ROME, Jan 13 — Dozens of mafiosi from Italy’s three main organised crime groups were sentenced yesterday for teaming up to traffic drugs and commit financial crimes in the country’s richest region.

The so-called “maxi-trial”, which began in May, involved defendants linked to Calabria’s ’Ndrangheta, Sicily’s Cosa Nostra and the Camorra with roots around Naples — all accused of operating what prosecutors called a lucrative “consortium” in Lombardy.

The court sentenced 62 defendants under a rapid summary trial procedure to up to 16 years in prison each and ruled that 45 more will face a full trial, Italian media reported.

Dubbed “Hydra” in a reference to the mythological multi-headed monster, the trial is one of the biggest related to the dealings of Italy’s organised crime groups far from their southern strongholds.

The powerful ’Ndrangheta families, and to a lesser extent the Cosa Nostra and Camorra, have succeeded in infiltrating the northern economy, whether though real estate holdings, control of construction projects, or investing in restaurants or other cash-heavy businesses.

Milan prosecutors argued that the three groups agreed to work together in a rare alliance to commit a series of crimes from extortion and drug trafficking to money laundering and abuse of Italy’s “superbonus” tax credit scheme for energy-efficient construction work.

The judge agreed with the prosecutors’ argument of an association “made up of members of the three groups,” according to Italian news agency ANSA.

In a series of 21 meetings in the Milan and Varese area during 2020 and 2021 documented during the trial, mafia members allegedly decided jointly on where to focus their efforts, including winning contracts for cleaning services or parking lots.

“Without shooting, have you seen how everything has changed?” Giancarlo Vestiti told a colleague in an intercepted phone call disclosed by prosecutors, as reported by local media.

Vestiti, a defendant, represented the Camorra’s Senese family, which is active in Rome.

The trial has also disclosed ties between the Lombardy operations and the Sicilian clan of ex-boss Matteo Messina Dennaro, who died in 2023 after 30 years on the run.

One of the defendants included Giuseppe Fidanzati, son of the Cosa Nostra boss Gaetano who died in 2013.

The trial has taken place in a courtroom bunker at Milan’s Opera prison where security had been tightened due to death threats against the prosecutors, whose police protection has been boosted.

The case against the defendants has been rocky, with a preliminary investigation judge in 2023 rejecting most of the prosecution’s requests for arrest warrants, finding its evidence of a triple mafia organisation scant.

Italy’s highest court eventually sided with prosecutors on appeal. — AFP