Sicilian Mafia Rebuilding US Family Ties

NY mob busts expose stronger links between Italians and Yanks

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 28, 2008 8:40 AM CST

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Sicilian Mafia Rebuilding US Family Ties — This five picture composite shows head shots made available, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008, by Italian Police of five men identified as, Filippo Casamenteo, Frank Cali', Giovanni Inzerillo, Salvatore Di Maggio and Domenico Cefalu'. The five men were arrested during raids on Mafia hideouts in New York and Italy... (Associated Press)

The Sicilian Mafia is sending people to the US to revitalize old family ties with its American cousins that faded in the '80s, according to a new report by the Italian government. The FBI nabbed more than 80 New York mobsters in a recent swoop code-named "Old Bridge," reports the BBC, referring to the transatlantic the mob link.

Italian police say that many food distribution and construction companies in the US are now controlled by mobsters like the Gambino family with direct links to Sicily. The crime clans are branching out from old family businesses like extortion and racketeering into things like online gambling, as well as continuing to control the illegal drug trade. (More Mafia stories.)

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