The Mafia Capitale is the name given to an

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

organization and subsequent investigation involving the government of the city of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, in which members stole money destined for city services and carried out other criminal activities such as racketeering,

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agre ...

loan-sharking A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law. Description Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably ...

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

, drug trafficking, fraud, money laundering, illegal works, and bribery. It operated in the city of Rome and the region of

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

Background

A police investigation by Rome's chief prosecutor, Giuseppe Pignatone, revealed a network of corrupt relationships between some politicians and criminals in the Italian capital. The criminal actions took advantage of the recent influx of immigrants to Italy, gaining public contracts to manage migrant reception centres. The criminal organization also used its connections to secure lucrative public contracts, before accepting payments for substandard or, sometimes, non-existent services. Among those investigated are former mayor Gianni Alemanno and the bosses Salvatore Buzzi and

Massimo Carminati Massimo Carminati (; born 31 May 1958), allegedly nicknamed "the last king of Rome", is an Italian underworld figure and former member of far-right terrorist group Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari and criminal gang Banda della Magliana, which were at ...

, a former member of

Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari The Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari ( en, Armed Revolutionary Nuclei), abbreviated NAR, was an Italian terrorist neo-fascist militant organization active during the Years of Lead from 1977 to November 1981. It committed 33 murders in four years, a ...

and

Banda della Magliana The Banda della Magliana (, ''Magliana Gang'') is an Italian criminal organization based in Rome. It was founded in 1975. Given by the media, the name refers to the original neighborhood, the Magliana, of some of its members. The ''Banda dell ...

, as well as members of the 'Ndrangheta. A 1200-page arrest warrant was issued in December 2014, and was followed by dozens of arrests. Among those investigated and arrested of the government of the city were the president of Rome's city council, the head of the city's public-housing division, and the former president of Ostia. On 18 December 2015, Alemanno was indicted for corruption and illicit financing. According to the accusation, Alemanno received €125,000 from the cooperatives' boss Salvatore Buzzi. On 7 February 2017, the allegation of an external cooperation in a mafia association was filed, including the allegations of corruption and illicit funding. On 20 July 2017, Carminati was sentenced to 20 years in jail, along with other various sentences of his associates. On 11 September 2018, on appeal, Carminati was sentenced to 14 years and six months, with Buzzi sentenced to 18 years and four months.

In popular culture

The events of the Mafia Capitale investigation are the basis for the 2015 film ''

Suburra The Suburra, or ''Subura'' (unknown etymology), was a vast and populous neighborhood of Ancient Rome, located below the ''Murus Terreus'' on the ''Carinae'' and stretching on the slopes of the Quirinal and Viminal hills up to the offshoots of th ...

'', and the 2017 TV series '' Suburra: Blood on Rome''.

References

{{Reflist 1999 establishments in Italy 2014 disestablishments in Italy Crime in Rome Organized crime events in Italy Organised crime groups in Italy