In spite of years of progress, tradition apparently still reigns in Italy as Organized Crime is the biggest business in the country:
ROME (AP) - Revenue from organized crime amounts to an estimated $127 billion annually in Italy, making it the largest segment of the economy, a lobby group for small businesses said Monday.
The figure, representing about 7 percent of the country's gross domestic product, is made from illicit activities such as extortion, drug trafficking, loansharking and prostitution rings, the Confesercenti lobby said in a report.
Business lobbies have launched campaigns in recent years to increase awareness of the extent of organized crime in Italy, which they say limits investment in the country. Organized crime is particularly rooted in Sicily, Naples and the southern regions of Calabria and Puglia.
Tano Grasso, head of Italy's anti-rackets commission, said on state TV that for every 100 foreign investors who come to Italy, only one sets up business in the south.
One of the major issues is the "pizzo," as extorted "protection" money is known. Many businessmen in southern Italy have long considered it an unavoidable expense. A business lobby of industrialists in Sicily recently said it would expel any member who pays the "pizzo."
But eliminating the "pizzo" has been met with violent resistance. Some merchants, factory owners and industrialists who have denounced extortion attempts by mobsters have seen their businesses torched or company vehicles damaged in recent years.
A small number of businessmen have also been killed for refusing to pay the protection money.
Can a Redneck say "Mama mia" without being accused of being "insensitive?"
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