘Ndrangheta clans in and around the town of Vibo Valentia but there were also arrests in other parts of Italy, from Tuscany and Veneto to Piedmont and Lombardy, northern regions where the ‘Ndrangheta buys up businesses to launder its criminal earnings.Property and assets worth €15 million were confiscated, in what Luciana Lamorgese, the interior minister, described as “a heavy blow” to the ‘Ndrangheta.“It’s the biggest operation since the Palermo maxi-trial,” said chief prosecutor Nicola Gratteri, referring to a trial involving 475 members of Cosa Nostra that was held inside a bunker in Palermo prison and lasted from 1986 to 1992.The operation, which was based on years of intelligence-gathering and covert surveillance, was initially scheduled for Friday but some of the suspects got wind of it, said Mr Gratteri, a renowned anti-mafia prosecutor.“We had to bring it forward by 24 hours, which was a big problem,” he said.Some of the suspects had links to Masonic lodges in England and Scotland, he said.They had “betrayed” Masonry, the prosecutor said. Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, and Bobby Cannavale also star.Netflix nabbed the rights to Martin Scorsese’s long-gestating gangster epic, The Irishman, the acclaimed director's ninth outing with Robert DeNiro. 2019 Cosa Nostra Pinot Gris $ 25.00; View.
https://www.cosanostranews.comThe alleged head of a major drug operation was shot and killed yesterday in a furious exchange of bullets with state troopers busting into his Bronx home to...The same informant also reported that Gotti often went upstairs to an apartment in the building. July 17, 2019 / 8:41 AM / CBS News ... "The investigation, dubbed 'New Connection', has registered the strong bond established between Cosa Nostra (Sicilian mafia) of …