Transcription
[Music] [Music] [Music] The mafia is made up of ordinary people who take their kids to school, who kiss their foreheads before they go to sleep. It's a human condition, almost banal.
[Music] I'm an investigative journalist, and I've been covering the mafia for 25 years. It's an extremely dangerous mafia, still run like a family.
[Music] I've always wanted to do this job because the better you know your enemy, the better you'll know how to get close to them and defeat them. Our mother's insight allowed her to understand the connections between the mafia, politics, and the economy.
[Music] Bruno Manganelli has been working in Bari as an anti-mafia public prosecutor for 6 years. Wherever she goes, she is always accompanied by a bodyguard, pushing a menu in the way you [Music] want. The faster we go, the better. It's a basic security measure because you never know what could happen. We hope that everything will go well, but we're obliged to take precautions, particularly because around here they often use guns to settle scores. They shoot each other over anything.
[Music] There are many assassinations. It's dangerous. Seriously dangerous. To ensure her safety, Bruna can count on Nicola, who has spent 30 years working as a protection officer for public prosecutors.
[Music] I spent 13 years in Sicily, in Messina, protecting the magistrates who were working on the case of Totoina. It has to be said that we often hear about the Sicilian mafia, but the mafias of Gargano, Foia, or in Pulia in general are just as dangerous. Hello. We're just 5 km away. We're nearly there. Okay. Bari Law Courts, the anti-mafia section. The prosecutor Manganelli arrives for the long day ahead. The trial of several mafia members implicated in a score-settling case begins this week. We're in a time of war between the mafia clans. We're going through a phase of high tension between different mafia families. They're shooting each other, sometimes with Kalashnikovs. It's what happened to Roberto Sini, who was wounded. What's really terrible is that they shot at his daughter and grandson, Roberto Franka, who was only four at the time, and who luckily was only hit in the shoulder.
[Music] Puglia. His family, the Sinsi Franabila, specializes in drug trafficking and racketeering. For a long time, the Omea protected the clan. But today, thanks to painstaking investigations, Bruna is making progress. Women are perhaps more attentive to certain things. They're more meticulous. At the beginning of an investigation, it's difficult to get people to talk, to collaborate. But if you have the right dose of empathy, and perhaps being questioned by a woman can make people open up more, they might be more inclined to tell the truth, that the trial for the assassination attempt on Roberto Sinesi by a rival clan will start in 2 days. The result of 9 years of judicial and police [Music] investigations. Okay, superintendent. Listen. What's up? There are two individuals who are talking about drugs, and our colleagues have found the car they're in. They could arrest them. And so you've got the recordings? Yes, but we need your Okay. Oh, okay. Okay. Can you rewind the conversation? Stop. Stop. Stop. Yes, absolutely. They've said the right words. You can go ahead with the arrest. Did you give the location of the vehicle? Yes, they have the coordinates. We're in the process of informing everyone. Okay, we can launch the operation. Perfect. Thank you. We've identified a car that could be carrying drugs. So, we've given the teams the exact location of the vehicle, the street name. Then, we have to find conclusive evidence to seize the drugs, and we're hoping to get it done quickly in Bari. Rosario Delazi is in charge of a police unit that works to fight organized crime. She has a team of 22 investigators, all of whom are men. I'm giving each one of you a file with different objectives that we're going to study for today's operation. So here, these are the individuals who are part of a mafia clan that is known for acts of extortion and drug trafficking. These are the images of the site of the operation taken by our drone. They will help you identify the different areas that the individuals may use to try and escape. Is all that clear? Good luck. Rosaria is 48 years old and has a solid career behind her. From inspector, she quickly rose through the police ranks. I think I've reached what I consider to be my greatest professional ambition. Obviously, there's a lot of responsibility involved; it's a daily challenge, but I think of myself as lucky.
[Music] Luck, but also plenty of 24/7 investigations. Rosaria is currently working on a vast operation that is, for the moment, top secret. On the 31st of March 1984, at 23:30, the Sacra Corona Unita assassinated a woman for the first time. She fell here. This is where her life came to an end. When she got here, she was about to go into the building when someone shot her in the back. And when I came down a few minutes later, her body was still there, and the police were collecting evidence. Renata Fonte was assassinated in March 1984 at the age of 33. Three bullets in her back. She was the mother of two little girls and a local counselor in the town of Nardo in the south of Puglia. Her death left Italy in [Music] shock. How do you feel coming here? There's always people here who ask me who this person is. Today, 40 years later, her daughters Sabrina and Vivana still don't have all the answers. In the early stages of the investigation, people thought it was a crime of passion because nobody could imagine that a woman would be killed by the mafia for political reasons. I think what our mother realized at the time, in the early 80s, was that although the Salento region was considered an island of prosperity, in reality, a mafia system with mafia methods had been established. Several entrepreneurs interested in building and speculating in the Porto Selvaggio area were losing millions because of Renata Fonte. The only thing Renata did wrong was to oppose a real estate project in this protected area of coastline. The project was driven by the Sacra Corona Unita, a mafia organization that was developing rapidly in Puglia in the 1980s. Nobody talked about the Sacra Corona Unita. Nobody mentioned criminal organizations in the Salento region. It wasn't until the first court cases at the end of the '90s that we heard of her existence. The assassin, a mafia hitman, was arrested. He acted on the orders of an elected official connected to the organization. Both were condemned to 26 years in prison in 1987. The verdict declared that Councillor Spaniolo was aware that he was part of a bigger organization and that he was only an intermediary. The verdict leaves no doubt that other high-ranking individuals were involved. Sabrina and Vivana are well aware that the mafia does not tolerate criticism or unwanted publicity. This they have in common with the investigative journalist Marylu Mastrogiovanni, an obstinate and determined reporter who is becoming a real nuisance to the criminal organizations. Each one of her articles raises awareness about the collusion between organized crime and political power.
[Music] One of my most important investigations was on the landfill site of Burgazzi, which is one of the most important in the Salento region. The mafia has buried hundreds of barrels of PCB, polychlorinated biphenyl, both on the site, but also on adjacent land. PCB is on the list of the 10 most dangerous chemical waste products in the world. It's almost impossible to treat. And these barrels of toxic waste come from businesses in the north of Italy who got rid of them illegally by using the Sacra Corona. It was this investigation that marked the beginning of Marylu's problems. I started to get anonymous calls. They spoke in dialect and said that I must stop my investigations. After the calls, they damaged the editorial office of my newspaper, the Taco Italia. They broke into the building on several occasions. Then there was theft. They stole all the editorial team's computers, seven in total. And in order to steal these computers, they broke down a wall. Following these incidents, Marylu's newspaper had to close their offices. Today, they only publish an online version. This morning, the journalist has to appear in court in Lecce for two trials for defamation. It's their new strategy, a new strategy used by the mafia to intimidate journalists because it causes considerable personal costs, but also financial and professional costs. We pay a very high price to do this job. Following an investigation that proved the links between her local town council and the Sacra Corona Unita, Marylu had to move away with all her family. I was frightened when they killed our dog, when they threatened our children. Then they were really afraid, and that's why we moved to a different town. They set fire to a part of our house. So, I got scared when there were serious reasons to be scared. But fear can sometimes switch sides. At the court in Foggia, the public prosecutor Bruno Manganelli is getting ready for the hearing. This case concerns a mafioso from Foggia. He is accused of the attempted murder of a member of a rival clan. All of the accused are already in prison on other charges. They are answering the prosecutor's questions by video conference. And you say you have no contact with your brother? No. No, I haven't had contact for years. But then how do you explain that his wife, Elisabetta Sini, came to see you in prison with his children if you have no contact? What's the reason? It was so I could meet the baby. I'd never seen him. In order to deal with the increase in mafia cases, the Italian justice system has developed new laws, unique in Europe. For the more important cases, we have requested and obtained several measures to place the accused under what we call a strict prison regime, where the individual is isolated and they are not allowed any communication or contact with the organizations to which they belong. But also, once they are in prison, they are continuously monitored because in prison communication is easy. It's thanks to this surveillance and to the witness accounts of several informers that Bruno Manganelli has managed to dismantle several clans in the Foggia area. In many cases, in addition to prison sentences, the prosecutor can seize mafia property, like this agricultural business. Oh, okay. This building was a bunker. They would bring stolen trucks here to take them apart because the walls are so thick, about 45 to 50 cm thick and made of concrete. The truck's GPS signal could not be picked up. It's the only case where the burden of proof is switched. Unlike a criminal case, it is up to the accused to prove he acquired all his property legally. And this measure applies to the accused, but also to his family, to his wife, his children, or his parents, or those close to him.
[Music] Italian prosecutors have paid a high price in their fight against the mafia. Bruna Manganelli knows that she is at risk, but she is a woman who places public interest above her own security.
[Music] Chief Superintendent Rosario Delazi knows that you have to be patient and meticulous in the fight against the mafia. In Puglia, mafia clans are territorial. Certain neighborhoods, like San Valentino in the suburbs of Andria, are completely under the control of one family.
[Music] We're arriving in the neighborhood. So here, this is the San Valentino neighborhood. It's a working-class area, but it's also the headquarters of the Pesca Valentino clan. They specialize in drug trafficking, but also in extortion. We already have arrested some of their members a year and a half ago. To maintain the pressure, the anti-mafia unit carries out frequent patrols in the San Valentino area. For over a year now, the fight against organized crime has intensified. Last year, two operations resulted in the arrest of 167 members of the mafia in Puglia. To carry out these operations, more than 600 police officers were mobilized from all over Italy. We found drugs, but we also seized property in coordination with the Guardia di Finanza. It was a very successful operation, both from a quantitative and qualitative point of view, thanks to the collaboration of different police departments. Viviana and Sabrina have chosen to work on prevention and give numerous conferences in primary and secondary schools. Sabrina. Hi, I'm Sabrina. Nice to be here. Today, like every 10th of March, is a sad day, as her mother, Renata Fonte, would have celebrated her 74th birthday. My message is a message of hope. I can see a lot of potential in these kids and adolescents. I say to them that we must speak up loudly and not resign ourselves, but bear witness for those that are no longer here to continue the fight. The classroom is full of young people perfectly aware of the dangers of the mafia. I think that to change things we have to stand up, march in the street, but would our school be safe? And who would protect the students? Because God knows how many men and women have lost their lives by getting in the way of the mafia and their interests. [Applause] We are taken hostage from birth. And how is it possible that millions of our fellow citizens can be held hostage by a few hundred people who operate in the shadows and no longer need ostentatious displays to prosper? Prosper. They launder money using false identities as if they were objects. They traffic human beings. So, how can we continue to be silent? Our anger must be heard. And I say that it's up to us to do it. Although they are neither judges nor police officers nor journalists, Sabrina and Vivana continue their personal fight against the mafia with the means available to them to carry on their mother's work.
[Music] The journalist Marylu Mastrogiovanni has to appear in court this morning in Lecce for defamation. She has been summoned to court more than a hundred times during her 25-year career. You know, I still have €1,500 to €2,000 of legal fees to pay, and I still have other cases pending. Marylu has to pay her legal fees upfront. She would be bankrupt without the help of the trade union of journalists. Today, the mayor of a small town is accusing her of writing about his connection to the mafia. I'm an investigative journalist. I don't only base my arguments on facts that have been made public through judicial investigations. I make my own inquiries using journalistic methods, of which there are many. I always use documents that are on open data and therefore they're documents in the public domain. They're available to all, but no one looks at them. Bizarrely, at the end of the hearing, the mayor's lawyers remain silent. It's very curious. I don't understand why his lawyer didn't ask me a single question. It gives me hope. If I'm declared guilty, I could go to prison. I don't know how long for exactly, several years. Despite the continuous stress involved, the financial pressure, and the time wasted, Marylu and her family don't give up. Did you think I was good? Was there anything you thought I missed? No. No, you were perfect.
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