If Mafia turns to legal business, will that mean checkmate? The american model.

[demoleft]

Pietro Grasso, the state attorney leading Italy's anti-Mafia campaign, explains in an interview to Italian paper La Repubblica how Cosa Nostra is changing and how interested it is in the "american model", so fit for its modern business.

Some well-known families may become a bridge between Sicily and USA for moving big sums of money and invest them in businesses - the centre of Manhattan is quoted but is just a supposition, as evidence lacks.
After the top boss Bernardo Provenzano was caught last year a new era may open for the Mafia: the chance to become legal, well-funded business in different countries, with money coming from drugs market perfectly "cleaned" and investigators losing its track.

USA is not the only country in which to invest. The necessity, for Cosa Nostra, is to invest money far from the Italian territory, where it is easily detected (houses, lands, businesses) and investigated into.
According to Mr. Grasso the american "families" did not approve the murders of top judges Falcone and Borsellino during the 90's. "They only mind business", he states.
The Italian Mafia has probably learnt the lesson and means to move now its investments where it is safe and peaceful, and where they give clean legal profit.

The american model becomes strategic: to turn to legal business.
If the american families are in control of the legal and official activities in the port of New York, asks Grasso, why should they take the risks of the drug market, that could attract on themselves the investigations of the FBI?

This is the possible model for Sicilian Mafia. It still wants to be in control of the world's drug trafficking, but not directly: it wants to leave all the risks of the dirty job to Albanians or Nigerians - Grasso quotes Africa and Balkans as new seats for drug refinery.
No more risks, no more jail.
Just nameless investments.
A bit less gains on the moment, but in the long run a surer, more granted riskless profit.
The strategy is to keep two parallel channels: one for the money, one for the drug business. The latter feeds the first, the first turns itself in legal activities. The "families" appear only in this channel, as clean investors and businessmen.

According to the Italian Attorney there's little chance a new war explodes to replace Provenzano. It is widely considered a mistake. To make agreements seems the new deal between the families. Together they stand, divided they fall as the slogan goes.

But once the operation is accomplished - will that mean checkmate and match to Cosa Nostra?

(Source, only in Italian: http://www.repubblica.it/2007/07/sezioni/cronaca/america-cosa-nostra/mafia-america-sicilia/mafia-america-sicilia.html)

[madfloridian]

1. "Some well-known families may become a bridge between Sicily and USA"

Does it name any names? :hi:

[demoleft]

2. Two names...

...A certain Mr. "Calì" is said to be the ambassador. Mr Grasso says he's of Sicilian-American origin, no more - he can't uncover investigations, maybe. I had never heard the name.
Calì is said to be the one who's managing relations between Sicilian and American families.
Then there is the return of the Inzerillo family in Sicily - they had bloody contrasts with the Corleone winning families. His return is considered a signal of new peaceful pacts among the families. In the interview a reference is made to the New Jersey "cousins" of Sicilians, and their model of business.

What matters to me is: once they start running legal activities, how will investigations get them?
Are we going to chase Albanians - the smaller fishes in the sea - and lose track of the sharks?