Sicily has the Mafia. Calabria the 'Ndrangheta. Naples the Camorra. Then the Sacra Corona Unita from Apulia. So why doesn't Basilicata have its own "regional" branch? Or is it controlled by 'Ndrangheta?

There's a small postmodern group who call themselves the Basilischi. My Mom's side is from Matera, and I've been all over that region. I honestly think the area is almost TOO poor to be exploited for financial gain. It's absolutely prehistoric in some sections. Just to give you an example, when Mel Gibson filmed "The Passion of the Christ," he chose Matera for the crucifixion scene because it's one of the most unchanged areas of the world these past 2000 years.

Very interesting...I always wondered why it seemed that region was largely ignored in discussions when it came to organized crime, guess you can't get blood from a turnip, huh? Thanks for the info PB.

Yeah, blood from a turnip. Good one .

That's just my opinion, of course. But it's still one of the poorest regions in the entire country. And I think that plays at least a small part in things.

Plus, Matera is the center of Basilicata, and it's well inland. There's no port to exploit, like in Reggio or the Port of Sicily for instance.

It's one of the most beautiful places you'll ever see, though. If you ever have the chance I'd highly recommend passing through the region.

Here's a Criminology article written about them:

https://www.academia.edu/633694/Fifth_Column_Italys_Fifth_Mafia_the_Basilischi

I've never seen that! Thanks, DS. I'm gonna read it right now .

No worries mate, I know the author indirectly through a colleague who works in a similar field so will keep my eyes skinned for anything else that comes up about them.

An operation coordinated by the District Anti-Mafia Directorate of Potenza against drug trafficking in Basilicata. In particular, the 16 people arrested are accused of being members, in various capacities, of an association "aimed at the illicit trafficking of narcotic substances, aggravated by being armed and using the mafia method". More than one hundred Carabinieri are engaged, with the collaboration of the "Cacciatori Puglia" helicopter squadron, it is affecting the provinces of Matera, Potenza, Mantua, Reggio Emilia, Treviso and Milan.

"The territory of the Basilicata region, although far from the danger levels in place in other regions, nevertheless presents fearsome indigenous formations in the process of recompaction and reorganization as well as evidence of permeability by the criminal consortia of the neighboring regions".

Lucanian organized crime is evolving in an increasingly structured way, trying to infiltrate the local economy through conduct of corruption towards politicians, public officials and compliant entrepreneurs, or through the act of intimidating.

From Vulture to Metapontino, from Potenza to Matera, Basilicata presents a worrying picture that requires rapid and concrete interventions.

There are continuous attempts to register new players, the traffic in drugs is increasing, which is influenced by the territorial proximity to the Calabrian, Apulian and Campania organizations.

There is a criminal conduct made of methods and organizational structures presumably reproduced by those of the Calabrian groups of the Ndrangheta and which can count on a great availability of weapons and economic resources.

The Lucani clans of today have a strong aptitude to reinvest the illicit proceeds in apparently lawful economic activities, control the territory with acts of force (even striking), threaten journalists who beak into their business through investigations, with internal and external disputes with high groups operating on the same territory, resulting in attempted murders, assaults, and shootings.

Operation against the Schettino clan based in Scanzano Jonico, 7 arrests charged with drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping aggravating the circumstance of the mafia method. The territory concerned is that of the Lucanian Ionian coast and more generally the province of Matera and the time period investigated starts from 2012 until December 2016. Among them the boss Gerardo Schettino, a former Carabiniere, and his son Giuseppe.

When the Mafia Serves Coffee in the Courthouse
Investigators in a small southern Italian city say they discovered a criminal network that expanded all the way to a cafe at the judicial building.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/04/world/europe/italy-mafia-courthouse.html

Aaaah they poor fellas, they were just trying to make an honest living selling cappuccino and expresso.