A family of Italian entrepreneurs described by the local media as the “kings of concrete” have had 1.6 bilion euros (1.76 billion dollars) of their assets seized by police after they were accused of having close ties with the Sicilian Mafia, despite having previously been praised for standing up as victims of organized crime.
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The three Virga brothers and two sisters, who run businesses in the area around the regional capital Palermo, allegedly received help from the criminal network to secure construction contracts related to public works.
The Palermo division of Italy’s dedicated anti-mafia police (DIA) said they had seized dozens of bank accounts, motor vehicles and some 800 buildings including houses and factories.
“Today’s seizure is certainly one of the biggest the DIA has carried out in its 20-year history”, said Adelmo Lusi, the unit’s second in command. Three years of recession have helped deep-rooted corruption to flourish.
Cosa Nostra, along with the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta and the Camorra around Naples, has long plagued Italy, and in recent years their activity has spread to northern cities from their southern heartland.
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While the fictional Corleones from “The Godfather” were principally interested in gambling, Carabinieri police Col. Riccardo Sciuto said Wednesday that the Sicilian builders had made deals with the real-life Corleone Mafia, enabling them to win public contracts “at the expense of honest businessmen”. Italy came in the 69th place among 177 countries surveyed for corruption organization Transparency International’s 2014 index.
