LAMEZIA TERME - The largest trial against the mafia since the 1980s started on Wednesday, in Lamezia Terme, Calabria. It is being held in a former call centre, specially converted over the last few months to be big enough to hold over 1,000 socially distanced lawyers, journalists, jurors, defendants, spectators and witnesses.
The defendants were placed in cages to the side of the hall, and there are 150 screens connecting the defendants sitting in other prisons throughout Italy.
The trial is expected to take over a year, with the court sitting six days a week, and will feature 913 witnesses and 24,000 hours of recorded telephone conversations.
There are cases against 335 alleged mafiosi, for crimes including money laundering, extortion, theft, drug trafficking and corruption. Speaking outside the courthouse, Nicola Gratteri, the chief prosecutor, said that many of the accused were “white-collar workers”, including lawyers, policemen, accountants and politician, implicit in helping the mafia run their empire.
This trial will be the biggest ever to solely feature the ‘Ndrangheta, now thought to be the most powerful clan in Italy. It will also focus primarily on the Mancuso clan, with many of the most powerful of the ‘Ndrangheta remaining unscathed. The Mancuso clan allegedly run the ‘Ndrangheta from the city of Vibo Valentia.
Gratteri, himself Calabrese, explained the significance of this trial taking place in Calabria; that they can finally show their own capability at dealing with the mafia. Nicola Morra, president of the Parliamentary Anti-Mafia Commission, added during the proceedings that “this is Calabria’s day, and the day of these few capable men, with their determination to imagine a different Calabria.”
However, the trial being in the ‘Ndrangheta’s stomping ground meant a lot of security. On the opening day there were police patrols surrounding the courtroom, three stages of security checks for those going in and a helicopter flying up above. Gratteri, who has had an armed escort since 1989 and lived in police protection for three years, arrived with a cohort of bodyguards, and briefly spoke to the press before being ushered inside.
His investigation began with the arrests of hundreds of mafiosi in 2019, requiring over 3,000 police officers in Italy, Bulgaria, Germany and Switzerland. The size of this operation against the mafia has given confidence to thousands of people oppressed and threatened by the ‘Ndrangheta for years, these many witnesses helping Gratteri’s case.

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