ROME- In the midst of a series of anti-mafia investigations in the Eternal City, politicians expressed disgust Friday over authorities allowing a prominent mob boss’ “Hollywood-style” funeral featuring horse drawn carriages and The Godfather theme playing outside the church.

 Vittorio Casamonica, 65, was the head of the Casamonica family, which has undisputed control in the south-eastern area of Rome where they have based their operations since the 1970s. Casamonica had been accused of racketeering, usury and the sale of narcotics, being at the centre of a series of investigations of Roman criminality. The Casamonica family, said to be one of the four leading Roman underworld clans by the weekly magazine L’Espresso, has nomadic origins, the reason why Vittorio Casamonica was given the moniker of “the King of Gypsies.”

 Hundreds of attendants and followers paid their respects at the service in the Don Bosco Church situated in the south-western Tuscolano quarter. In 2006 the same church had refused to hold the funeral of Piergiorgio Welby, a member of the former Italian Radical Party, on the grounds of his euthanasia treatment.

 Don Manieri of the church said that he did not know who the Casamonica family were, or their links with the Mafia. Regarding the spectacle in the church’s square, the priest said that it was not the church’s responsibility to control what happens outside of its walls. In an interview with Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, head of the church Don Giancarlo Mattei felt no embarrassment concerning the funeral, saying that “the Church does not discriminate, absolution is given to everyone.”

 City police forces were present in the church’s square, allowing the passage of 12 SUVs loaded with flowers as well as the black and gold gilded carriage in which Casamonica’s remains laid. Il Messaggero compared the police forces to “members of the coffin procession”, who patrolled alongside the vehicles of mourning members of the Casamonica clan. The newspaper reports that they also diverted cars not involved in the funeral. The presence of police forces at the funeral has led to the belief that the City Council had been informed of the ceremony beforehand.

 Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino, who is currently on holiday, expressed his displeasure of the forces’ involvement, who were said to have facilitated the extravagant funeral procession, which travelled freely over 20km of Rome’s streets, rather than limiting and controlling it. Marino, who said that it was unacceptable that the funeral was used to send a pro-Mafia message, has asked deputy mayor Marco Causi, currently in Marino’s stead, for an explanation. Prefect Franco Gabrielli has however denied that local authorities had been informed, and promised that investigations into the incident were being conducted.

 At 11 a.m. the mob boss’ coffin was carried to the church, accompanied by the iconic tune from Francis Ford Coppola’s classic mafia flick The Godfather. Draped on the outside of the church was the blown up image of a cross-bearing Casamonica on which read “Vittorio Casamonica: King of Italy”. Behind his image were St. Peter’s dome and the Colosseum, the message reinforced by another poster emblazoned on the church, which read “He conquered Rome, now he will conquer paradise.”

 Jaguars, Mercedes, Rolls Royces and horses flooded the square, with the traffic from the south-eastern Tuscolano quarter to Cinecittà in complete disruption. To celebrate the life of the mob boss, a low-flying helicopter also showered rose petals onto attendants in the square.

 The funeral comes after the announcement of an anti-mafia “maxi trial” to take place on November 5, which is set to trial 59 people involved in the Rome Mafia Capitale case. The case has investigated the alleged embezzlement of public funds and unfair distribution of contracts between politicians and mafia groups.

 Massimo Carminati and Salvatore Buzzi, believed to be the clan leaders, politicians from the centre-right and centre-left, and businessmen are among those to stand before the courts.