Eco-mafia crimes, 80 per day, reap 15 bn euros in 2013 321 organized-crime groups involved
(ANSA) - Rome, June 11 - An average of over three environmental infractions were committed in Italy every hour last year, reported the Italian environmental association Legambiente on Wednesday. In discussing its 2014 report, the group noted that 29,274 infractions were committed in 2013, that revenue from the crimes topped 15 billion euros and that 321 organized crimes groups had been involved. The financial takings from environmental crimes was down from some 16 billion euros the previous year, though profits from illegal special waste management remained at 3.1 billion euros and illegal building was still at 1.7 billion. A whopping 47% of the environmental crimes recorded last year were in the four regions known for high level of organized crimes: Campania, Puglia, Calabria and Sicily.
