Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09NAPLES52
2009-04-22 14:28:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Naples
Cable title:  

REACHING OUT TO CALABRIA

Tags:  PGOV ECON PREL BEXP SNAR SOCI KCRM KCOR CASC IT 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO6148
RR RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHNP #0052/01 1121428
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 221428Z APR 09
FM AMCONSUL NAPLES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6379
INFO RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES 1130
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHINGTON DC 0001
RHMFISS/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RUEABND/DEA HQ WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/COMSIXTHFLT
RUEHMIL/AMCONSUL MILAN 0153
RUEHFL/AMCONSUL FLORENCE 0127
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NAPLES 000052 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/22/2019
TAGS: PGOV ECON PREL BEXP SNAR SOCI KCRM KCOR CASC IT
SUBJECT: REACHING OUT TO CALABRIA

REF: A. 08 Naples 96, B. 08 Naples 36, C. 08 Naples 38

NAPLES 00000052 001.2 OF 003


CLASSIFIED BY: J. Patick Truhn, Consul General, AmConGen Naples.

REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NAPLES 000052

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/22/2019
TAGS: PGOV ECON PREL BEXP SNAR SOCI KCRM KCOR CASC IT
SUBJECT: REACHING OUT TO CALABRIA

REF: A. 08 Naples 96, B. 08 Naples 36, C. 08 Naples 38

NAPLES 00000052 001.2 OF 003


CLASSIFIED BY: J. Patick Truhn, Consul General, AmConGen Naples.

REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)

1. (C) Summary: During an early April trip through Italy's
most problematic region, Calabria, Consul General Truhn and
ConGen Naples staff reached out to both government officials and
the public to reiterate our common interest in development and
rule of law. In a region in which politicians are weak and
exercise only limited control, outreach through NGOs, social
groups and the media is essential. A courageous anti-Mafia
prosecutor in Reggio Calabria, Nicola Gratteri, was extremely
critical of the GOI's underfunding and mismanagement of the
judicial system; most prosecutor positions in Calabria go
unfilled, and anti-Mafia investigators lack sufficient resources
to travel in their districts. Much of Gratteri's work centers
on narcotics trafficking, the most lucrative business for the
'Ndrangheta crime syndicate. By all accounts, Europe's busiest
transshipment port, Gioia Tauro, is controlled by the
'Ndrangheta, which earns commissions on all containers and has
power over hiring. Italian customs officials have been
threatened (one even being shot at); CG Truhn requested of the
Prefect additional security for USG (Container Security
Initiative) personnel at the port. The anti-Mafia NGO
"AmmazzateciTutti" continues to grow. Our visit culminated with
a major conference, organized by post, on promoting tourism in
southern Italy; an improvement in this sector could be one way
to drive development in Calabria and the rest of the
impoverished South. Although the problems in Calabria may seem
intractable, people like Gratteri and our AmmazzateciTutti
contacts inspire hope that honest people can make a difference.
End summary.

Anti-Mafia Prosecutor "Not Afraid to Die"

--------------


2. (C) Nicola Gratteri, an anti-Mafia prosecutor in Reggio
Calabria and author of "Blood Brothers," a book about the
'Ndrangheta crime syndicate, does not pull punches. In a frank
exchange, he was highly critical of counterparts in other EU
states, the Italian judicial system (including the Justice
Ministry and the Judicial Branch Council),and even his own
colleagues. Gratteri complained that EU criminal laws and
procedures are not harmonized; for instance, electronic
eavesdropping is not considered evidence in Germany, and search
warrants cannot be served at night in Spain. He also expressed
frustration over alleged "rampant corruption" among Spanish
officials. Gratteri stated his disappointment with an Italian
judicial system that leaves large numbers of magistrate
positions unfilled in Calabria and other "hardship" regions. He
pointed out that in each of the districts of Locri and Palmi
(characterized by a major 'Ndrangheta presence),only three of
nine prosecutor positions are currently filled. Gratteri
himself has turned down positions in more attractive cities,
preferring to remain in Calabria and fight the good fight. He
admitted that Judicial Branch incentives (such as danger pay) to
serve in Mafia strongholds are inadequate. He also railed
against politicians who have continually failed to provide
sufficient funding for magistrates to do their jobs; as such,
they are overworked and frequently unable to travel for their
investigations. Gratteri asserted that what makes him effective
is that he has realized he is not afraid to die. He disparaged
colleagues who did all they could to avoid hardship assignments,
and others who had abused telephone wiretaps to such an extent
that the Parliament had recently restricted their use.


3. (C) Turning to the 'Ndrangheta, undoubtedly the largest
organized crime syndicate in Western Europe (ref B),Gratteri
noted that his investigations have led to the captures of 180 of
its members. He is currently overseeing 80 ongoing
investigations of the group. Gratteri praised the cooperation
his office has with Embassy Rome's FBI, DOJ and DEA Attaches.
The narcotics trade is the 'Ndrangheta's most lucrative
business, and the syndicate has members and affiliates operating
in places like Spain, Germany, The Netherlands, Canada and
Colombia to facilitate that trade. A large amount of incoming
cocaine transits West African countries, where, Gratteri noted,
Italy has no bilateral cooperation agreements or diplomatic
presence. As many other 'Ndrangheta observers have noted,
Gratteri confirmed that its members, once arrested, almost never
reveal information, and that this family-based loyalty limits
the tools of law enforcement to technology (i.e., electronic
surveillance and eavesdropping). 'Ndrangheta clans operate with
collusion and support of the local population, Gratteri
explained. In the absence of the state, the Mafia is the only
alternative for services, employment and protection. Keeping a
low profile and resolving internal disputes peacefully have been
successful strategies, Gratteri told us; the August 2007
assassination of six mafiosi at a pizzeria in Duisburg, Germany,

NAPLES 00000052 002.2 OF 003


was an error the organization would not like to repeat, he said.


4. (C) Gratteri's team is conducting an investigation into
'Ndrangheta involvement in Gioia Tauro, Europe's busiest
transshipment port located on southern Calabria's Tyrrhenian
coast. Gratteri stated that the mob practically runs both the
legal and illegal activities of the port, earning a commission
on every container and controlling the hiring of personnel
("including even the guy who operates the access gate").
However, Gratteri dismissed the common media portrayal of the
port as Europe's main gateway for narcotics, noting that the
'Ndrangheta traffics drugs through every port in Italy and
several other European ports.

Prefect Working to Gain Control Over Public Works Contracts
-------------- --------------


5. (C) The Prefect of Reggio Calabria, Francesco Antonio
Musolino, told us he was working to safeguard enormous amounts
of EU and GOI funds earmarked for Calabria. The 'Ndrangheta
clans are trying to get their hands on some six billion euros in
EU structural funds, as well as 4.5 billion euros budgeted by
the GOI still available to finish the ongoing (twenty years!)
construction of the Salerno-Reggio highway, 1.4 billion for the
first stages of the Sicilian Strait Bridge and one billion for
the construction of a regasification facility at Gioia Tauro.
The Prefecture is developing a strategy for more effective
control of public contracts in order to lock the mob out of
construction projects. One of Musolino's ideas is to require
contractors to specify daily what persons and vehicles will be
present at every worksite the next day, and for Prefecture
inspectors to conduct spot checks enforce compliance. The CG
noted our concerns for the security of AmCit DHS (Container
Security Initiative - CSI) personnel working at Gioia Tauro;
Musolino confessed he was unaware of their presence, and
undertook to be helpful in any way he could. (Note: Italian
Customs personnel at the port have received serious threats in
recent months, with one even being shot at while driving. So
far USG personnel have not been threatened or attacked, but have
taken a heightened security posture in light of these incidents.
End note.)

CSI Ops Going Well Despite Security Concerns
--------------


6. (C) During a visit to the CSI office at Gioia Tauro, CSI
personnel reiterated that they experience outstanding
cooperation with port, customs and Treasury Police officials.
No WMD components have been detected in any of the cargo checked
at the facility. The CSI personnel related numerous first- and
second-hand accounts of corruption at the port and 'Ndrangheta
intimidation of both Italians and foreigners in the local
communities. For USG personnel at Gioia Tauro, a concern
related to the Mafia presence is the substandard health care
available in the area; according to Prosecutor Gratteri,
physician and nursing degrees can be bought, and (in his words)
there are few doctors in Calabria qualified to practice
medicine. The hospital in Vibo Valentia, where most CSI
personnel live, attracted extensive press attention last year
after two easily preventable deaths, due in one instance to the
lack of a back-up power system. (Note: ConGen Naples remains
in frequent contact with CSI personnel stationed in both Naples
and Gioia Tauro, and has urged them to keep us apprised of any
security or other concerns. End note.)

Anti-Mafia NGO Continues to Grow
--------------


7. (C) In the town of Polistena, the spokesman for the
anti-Mafia NGO "AmmazzateciTutti" ("Kill Us All" - see ref C),
Aldo Pecora, told us the group continues to grow. It will
shortly open a new headquarters in the town of Nicotera, and has
strengthened its contacts with other anti-Mafia groups around
the country, such as Sicily's "AddioPizzo" and Campania's
"Students Against the Camorra." AmmazzateciTutti has had some
problems finding local organizers, though; Pecora noted that its
representative in one city in the region of Apulia is a
fifteen-year-old girl. The group is planning public
commemorations of the murders of two anti-Mafia magistrates in
August (the CG will attend one). Pecora himself has matured
considerably since we last met him, and at age 23, is completing
a book about the 'Ndrangheta and plans to take the national exam
to become a magistrate. Like Gratteri, he told us he, too, if
no longer afraid to die.

ConGen Outreach Program

NAPLES 00000052 003.2 OF 003


--------------


8. (U) Our three-and-a-half-day trip through Calabria included
three separate speeches on U.S. foreign policy by the CG to some
500 Rotary Club members in Reggio, Catanzaro and Vibo Valentia.
These addresses followed two speeches to university and Rotary
groups in Cosenza the week before. In addition, the PAO and PA
staff met with rectors and professors at the universities in
Reggio Calabria and Catanzaro, to learn more about their
academic exchanges with U.S. universities and identify possible
projects for the future. PA also met with representatives of
various media outlets in both cities, including with a new
on-line paper based in Reggio Calabria, www.strill.it. The PAO
gave interviews to the Gazzetta del Sud in Reggio, and to a
local television station in Catanzaro. Post's outreach program
culminated in a major conference on April 2 in Vibo Valentia,
hosted by ConGen Naples, on strategies for promoting tourism in
southern Italy. The CG gave an introductory speech stressing
the need for a regional touristic identity, infrastructure
development and improved customer service. Other participants
included the President of the Vibo Valentia Chamber of Commerce,
who challenged the Calabria regional government to fill the
long-standing leadership gap in tourism promotion; Massimo
Loquenzi, the Italian representative of the U.S. Travel
Association, who described his experience successfully promoting
Philadelphia; Harry Charles Mills Scio, Development Consultant
for Marriott, who explained expectations of American hotel
brands (rarely represented in southern Italy); Senator Giovanni
Mauro, who urged southern regions to make better use of
available project financing to further economic development; as
well as a cultural archaeologist, the President of Italia
Turismo, and the Regional Commissioner for Tourism. The CG also
gave a number of press and media interviews on the margins.
This outreach activity dramatically increased the number of USG
interlocutors in a region in which we have traditionally had
little influence. We even gained a warden for the consular
section's warden system.


9. (C) Comment: It is difficult to visit Calabria and not come
away pessimistic. As noted in ref A, if it were not part of
Italy, Calabria would be a failed state. The question posed in
ref A, "Can Calabria be saved?" remains a valid one. With the
'Ndrangheta so firmly entrenched and the state so noticeably
absent, it is difficult to imagine a region in Western Europe
with more intractable problems. Prosecutor Gratteri believes
that, "As long as the human race exists, the 'Ndrangheta will
exist." Yet it is people like Gratteri, Pecora, and others --
brave, honest and on the front lines of the fight against this
scourge -- who offer a glimmer of hope for the future. ConGen
Naples will continue to engage Calabrians on the key issues of
development, rule of law and organized crime; our new surge of
interlocutors are clearly encouraged by our interest. The goal
of changing attitudes is an uphill climb with a very steep
slope, but the cost of ignoring Calabria means the region will
continue to be an economic and social weight dragging down a key
ally of the United States.
TRUHN