An Unhealthy Italian Brand

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July 18, 2008 · Filed Under Italian news

Oddly enough, since I started writing about life in Italy, I’ve only really brushed over the subject of an Italian ‘brand’ which is as well known to those outside Italy as pizza.

This brand, is of course, the Mafia.

It is perhaps more correct to say ‘mafias’ because in Italy there are many, but the Sicilian groups are really the original mafia. For those interested, there is plenty of information on the different flavours of mafia which exist in Italy over on Wikipedia in the ‘Organised Crime in Italy‘ entry.

Now, I’ve been in Italy for a good few years, and, certainly, the term ‘mafia‘ is widely used in the Italian language. However, I also noticed that mafia was used, not only to refer to the organised crime groups originating in the south of Italy, but also to refer to something else.

Initially, I was not sure that I had understood correctly, and I thought that this use of the word ‘mafia’ was more a case of personal reference by individuals, but not by all Italians. I listened some more, and also talked about the subject with some friends.

It has become clear to me that the word ‘mafia‘ is used in Italy to refer to just about any and all instances of the collaboration of groups of people who intend to control a situation and exploit said situation for the generation money and favours illegally and illicitly.

I am told, for example, that the fruit and vegetable and meat wholesale markets in Milan are run by a form of mafia, and that if you want to sell goods through these outlets, you will have to budget for ‘contributions’ to certain people. I have no reason to suppose that the situation is any different in any other large town or city in Italy.

Whether these market mafias are connected to the major mafia organisations, I don’t really know, although it would be a little surprising to learn that they weren’t.

Similarly, and there is a case brewing here, local government is controlled by what Italians would refer to as a mafia. However, the Mafiosi in these instances are not men from the south, but it appears that they are often elected officials. Their tactics generally involve intimating that if you want to obtain some form of contract to supply goods or services to a local authority, you will need to pay a substantial sweetener.

Italy’s health service is particularly prone to this kind of practice from what I have gleaned. Indeed, in the recent case which I mentioned before, the now ex-governor of the Italian region of Abruzzo, Ottaviano Del Turco, who is languishing in prison at this very moment, received around 120 million Euros in bribes from poweful Italian health entrepreneur Vincenzo Angelini.

It was very simple, either Angelini paid up, or his upmarket Villa Pini d’Abruzzo clinic would not receive the requisite approvals from inspectors acting on behalf of the region of Abruzzo, forcing, in theory the closure of the clinic.

It could be said that the Abruzzo region was run as a form of mafia. That other Italian regions, and regional institutions use similar ‘fund raising’ strategies, you can be fairly certain.

Ottaviano Del Turco, by the way, was a stalwart of the Italian centre-left, and an ex-union man. Up until this moment, the man had been beyond reproach. You may like to know that telephone tapping helped bring this little case to light, as, it appears, did Ottaviano Del Turco’s greed. Angelini, who was initially happy to pay these extra dues, eventually got sick of having to cough up more and more, which is why he pointed the Italian police in the direction of Del Turco’s ingenious administrative practices.

As to where all the money has ended up, well, that is anyone’s guess, and the subject of a major paper chase.

Additionally, it could be said that many health institutions in Italy are run by a form of medical mafia who increase state funding by modifying clinical records ( So they can afford to pay off inspector wielding public officials?) .

Say you go in for a broken leg, well, your clinical record may be sexed up and state that not only was your leg broken, but also your arm, and a few fingers, just for good measure. This, I am told, is very common practice in Italy. So common that it is considered normal, acceptable even. Così fan tutte - everybody does it.

Some evidence of this can be seen from the recent ‘Santa Rita’ case, which I wrote about in my A Neat Idea for a Horror Movie? post, and another, similar fraud which has come to light in a hospital in the San Donato area of Milan.

Now you know that the word mafia, when used by Italians, refers to many other unhealthy instances of Italian organised criminal activity than that undertaken by the godfather led Sicilian groups.

Incidentally, in Italian law, the is the crime of associazione mafiosa - mafia like association. This indicates that ‘mafia’ is recognised as being a word which indicates organised criminal activity.

Finally, you may like to note that it was bribery and corruption within Italy’s health sector which sparked off the ‘mani pulite‘ investigations and national scandals of the early 1990s. And these investigations established mafia links, literally right, left, and centre within Italy’s political establishment.

Another interesting fact is that it was goverments under the control of Berlusconi (right) and D’Alema ( left) who, accorinding to the Wikipedia entry

…”either ignored the pleas of the judiciary system for more funding to buy equipment, or passed laws that made the painstakingly slow Italian trials even slower and subject to earlier prescription (time barring - Blog from Italy).”

Berlusconi, D’Alema, and company still hold power in Italy, so it may be true to say that the ‘clean hands’ initiative, how can one put this, er, missed a few fingers and thumbs. And after this affair, serious attempts at discrediting one of the prime instigators of the ‘mani pulite’ investigations, was one Antonio Di Pietro, who, luckily, is still around too. Di Pietro knows what is going on in today’s Italy, and his vociferous complaints concerning Italian government manoeuvres appear to indicate that Italy has sunk to the kind of level which it hit prior to the events back in the early 1990s.

Could Italy be heading for yet another ‘mani pulite’ phase? Or are the majority of Italy’s politicians working overtime to ensure that their backs, and those of their backers, are well and truly covered this time round? Is the Italian government yet another mafia?

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Tags: corruption, health, Italian, Italian news, Italy, mafia, mani pulite

Comments

8 Responses to “An Unhealthy Italian Brand”

Miss Expatria on July 18th, 2008 12:12 pm

I have heard among friends, that such-and-such institution, person who got a certain job, etc. is “mafia.” But their implication is even more loose than yours above - it’s more like, anytime a favor is called in for personal gain. Much less organized than your description. I wonder, though, at what point it stops being “mafia” and what point it becomes how normal Italians conduct everyday life? Is it when the person speaking is not the beneficiary of it?
AlexR on July 18th, 2008 12:36 pm

Hi Miss Ex,
“I have heard among friends, that such-and-such institution, person who got a certain job, etc. is “mafia.””

- Yes, I hear this too, but as you say, it’s a very loose reference, but a reference it is. You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.

The mafia seems to entangle people by doing them ‘favours’ and then, at some point in the future, calling them in.

Sometimes the mafia is not that organised, or at least that is my impression, and the members of these mafia type groups would not even think that they are acting like the ‘real’ mafia.

Italy is, as we both well know, built on relationships. Only these relationships are much more deeply entrenched than in the US or the UK.

As to defining the boundaries between mafia and everyday life, I don’t think it is possible. The overlap is enormous, but fuzzy.

If someone does you a ‘favor’ in Italy - that favour will, one day, be called in…

It’s all quite ominous, and intertwined into Italian culture and psyche. When you work closely with Italians, especially those from the south
, you develop a relationship which is, possibly, a little too ‘close’.

All the best,

Alex
PS If you’d like me to do you a favour, just let me know…
Miss Expatria on July 18th, 2008 2:04 pm

I think altruism is impossible, but the natural generosity of Italians to me is the result of the mafia mentality seeping into everyday life. Does that make sense?
AlexR on July 18th, 2008 2:27 pm

Miss Ex,

“…the natural generosity of Italians to me is the result of the mafia mentality seeping into everyday life. Does that make sense?”

Yep, I would agree with you. Italians are incredibly generous, but with some, you can’t help wondering, especially if you have been here for a while, if there is an underlying motive.

I would emphasise that by no means all Italians are like this, but a significant number are - hence high levels of corruption, and why the mafia integrates so well into Italian society.

Interesting observation Miss E!

Alex
Joe T on July 19th, 2008 10:40 am

Yes, I heard that being fitted with iron weights and dumped in the Hudson River can be somewhat unhealthy…
AlexR on July 19th, 2008 9:15 pm

Hi Joe,

“Yes, I heard that being fitted with iron weights and dumped in the Hudson River can be somewhat unhealthy…”

Yep, being treated to an unexpected and permanent bath in the Hudson would not do much for your health!

Cheers,

Alex
Guido on July 23rd, 2008 4:08 am

I am going to risk sounding like a leghista here, but we have to separate the culture of the north and of the south.

There is the ‘Mafia’ which is a phenomenon mainly in the south and organised crime, which happens everywhere in Italy, like any other country for that matter.

The Mafia originating from Sicily is more than just organised crime. Is a intricate network of families, relationships etc. that seek to control through a ‘honour’ code and loyalties a number of territories in the island. I think for a non-Sicilian understanding the real Mafia is very difficult. We only have writers such as Sciascia to get a glimpse in this kind of mentality.

This mentality has a variety of sources. But the main one was that it originated from a poor rural society that for centuries was left on its own and abandoned by its rulers. So this feudal system of control by a number of families developed.

While the Mafia was originally only a localised phenomenon, its tentacles (remember the TV series ‘La Piovra?’) was allowed to spread by self-serving corrupt politicians who made arrangements with Sicilian mafiosi to get votes. This resulted in members of Parliament being elected with votes organised by mafia bosses, and while these politicians were not directly members of the mafia, we could say that had plenty of blood on their hands.

This situation was further abetted by the fact that during the Cold War the Christian Democrats (who were the main beneficiary of mafiosi votes) managed to stay in power for decades and do very little to curtail mafia influence because many of their MPs relied on mafiosi votes. This tended to taint the whole political system.

The mafia also started to invade the North of Italy. However the conditions for this network of family and honour code did not exist. So in the north is not the real ‘mafia’ but just good ol’ organised crime.

However this tainting of the mafia (both Sicilian and Neapolitan varieties) of the Italian political system and the inactions of governments to do anything about it created the monster of the Lega Nord where even rational and intelligent northern Italians were attracted by their inane and racist propaganda, which is a pity (fortunately they bark more than bite these days)
AlexR on July 23rd, 2008 11:20 pm

Thanks for that ‘quick’ history of the mafia Guido. It’s more or less what I understood.

I would only disagree on on point in that the mafia does exist in the north of Italy - as a result of southern Italians moving up to the north and bringing their home comforts with them.

The mafia up north are, in the main, offshoots of Italy’s other mafia groups - and they retain links with their origins too. There was a big round up of a mafia family here in Milan not so long ago, and a newspaper article on this did mention connections to south Italy.

As for the infiltration/integration of the mafia into Italian society - of that there is no doubt.

You can say what you like about the mafias, but they sure as heck are not stupid.

All the best,

Alex