Very insightful article.

Great post Baldo.
Appreciated.


It's amazing it's not illegal to be a member of the mafia. Or a 1% OMC. These are undisputed criminal organizations. If it is legal to ban certain organizations due to being contrary to the interests of society (eg KKK), then why are these not on that list.

Love to hear the argument against.

My opinion on this is that one is a hate group(KKK) and the other (mafia) is a criminal organization. Most mafia members will not admit they are are members.This makes it harder for law informent to prove they are members and the ones that do will only admit to it after they are caught and may use it to get a lighter sentence.
What I find puzzling is how much proof does law inforcement need for the 1% OMC that wear their patches openly; aren't they telling the world that they are members of the criminal organization.

For an injuction like that(I believe that's what you're referring to, SB, unless I'm mistaken) there has to be a certain area, groups and matching identifying appearance of some sorts for it to work.

For instance, as it works on gangs: Gang apparel, each gang has a different team they use to identify themselves, colors, tattoos and of course, a certain turf. You can't do that to mafia.

As far as MCs go, they're mainly started as a movement or simply a club. Hells Angels are a corporation(if I'm not mistaken) who have legal representatives and codemarked their logo. I know that when I played GTA SA:MP, Hells Angels lawyer would sign up to certain forums and threaten to sue people who made mods for the game based on Hells Angels(used the logo and whatnot). MCs aren't strictly criminal empires.

I am surprised how disciplined these two flower businessmen were.They would get to work early, work long hours, drive average cars not wear expensive watches and all. Normally people in this type of business (illicit drugs)live luxurious life styles.

It's not uncommon with these guys. It will also help them when doing time.

Because in a free society, you can't make it illegal to be a membership of an organization. In the US, I think it's covered under the "free assembly" part of the Constitution. You can freely associate with any person or group (even if they're criminal or radical). That’s why RICO laws require that someone partake in at least two crimes as part of a criminal organization. That effectively is punishing someone for being in the Mafia, but you still have to prove it on a case by case basis.

Terrorists are the only ones largely exempt from this and I'm not even trying to have that debate

Ted in Italy there are the art 416 penale code associazione a delinquere (conspiracy) where the people that made a deal for create a organization that use violence for their needs are santionated once proved the existance of the deal; so every people even white collar men that are associated for break the law can be arrested.
The 416 bis associazione a delinquere di stampo mafioso (mafia type conspirancy) sentence the organization that fall under the OC group localy named (ndrangheta,camorra etc).

The people in the fist case risk to 3 y to 7 y and in the second case over 14 y.
But is based on the italian experiences against the mafia that started with the Rognoni-La Torre law in 1982.
So in the other state apart the RICO there are no simil law.

And that's my point Ted. You can and they have and there are.

The KKK, Nazi party etc are all illegal organizations (and rightly so) which leads to my point, if you CAN ban groups (for whatever reason) then why not 1% and the mob.

Appreciate the above responses from all. But still confuzzled.

It's a difference between organizations that commit crimes and organizations that spread massive hatred towards a certain group. That's the way I see it, anyway.

The oldtimers do. It's the younger generation that doesn't know how to behave.

What do you mean? It isn't illegal to be a KKK or Nazi member.

In the US its legal to create the American Nazi Party or the kkk, so its legal to be member of a racist organization, this is the beautiful of the freedom that gave to possibility to everyone dont mean how idiot,racist,machist ecc can be; he can do it dot.
In Italy in the Costitution is forbitten to try to re-create the fascist party.

Severe sentences are being sought by prosecutors. Link to Italian-language article:

http://www.strill.it/calabria/2016/11/pr...-della-locride/

I owe Sonny Black, eurodave, and Ciment some replies. Sorry I haven't had the time to reply, as I want to reply at length.

Some important names among them.

Vincenzo Macri is not mentioned, he's a fugitve.

Link to Italian-language article published today:

"Coca e tulipani, così la 'ndrangheta usa i fiori per il traffico di droga"
http://espresso.repubblica.it/attualita/...7812?refresh_ce

A recent Dutch investigation showed the Calabrians are still active in Aalsmeer. Flowers are an ideal cover because it are fresh products moved across Europe there's no time to check the trucks.

The Mob has always tried to deny its own existence. That kind of went out the window when guys started flipping, but it's made it harder for law enforcement to prove who's a member and who isn't. (I guess that's why under RICO, they call it "racketeering enterprise" rather than being a member or associate of the mob. The 1% bikers get around it by pretending to only a brotherhood of guys who like to ride bikes. The fact that bikers are generally openly patriotic makes people cut them a lot of slack, too. (Maybe just my opinion)

The Italian judiciary has seized hotels, apartments and 26 bank accounts from Vincenzo and Rocco Crupi. The brothers ran more than 20 years, a flower export company in Holland.
The Crupi's were arrested in September 2015. The clan around the brothers worked in the trade of cocaine, bankruptcy fraud and scams. The case came to light after the Italian police had warned the Dutch justice that the mafia in the Netherlands wanted to murder someone.
According to Italian media, the judiciary has seized 13 flower companies, 22 apartments, 21 shops, 2 hotels (in Rome and Arezzo), all in Italy. In South America, the police seized pieces of land. Total value would be around 30 million euros.
According Agro-check, a company that investigates questionable firms in the flower business, the mafia is still active on the Aalsmeer flower auction.

Macri has been captured in Brazil!

^^^^
"Mafia fugitive arrested at Brazil airport said to be key crime figure linking Canada and Italy's mobsters"

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/...italys-mobsters

When did pumadoru spend time in a US prison?

He was arrested by the FBI in 1990--I'd have to look up when he started serving time.

We know he was released in 2002:

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s229/sh/6...b53d01a1d0b0720

He was arrested in Operation ONIG, named after the informant "Gino" who infiltrated a drug cartel on the east coast backed by LCN. That was in 1994.

Vincenzo was just 10 years old when they killed his father in 1975 the start of the first 'ndrangheta civil war.

Project ONIG investigated collaboration between members of the Montreal Mafia, the Siderno Group in Calabria, the Colombian cartels, the Sicilian mafia, and Asian OC. The Vincenzo Macrì arrested in relation to this investigation --"u baruni"--is someone different from the just recently arrested Macrì.

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s229/sh/c...451f5908f8dcd98

You may be right this Vincenzo was arrested earlier in Delaware I think.