UK helps Italy fight mafia racketeering

Tano Grasso, Christopher Prentice, Filippo Bubbico, Elisabetta Belgiorno, and Franco Roberti sit in a panel discussion to present the anti-racket guide book. Photo by UK Embassy.
ROME - The UK has joined Italy in the fight against organised crime, with the British Embassy in Rome having successfully translated into English an anti-racket guide for consumers.
 
The guide book, "A Guide for the Critical Anti-Racket Consumer", was initially published in Italian by the Italian Anti-Racket Federation in July, but it has now been translated into English by the British Embassy in Rome.
 
The English version of the guide book was presented at Villa Wolkonsky, the residence of British Ambassador Christopher Prentice, on Tuesday. The event featured a panel discussion between Ambassador Prentice and the president of the Italian Anti-Racket Federation, Tano Grasso. Vice-Minister of the Interior Filippo Bubbico, as well as Italy's national anti-mafia prosecutor Franco Roberti and Anti-Racket Commissioner Elisabetta Belgiorno, also took part in the discussion.
 
Southern Italy has been infested with organised crime for years, and many businesses have paid pizzi, or protection bribes, to mafia clans in exchange for protection against violence.
 
However, hundreds of businesses and shops located in Italy's mafia-infested regions of Apulia, Calabria, Campania, and Sicily have stood up against the mafia. The guide book features 1,000 of these businesses which have refused to pay protection money to local mafias. Several of these business owners were also present at the event to showcase their "mafia-free" products.
 
The anti-racket guides serves to inform the general public, tourists, and potential investors of ways to support the anti-mafia movement, as well as to encourage them to "pay those who do not pay."
 
Ambassador Prentice explained that his involvement in the fight against the mafia began when he visited Palermo and met with a group of business owners who are working to combat the mafia. He stated that the list is "an important testimony " that shows the possibility to "resist pressures of criminality."
 
"The fight against transnational mafias is a global priority," Ambassador Prentice said. "Our thanks and approval go to the courage and determination of these women and men, who, with their tenacity, demonstrate that one can combat (the mafia) and win," the ambassador concluded. 
 
The guide book is sorted by region and product category and lists the businesses' names, addresses, and other contact information. “This translated guide is of extraordinary importance,” said Signor Grasso. "English tourists can now take part in the anti-mafia movement," added Signora Belgiorno.
 
The initiative "works towards more freedom from criminality" and "will guarantee liberty and democracy," Vice-Minster Bubbico summarised.
 
The guide will be distributed for free to English-speaking tourists in many locations throughout the country, including airports. It is also available online in a PDF format.
 
Copies of the anti-racket guide book. Photo by UK Embassy.