The Secret History of the 'Ndrangheta: A Long, Dark Story of Blood and Power (1860-2018)

"The Secret History of the 'Ndrangheta: A Long, Dark Story of Blood and Power (1860-2018)" by prominent Italian prosecutor Nicola Gratteri and organized crime expert Professor Antonio Nicasso presents a revealing historical and judicial investigation that unveils the development of the world's most mysterious and wealthy mafia. The text is based on a scientific hypothesis that seeks to answer a fundamental question: Why did chicken and livestock thieves in the Italian province of Calabria during the nineteenth century turn into a transient international criminal network?of the continents, while their peers in the rest of Europe remained merely local thieves? The authors offer a decisive answer that rereads history from a different angle, stressing that the secret of the survival and strength of the 'Ndrangheta organization lies not only in the brutality of its crimes, but also in its superior ability to forge close and continuous relationships with centers of political, economic, and institutional power over the decades.The survey takes the reader on a long journey spanning more than 150 years, drawing on a wealth of forgotten archival documents and secret court papers to dispel common myths about this organization. The text follows the first roots of the organization that were born within the Bourbon prisons on the island of Favignana, where rituals and symbols shared between the prisoners were formed. The two writers explain how the 'Ndrangheta was able to cross the country's major historical turning points without being affected. It emerged unscathed from the wars of independenceItaly, then the First and Second World Wars, and the fascist era up to the First and Second Republics, exploiting at every stage the authorities’ chronic underestimation of the extent of its influence and treating it as a primitive rural phenomenon.The book concludes its in-depth chapters with a very stern warning tone, similar to a declaration of war and a wake-up call to the international community. It sheds light on the modern and vital face of the organization after it abandoned its traditional methods based on primitive weapons and physical risks, and today it has transformed into a black economic institution that achieves annual revenues estimated at tens of billions of euros by dominating the global cocaine smuggling market. This work represents an indispensable reference and documentary text for understanding the mechanisms of organized crimecontemporary; Gratteri (who has been under heavy guard for decades due to his investigations) and Nicasso prove that confronting this “fierce Jurassic animal” requires more than traditional trials; It requires cutting the arteries of his secret alliances with politics and money to protect the future of societies.