Sicily mobsters arrested, accused of taking advantage of COVID

The coronavirus crisis has triggered Italy's worst recession since World War Two, piling on the economic gloom in the underdeveloped south, including Sicily where the notorious Cosa Nostra (Our Thing) mafia has its roots. Confirming fears the mob would look to use the pandemic to gain loyalties and recruit manpower, police said the suspects had offered help during last year's 10-week lockdown, which meant locals were left in their debt.

Italian police arrested 16 suspected mafiosi on Tuesday whom they accused of exploiting the coronavirus crisis to distribute welfare to poor families in Sicily while using violence to strengthen their local grip. The coronavirus crisis has triggered Italy's worst recession since World War Two, piling on the economic gloom in the underdeveloped south, including Sicily where the notorious Cosa Nostra (Our Thing) mafia has its roots.

Confirming fears the mob would look to use the pandemic to gain loyalties and recruit manpower, police said the suspects had offered help during last year's 10-week lockdown, which meant locals were left in their debt. "It wasn't a good sort of welfare," said Arturo Guarino, head of Carabinieri police in the Sicilian capital Palermo.

The 16 arrested men face numerous charges, including belonging to the mafia, attempted murder and extortion. Police say their investigations showed a new clan was trying to gain a foothold in a Palermo district and organised food distribution for families. But it was also violent and struggled to restrain some of its members.

"This operation ... represents another tough blow against Cosa Nostra, its extortion activities and its infiltration of the local economy," said Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese. "Families' needs and a lack of liquidity for businesses in times of COVID-19 represent an opportunity for criminal organisations to gain credibility with the population and exercise mob force," she said.

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