LA CREACIÓN DEL ESPACIO ESCÉNICO EN LAS COMEDIAS COLABORADAS

In Europe, the most powerful mafia is found in Italy. The Mafia in Italy was born in the southern regions, during the period of the unification of the country, a delicate moment which saw the rise of the “meridional question”, a heavy economic difficulty from which this part of the southern Italy has not yet recovered: it was the second part of the 18th century when the phenomenon emerged. This situation brought to existence five different mafias, one for each region of the south of Italy, except for Sicily: Cosa Nostra in Sicily, Camorra in Campania, ‘Drangheta in Calabria, Sacra Corona Unita in Puglia and Stidda in Sicily in the province of Agrigento. These organisations make profits of around 43 billion euros per year – this figure is related to the year 2002; however, according to Confesercenti the volume of their turnover may be even bigger114. Now a short description of the three most important mafias groups will be given.

Cosa Nostra has been rooted in Sicily at least from the beginning of the 1880s. The evidence of the presence of the mafia in Sicily is confirmed by a comedy, a paper of a prefect and a law of 1871115. Born in the western part of the island, it has spread all over the region. Today, the presence of the Cosa Nostra is still evident and the stop in the prosecutions in the first years of 2000 gave it the possibility to reorganise itself, making it more difficult for the police forces to

113

J.-M. DASQUE, op. cit., p. 121ff.

114

J.-M. DASQUE, op. cit., p. 91ff.

115

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capture them116. In recent years, collaboration with the mafias of the Eastern Europe has been initiated and they have started the transplantation phenomenon in various countries: Cosa Nostra is present in those European countries where there are significant Italian communities and collaborates with the five families of New York117. The insiders of Cosa Nostra, go through an initiation ceremony only after having overcome a period of observation and a survey on his/her family, and from then on the rules they have to follow are very strict118. One of the most important rules the insiders have to respect is the one of the code of silence.

The Camorra is, by contrast, more of an urban mafia, very hierarchical and with a distinctive element: the presence of women in the mafia’s affairs. If the boss is murdered or arrested, a woman can frequently replace him119. Still in contrast to Cosa Nostra, the Camorra have many clans but they do not work together; exceptions can be found for collaborations in relation to some activities120. Also the Camorra has extended its collaborations outside the home country borders and maintains relations with other organised crime groups established in every continent of the world. An example of the transnational character of the Camorra is its relationship with the La Torre clan, established in Mondragone, Naples, with Aberdeen in Scotland and Amsterdam in The Netherlands, namely two hubs of the clan121. The activities pursued in the two cities were different: Aberdeen was used to launder dirty money, where it was invested in legal activities, while Amsterdam was the place where they sold drugs and counterfeit money122. However, Aberdeen and Amsterdam do not represent the acquisition of independence from the clan of origin; on the contrary, the clan

116

J.-M. DASQUE, op. cit., p. 91ff.

117

J.-M. DASQUE, op. cit., p. 91ff.

118

J.-M. DASQUE, op. cit., p. 91ff.

119

J.-M. DASQUE, op. cit., p. 91ff.

120

J.-M. DASQUE, op. cit., p. 91ff.

121

P. CAMPANA, Understanding then Responding to Italian Organised Crime Operations

Across Territories, 2013, p. 4ff. Available from:

<http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paolo_Campana/publication/262602851_Understan ding_Then_Responding_to_Italian_Organized_Crime_Operations_across_Territories/link s/0a85e5383c6c7de690000000.pdf> [Accessed 08/06/2015].

122

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of origin is still the most important point of reference, both from point of view of organised crime and money dependence123.

The ‘Ndrangheta has instead adopted a horizontal structure: 15 families with 6,000 members in total, each family with its own territory with the monopoly of the activities in it124. The ‘Ndrangheta has an extreme respect for the code of secret, proved by the paltry number of informers among its ranks; moreover it is the most closed mafia of Italy and one of the most difficult to penetrate, as well as one of the most cruel125. ‘Ndrangheta cooperate with other Italian mafias, it has inserted itself into the northern part of Italy, as well as in Europe, North and South America, Africa, the Near East and even Australia126.

New criminal associations are emerging, because of interests in new activities. Along with the usual activities, an interest in the traffic of human beings has emerged, in particular for prostitution and the traffic of immigrants127. The interest in these activities necessitates international collaboration among the criminal organisations, the reason why it can be more difficult to pursue them.