The Canadian citizen / Scarpinato and Nicaso: here are the intertwining between mafia, politics and economy - by Vittorio Giordano
05/25/2022 15:37
MONTRÉAL \ aise \ - “The “ Great Game ”of power . This is the theme of the conference which, on May 17 last, saw Professor Antonio Nicaso and Prosecutor Roberto Scarpinato "tell" to the approximately 80 people present at the Italian Cultural Institute in Montreal the discreet but invasive role that organized crime takes place in today's globalized and interconnected world. A very widespread international phenomenon in Canada, favored by a banking system that favors investments without investigating the origin of the funds. So much so that it would be enough to follow the 'trajectory' of capital to understand how organized crime moves today ”. Vittorio Giordano writes about itwho in Montreal directs the weekly Canadian Citizen .
“A strategy intuited a few decades ago by Giovanni Falcone. “Films and TV series - said Scarpinato - tell a false story: on the one hand the ugly, dirty and bad ones, on the other the angels. The truth is that the two worlds are intertwined. Through the investigation, I found myself in Parliament, the Council of Ministers, banks and even the Vatican. And I began to understand that the real mobsters, the most dangerous ones, are not those who shoot, but they are those who have a degree and who sit on the highest floors of the social pyramid. I found that some of the most prominent Mafia leaders were doctors, engineers and architects. The mafia has become a system of power. This is because with the votes of the mafia many have become important politicians;
“When I came to Canada in 1989 - Nicaso said - I felt the same feeling that a kid can feel when he enters a candy shop, because in this country there are all the mafias in the world. In 1982 they killed an accountant who had looked after the interests of the Cotroni family. Then he chose to look after the interests of the Rizzuto family as well. He was killed and in their pockets they found bank slips relating to deposits attributable to the children of the former mayor of Palermo, Vito Ciancimino. He understood perfectly well how the Sicilian Mafia invested in Montreal. And this is because until 2000, in Canada, there was no ceiling for the introduction of cash. Falcone becomes dangerous when he begins to poke his nose into banks and the economy. Some time ago, a small Canadian Falcon, Mark Bourque,
He seizes his checking account, but it is his sentence. The banks protest and the Supreme Court of Canada rules that money, once it enters the bank, is an accounting note and not a tangible asset. And therefore it cannot be seized. Our investigator, transferred to the escort service, will die years later on a United Nations mission in Haiti. That death has this country on its conscience ”.
“What seems interesting to me - underlined Scarpinato - is that the history of the mafia is no longer an Italian history, but a world one. The mafia is becoming one of the most important capitalist powers in the world. With globalization, millions and millions of people around the world are looking for the same lifestyle as in the West: Ferrari, Valentino clothes, but also drugs, gambling, prostitution, counterfeit luxury products. There has been a worldwide demand for goods and services produced by the mafias. The mafia is therefore turning into a trading agency that sells drugs, prostitutes and counterfeit products to millions and millions of ordinary people. All the magistracies of the world, every year, despite their efforts, manage to seize only 10-15% of the global turnover of the drugs that are produced, 85% enter trade and become capital. (…) So perhaps we could distinguish 2 types of criminals: those who fail, who end up in prison; and the successful ones, who become bankers, entrepreneurs and politicians ".
“Canada - added Nicaso - is the only country in the world that allows lawyers not to report suspicious transactions. Canada also allows the trustees, ie those who represent the shell companies, not to reveal the real owner of the investment fund. Everyone knows this, but nobody does anything, because otherwise the economy is put at risk. Canada is the country with the most bank branches in the Caribbean.
There is this hypocrisy that bank executives are judged on the basis of deposits. The higher the deposits, the more the bank counts. But nobody moves a finger. And why? The Charbonneau Commission explained it to us: everyone in Québec benefited from corruption. And what does Canada invent itself? 'Yes, but Québec is a distinct company.' The problem is that corruption doesn't stop at the border. Also because in the 70s another Commission had demonstrated the infiltration of the mafia into the Toronto building. Only Iceland has decided to punish bankers as if they were money launderers, sending them to jail. It is the only case in the world ”.
Roberto Scarpinato was attorney general at the Court of Appeal of Palermo and is one of the most exposed magistrates in the fight against the mafia in Italy. He was part of the anti-mafia pool with Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino and has dealt with many of the most important mafia trials.
Historian of criminal organizations, Antonio Nicaso is one of the leading 'Ndrangheta experts in the world. He teaches Social History of Organized Crime at Queen's University. He has written over 30 books, including some international bestsellers ”. (aise)