Squires, Nick. “Italy tightens noose on the Cosa Nostra.” Telegraph. (2008). Web. 9 Jan. 2012. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/3869136/Italy-tightens-noose-on-the-Cosa-Nostra.html>.
This article detailed the capture of 90 suspected mobsters in a pre-dawn raid conducted by the Italian government. The raid included 1,200 paramilitary police officers, backed up by helicopters. This was just one of the many blows to the Sicilian Cosa Nostra in the past year. The interior minister of Italy, Roberto Maroni, has said that this raid was a confirmation that “the war against the mafia is a priority of [the Italian] government.” Allegedly, the newly-captured Mafiosi were planning to conduct assassinations like those of the high-profile anti-mafia judges Falcone and Borsellino in the 1990s. Additionally, godfather Gaetano Lo Presti, one of those captured was found dead in his holding cell, supposedly by his own hand. This suicide gives insight into the inner workings of the mafia, more specifically of revenge dealt when one of its own members attempts a double-crossing. Presti had been taped saying he was going to kill his competition for mafia don, this information was revealed to Presti, and the next day he was found dead in his cell. Additionally, the article talked about the recent refusal of some Sicilians to pay the “pizzo,” or protection tax, demanded by the Cosa Nostra. This is proof that the hold the Cosa Nostra used to have is quickly disintegrating.
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