For the first time, police in Italy claim they have obtained video of a secret swearing-in ritual for the ‘ndrangheta crime syndicate – the world’s largest.
Carabinieri investigators didn’t reveal how they were able to secretly film the recruiting ceremony near a farmhouse in northern Italy. Their probe cracked down on mobsters’ extorting businesses in the northern Lombardy region and across the border in Switzerland and led to 40 arrests.
Milan Prosecutor Ilda Boccassini told reporters on Tuesday (November 18) the video shows how “the force of tradition” helps the ‘ndrangheta, a global cocaine trafficking organization, to thrive.
The ceremony filmed involved initiating a member as a “Santa,” the highest rank in the organization. It took place at a mangiata, or feast, of three clans. Members referred to each other and their absent colleagues with the names of 19th century Italian unification leaders, like Guiseppe Garibaldi, whose name was used for one of the three clan leaders. A larger meeting involved assigning jobs and roles to each member and organizing a chain of leadership among the clans.
Prosecutors said a 17-year-old boy was among those sworn in. The syndicate, rooted in the southern Calabrian region, spread north as it invested its illicit revenues in legitimate businesses.
The oath reminds recruits that traitors will be expected to kill themselves.
