Organised Crime in Europe: The Maxi Trial - Report Example

The maxi Trial The famous Maxi trial took place in mid-nineteen eighties in an Italian island called Sicily. The maxi trial brought to book the most notorious Sicilian mafia gangsters and criminals, and most of them were sentenced to life imprisonment. Many of the defendants faced a multitude of charges connected to the activities of the mafia; these included murder, extortion, drug trafficking and bribery (Camorristi 2007, p 97). The source of testimony that facilitated the Maxi Trial came from a former mafia boss who had defected from the group. This trial began a wave of activities that resulted to the halt of many drug deals by the Sicilian mafia, and consequently damaged the relationships between the American families and the Sicilian Mafia (Camorristi 2007, p 98). Preceding Events The authorities swept the Mafia crimes under the carpet for a long time, without any major convictions. The Sicilian mafia grew and expanded in many parts of the world because nothing was done to curb the growing problem (Camorristi 2007, p 102). Therefore, influential people in the authorities ignored the fact that mafia crimes existed and that they posed a grave threat to the national social welfare. Having existed since the nineteenth century, the Sicilian Mafia utilized various methods to ensure that the authorities did not tamper with its activities (Behan 2002, p 112). The strategies that the mafia group used created a smooth avenue, which provided the mafia members with immunity; this made them untouchable. The Sicilian Mafia deployed strategies like  bribes, murdering their own members, judges, witnesses, lawyers and politicians to enhance their behavioral impunity and immunity (Behan 2002, p 115). These killings crippled any prosecution efforts. This allowed the Sicilia Mafia to run its business without fear or any interruptions. In the nineteen eighty, Pio la Torre, a communist politician came up with a suggestion that membership to a mafia group was a criminal offence. This suggestion of criminalizing membership to any mafia group was made law years after La Torre suggestions. It is imperative to note that La Torre paid his suggestion with his life; the mafia killed him because of coming up with such an idea (Behan 2002, p 122). In early nineteen eighties, the Second Mafia War had reached the climax as Salvatore Riina Corleonesi boss decimated other Families of the Mafia. His decimation resulted to a multitude of murders of influential figures of authority like Carlo Aberto Dalla Chiesa in nineteen eighty two. Carlo was the leader of the counter-terrorism unit, and he had apprehended Red Brigade founders in the mid nineteen seventies. The murder had links to the assassination of Aldo Moro, and the Sicilian mafia strategy of creating public tension and fear (Behan 2002, p. 128). The rising revulsion of the public over such murders gave magistrates like Paolo borsellino and Giovanni Falcone the essential momentum to confer a critical gust to the most prominent criminal organization in the Sicilian Island (Dickie 2004, p. 45). The two magistrates were the key personnel who saw the success of the Maxi Trial, which sent hundreds of criminals behind bars for their criminal activities on the island and other parts of the world. Locations and Defendants The Maxi Trial brought the largest number of Mafiosi members under trial in the mafia history (Hess 1998, p. 202). Four hundred and seventy four defendants were charged in court, but a hundred and nineteen of these defendants were not present in court because they were not yet apprehended. Therefore, the judges tried them in absentia since the defendants were still escapees like Salvatore Riina. Defendants present for trial included Leggio Luciano, who succeeded Riina. During the entire period, he represented himself as his personal lawyer. Others include the notorious mass-killer, Micthele Greco, and Giuseppe Calo. The proceedings of the Maxi Trial took place in a bunker near the Palermo prison, which was built and designed for trying the defendants. (Hogg & Brewer 2010, p. 88) The bunker was designed to withstand any rocket attacks by reinforcing it with super strong concrete. The building was partitioned into cages, which housed large groups of defendants in the green walls (Hess 1998, p. 203). The press members attended the trial in large numbers; there were over five hundred personnel from different press houses. The security system that was guarding the bunker used to be unquestionably tight; it included watch towers with sharp shooters who had machine guns, and an all time air-defense system. This caution was mounted to monitor the movements of all defendants and keep away any attackers who might try to thwart the trial efforts. The Trial February 10, 1986 is the exact date that the Maxi Trail began following numerous years of preparation. Alfonso Giordano was the presiding jury supported by two judges in case of any casualties of one of the judges. The entire mafia defendants were faced charges ranging from drug trafficking, more than one hundred murders extortion and breaking the new law, which criminalized mafia membership (Siegel 2008, p. 135). This can be regarded as the initial time that brought the new anti-mafia law to test in the Italian justice system. Judge Alfonso earned praise and honor for his patience during the mammoth and lengthy trial. Further, he remained calm even in the most disruptive moments, which were caused by some defendants (Seindal 1998, p. 68). For example, some defendants pretended to be mad, and they shouted and fought with the guards. Other stapled their mouths to signify their dedication to remaining silence and conceal secrets of the Sicilian Mafia. Furthermore, one defendant swore to cut his own throat if the guards failed to read his statement to the judges during a court session. A substantial amount of evidence came from a captured Mafioso, Tommaso Buscetta, who was seized in Brazil in nineteen ninety two (Hogg & Brewer 2010, p. 88). Tommaso used to be a fugitive, and had been charged with double murder in 1980, but escaped from prison during a day release. The mafia War claimed the lives of close relatives of Tommaso, including his own children and his allies in the Mafiosi (Sabetti 2002, p. 141). His loss motivated him to testify against the Sicilian Mafia, as that was the only way of avenging the death of his children and friends. However, the Sicilian mafia went ahead with their retaliation by killing more relatives in Tommaso’s family because of his testimonies, but this did not stop him from cooperating with the judges. Further evidence was obtained from Leonardo Vitale who had surrendered to the authorities and admitted his involvement with the mafia (Sabetti 2002, p. 141). He further stated that he had committed many crimes for the Sicilian Mafia, including several murders. Leonardo expressed his spiritual status that was full of overwhelming incidences, and he told the police that he felt remorse for the bad things that he did while in the Mafia (Holt 2005, p. 38). Despite his voluntary self confession, the judges never took Leonardo seriously because many people regarded him as more insane than sane. He regularly engaged in weird behavior like mutilating his body as a sign of remorse for his transgressions in his days as a Mafia gangster. Since Leonardo was mentally ill, his testimony was never given any serious considerations by the authorities. Vitale and his uncle were the only Mafiosi members convicted by their own testimony as evidence, but Vitale was sent to a mental asylum and released after a short period (Murray 2008, p. 72). However, he never survived for a long time as Vitale was gunned down after six months by the mafia gangs. The Maxi Trial received considerable criticism from writers and clergymen who argued that the defendants were victims of the vendetta of the magistrates. Writers argued that any magistrate who wanted to become famous should take part in the Sicilian Mafia trials. A Catholic cardinal, Pappalardo, asserted that the Maxi Trial was an oppressive show and that the activities of the Sicilian mafia and their killings were nothing compared to the deaths that result from abortion (Gunnarson 2008, p. 22). Other critics argued that the testimony of individuals like Buscetta was not the ideal way of passing judgments to other people. The informants were former Mafia members and criminals; therefore, it was morally wrong to rely on their testimonies as the primary source of information (Gunnarson 2008, p. 33). Former criminals should be treated as criminals since they might modify their testimony to fit their vested interests in the trial. Further, criticisms were directed to the judges of the Maxi Trial because of their attempt to give justice in bulk; this denied individuals a chance to be judged as autonomous (Gunnarson 2008, p. 39). Buscetta’s testimony and information was extremely essential to the Maxi Trial, as Buscetta gave details of how the Sicilian Mafia operated and functioned. Further, he gave the court details of Sicilian Mafia policy process and hierarchies that existed in the mafia. His information allowed the juries to prosecute the Sicilian Mafia as an entity rather than single criminal activities (Gunnarson 2008, p 44). The Verdicts December 16, 1987 was the date when the Maxi Trial ended, and the verdicts were read for a whole hour (Gambetta 2009, p. 72). Three hundred and sixty defendants faced varying periods of prison sentences, but the leaders were sentenced to life imprisonment. The Sicilian Mafia killers and bosses did not receive any leniency from the judges, as most of them were sentenced to life imprisonment (Gambetta 2009, p. 74). It is imperative to note that the verdicts were shared and passed to the defendants who were present and those absent. However, most of the absent defendants were murdered before the time of the verdict, and most of them were found riddled with bullet in the streets. One hundred and fourteen defendants were released including Luciano Leggio, who faced charges of running the Sicilian Mafia from Prison, and ordering the murder of a prosecutor who facilitated his conviction (Fijnault & Paoli 2004, p. 61). Although Luciano was not convicted of for the above named offences due to lack of substantial evidence, his fate did not change since Luciano was already serving a life imprisonment sentence due to earlier cases of murder (Fijnault & Paoli 2004, p. 67). The acquittal silenced the critics who suggested that the Maxi Trial was a demonstration case where the entire defendants would be convicted. However, most of the acquitted defendants were later killed by the Mafia including Antoninio Ciulla who was gunned down within sixty minutes of his release. Appeals The success of the maxi Trial was not celebrated for long, as the appeals came flooding in courts. The public was shocked by the increasing number of appeals, which succeeded due to negligible technicalities in the judicial system (Fijnault & Paoli 2004, p. 67). Corrado Carnevale headed the appeals of these Maxi Trial case; incidentally, he was well paid to facilitate the success of the appeals. Further, he was bribed by Salvatore Lima, who was another corrupt politician to reverse the convictions of the mafia over issues that were trivial (Farrel 1997, p. 57). For instance, he dismissed convictions of drug-trafficking because the evidence of wire- taped conversation was not referring to moving of narcotics but suits and shirts. However, everyone knew that the Sicilian Mafia suits and shirts used to be the code names for narcotics that the Sicilian Mafia used to conceal the identity of their shipments (Smith 2003, p. 25). Further, the corrupt judge released a convicted mafia over health issues. Despite the poor health conditions, the acquitted fellow fled to Brazil with his Family and settled there (Farrel 1997, p. 59). By the end of the nineteen eighties, only sixty defendants remained in prison, and they enjoyed their time in prison hospitals and private cells. The convicted defendants who remained in prison were treated delicately because of illnesses that did not show any symptoms or signs; they had servants to attend to their needs. The anti-Mafia Crusade had lost significance, and all calls from Falcone and Borsellino to stop the appeal activities were dismissed by everyone. Technically speaking, the Sicilian Mafia endured the Maxi Trial because they knew that they would later regain their freedom when people lost interest in the Maxi Trial. The mafia members were sure that they would soon return to normal business immediately the public diverted their attention to other things (Farrel 1997, p. 62). Fortunately, Falcone and Borsellino regained their grip on the appeals and turned most of them down including reversing the previous successful appeals. Those criminals who had been released through successful appeals were taken back to prison, and more criminals who were convicted in absentia were captured (Farrel 1997, p. 66). However, the two judges were killed in bomb attacks as the weakened Sicilian Mafia was hitting back because of the reversed appeals. In conclusion, the maxi trial brought to book the most notorious Sicilian mafia gangsters and criminals, and most of them were sentenced to life imprisonment. Having existed since the nineteenth century, the Sicilian Mafia utilized various methods to ensure that the authorities did not tamper with their activities. The Sicilian Mafia deployed strategies like bribes, murdering their own members, judges, witnesses, lawyers and politicians to promote their behavioral impunity and immunity. February 10, 1986 is the exact date that the Maxi Trail began following numerous years of preparation. The Maxi Trial received considerable criticism from writers and clergymen who argued that the defendants could be regarded as victims of the vendetta of the magistrates. The success of the maxi Trial was not celebrated for long, as the appeals came flooding in courts. References List Behan, T. (2002). See Naples and die: the Camorra and organized crime, London, Tauris. pp 111-197. Camorristi, A. F. (2007) .Politicians and Businessmen- The Transformation of Organized Crime in Post-war Naples, New York, Maney Publishing. pp 97-160. Dickie, J. (2004). Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia, Toronto, Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 22-67. Farrel, J. (1997). Understanding the mafia, Manchester, Manchester University Press. pp 37-122. Fijnault, J. & Paoli, L. (2004). Organised Crime in Europe, Michigan, Springer. pp. 57-135. Gambetta, D. (2009). Codes of the underworld: how criminals communicate, Princeton, Princeton University Press. pp. 67-157. Gunnarson, B. (2008). Cultural warfare and trust: fighting the mafia in Palermo, London, Palgrave. pp. 12- 79. Hess, H. (1998). Mafia & Mafiosi: Origin, Power and Myth, London, C. Hurst & Co. Publisher. pp. 202-204. Holt, H. (2005). American mafia: a history of its rise to power, New York, Cengage Learning. pp. 35-97. Hogg, S. & Brewer, S. (2010). Frommers Italy Day by Day, New York, John Wiley & Sons. pp. 67-114. Murray, J. (2008). Boss of bosses: how Bernardo Provenzano saved the Mafia, Manchester, Manchester University Press. pp. 68-122. Sabetti, F (2002). Village politics and the Mafia in Sicily, Philadelphia, McGill-Queens University Press. pp. 125-200. Siegel, G. (2008). Organized Crime: Culture, markets and policies, New York, Springer. pp. 122-199. Smith, J.D. (2003). A complete history of the Mafia, New York, Metro Books. pp. 11-78. Seindal, R. (1998). Mafia: Money and Politics in Sicily, 1950-1997, Bacoli, Museum Tusculanum Press. pp. 45-70. Read More