6 Dead in Mafia Hit in Germany

Italian organized crime gains a foothold across the border

(NEWSER) - Germany is finding its mafia problem harder to ignore after the murder of six men outside an Italian restaurant in Duisburg last week. The killings were part of a feud between two warring mafia clans, both of which have established major footholds in Germany, Der Spiegel reports. Police are now trying to crack down after years of lax enforcement. More»

Mafia threats spark plea for museum and staff

(NEWSER) - The director of a Naples museum is urging Germany to grant asylum to the museum and its staff seeking to flee the mob. Antonio Manfredi says the contemporary art museum has been plagued by vandalism and threats from the local Mafia. The museum has put on exhibitions dealing with social issues, including the prevalence of organized crime, Der Spiegel reports. More»

US market tumbles as mobsters flourish

(NEWSER) - Europe is gaining a foothold in the world’s cocaine trade, elbowing out the US as the largest market thanks to the bravado of one Italian crime syndicate. The ‘Ndrangheta mafia, based in the hills of southern Italy, has won prominence by dealing directly with Colombian kingpins and shunning the spotlight, the LA Times reports. The syndicate of 155 families has assets totaling $50 billion. More»

Selling teen sex a 'new low' for crime family: fed

(NEWSER) - New York City's Gambino crime family reached a "new low" with the trafficking of a minor to have sex with high-stakes poker players, a US attorney said yesterday as he announced charges against 14 alleged mobsters. Twelve of them are already in custody. Other charges include loansharking, drug trafficking, assault, extortion, and attempting to intimidate a jury, CNN reports. "No crime seemed too depraved if it was a money-maker, including the sexual exploitation of a 15-year-old," said the FBI agent heading the investigation. More»

(NEWSER) - Mexican drug cartels have evolved into mafia empires, charging protection fees to businesses and providing social services and jobs where government cannot, the AP reports. Behind it lurks the threat of violence or kidnapping, which drug lords carry out with near impunity. "Today, the traffickers have big companies, education, careers," one lawmaker says. "They're businessman of the year." More»