In Italy, the largest trial in many decades in the field of criminal organizations and the underworld began today (Wednesday). The trial charges more than 320 people with involvement and responsibility for committing offenses that include extortion, drug trafficking and violent robbery.
The trial deals with the gang of “Nedrangta”, located in Calabria, located in southern Italy, “with the finger of the Italian boot”. The gang is considered the most powerful criminal organization in the country, which easily overshadows the power and might of the famous “Cosa Nostra” that operated for a long time in Sicily.
The trial is being held in a large hall in the town of Lamsia Terme in the Calabria region, specially trained for the unprecedented legal event. Beyond the sheer size of the trial in the first place, the corona restrictions also require many logistical adjustments in the complex. In addition to the hundreds of defendants in the trial, hundreds of lawyers, witnesses, prosecutors and journalists are also expected to appear. Hundreds of defendants are expected to sit in the courtroom inside designated iron cages set up for them.
Prosecutor Nicola Grattery arrives in court under heavy security (Photo: Reuters)Many of the defendants were not direct members of the criminal organization at all, and these are lawyers, accountants, businessmen, local politicians and police officers suspected of having criminal connections with the organization. According to Nicola Grattery, the chief prosecutor at the trial, many of these people helped the gang become a crime powerhouse.
In his remarks to the media, Grattery noted that as the investigation progressed, she encouraged more people to testify. “Over the past two years we have seen a series of civil lawsuits by many citizens who claim to have been harmed and created over the years due to the control of the Nrangarta gang,” Grattery said.
At least 913 witnesses are expected to testify during the trial, and 24,000 hours of interrogation and recorded conversations between members of the organization will be used. Grattery said it would take at least a year to complete the trial, assuming the court would work six days a week. Hearings are expected to open soon for 92 more suspects in the case, and their trial will begin in February. This trial is expected to deal with a long line of murders committed by the suspects.
The last time Italy engaged in such a large and well-publicized mafia trial was in 1986, against the notorious mafia organization Cosa Nostra, which operated in Palermo, Sicily. This sentence is considered a historical symbol in Italy showing the fight against organized crime in the country. “The road is still very long, but we must not give up because thousands of people believe in us and we must not disappoint them,” Prosecutor Gratry said at the conclusion.