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A senior judge has warned that Rome is fast becoming the country's crime capital
Giorgio Santacroce, the president of Rome's Appeals Court, said he was alarmed by the spread of the Camorra and 'Ndrangheta, once confined to the country's south, and their infiltration of restaurants, bars and other businesses in the Eternal City.
In a report to mark the inauguration of the judicial year, Mr Santacroce said that various clans were systematically using cafés and restaurants to launder money and also investing heavily in real estate, construction and finance.
"Mafia organisations are acquiring properties, companies and commercial businesses, that are often not on the market, in which they invest money gained from criminal sources, giving the earnings the appearance of legality," the judge said.
The court report noted half a dozen of the most powerful 'Ndrangheta clans from the southern region of Calabria, including the Gallico di Palmi, Alvaro, and Pelle, had effectively divided the city into their own separate territories where they exercised control.
Luigi Ciampoli, chief prosecutor of the Appeals Court, said: "The capital, seat of political and economic power, offers the prospect of solid establishments and lavish earnings."
