Tag Archives: Mafia

Kremlin critic wants film to open West’s eyes about Putin’s Russia

FILE PHOTO: Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon who fell foul of Vladimir Putin's Kremlin, is seen during an interview with Reuters at his office in central London, Britain, August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File Photo

By Hanna Rantala

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) – Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky hopes a new documentary film about his life chronicling his journey from being Russia’s richest man to an exiled dissident will open the West’s eyes to the nature of modern Russia.

The film, “Citizen K”, was made by Oscar-winning U.S. filmmaker Alex Gibney and premiered at the Venice Film festival this weekend. It was based on more than 24 hours of interviews that Khodorkovsky, who is now based in Britain, gave over a period of months.

It tells the story of Khodorkovsky’s dramatic 2003 arrest on an icy Siberian runway by armed men and his fall from grace, punishment for what he and his supporters believe was his interest in Russian politics and fighting corruption.

The bespectacled tycoon, then head of the now defunct Yukos oil company, went on to serve a decade in jail on fraud charges he says were politically motivated before being freed in 2013 after President Vladimir Putin pardoned him.

“Today’s Kremlin regime has learned the art of window dressing very well, but it’s important to understand that behind these beautiful windows there is not just an ordinary authoritarian state but a real mafia, which has taken over this state,” Khodorkovsky, 56, told Reuters.

“If we look at how these methods are applied in relation to the West, we will see corruption, blackmail, compromising materials and even violence. While negotiating with the current Russian regime the West should understand it’s dealing with a criminal organization.”

Russia, which rejects his criticism as false, has issued an international arrest warrant for Khodorkovsky, accusing him of ordering at least one successful contract killing in the 1990s, something Khodorkovsky denies.

Putin has said he regards the former businessman as a common thief, while Russian authorities have moved to curb the activities of Open Russia, a pro-democracy movement founded by Khodorkovsky.

“A VERY TALENTED KGB GUY”

In “Citizen K,” Khodorkovsky says he misread Putin when the former Soviet intelligence officer first came to power.

“It seemed to me ideologically that he was one of us. A person who gets it and wants to push Russia in the same direction that we want to. That is towards openness, towards democracy,” said Khodorkovsky.

“Boy was I mistaken. He’s a very talented KGB guy.”

Despite living in Britain, Khodorkovsky said he “lived for Russia” and that it occupied his thoughts for 12 out of every 16 waking hours a day, adding that he and his supporters were acutely aware of the risks they ran.

“If the Kremlin decides to kill somebody, it is very difficult for this person to avoid this fate,” he said, a reference to allegations that Moscow has assassinated some of its critics abroad, a charge the Kremlin flatly rejects.

“I tell all my colleagues that the only thing we can do for you is to help you not to be forgotten, as I was not forgotten during 10 years in prison. But it will be difficult, or even impossible, to save you if anything happens.”

(Additional reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian in Venice and Maria Stromova in Moscow; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Alleged Gambino crime boss shot, killed outside Staten Island home

New York City Police officers (NYPD) investigate the scene where, reported New York Mafia Gambino family crime boss, Francesco "Franky Boy" Cali, was killed outside his home in the Staten Island borough of New York City, U.S., March 14, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

By Rich McKay

(Reuters) – The reported crime boss of the New York Mafia’s Gambino family, Francesco “Franky Boy” Cali, was gunned down in front of his Staten Island home late Wednesday, police and media said.

Cali, 53, was fatally shot multiple times to his torso shortly after 9 p.m. (0100 GMT on Thursday) in front of his home, police said.

Media, including the New York Post, reported that Cali was shot at least six or seven times and also run over by a blue pickup truck driven by the shooter, citing unidentified police sources.

The Gambino crime operation is one of the five historic Italian-American Mafia families in New York, Reuters has previously reported, and it makes money through violence and extortion.

Charges against members of Mafia operations, including Gambino family operatives, have included murder, loan sharking, gambling and illegal drug distribution, Reuters has reported.

The New York Daily News reported in 2008 that Cali was among 62 people arrested on federal racketeering charges and he later pleaded guilty to conspiring to extort money. He served a 16-month sentence.

There is no known motive for the shooting of Cali, a police watch commander told Reuters.

“There are no arrests and the investigation is ongoing,” police said in a statement.

(Reporting by Rich McKay; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Pope says Mafiosi ‘carry death’, can’t call themselves Christian

Pope Francis leads the Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican, March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Max Rossi

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis on Wednesday told members of the Mafia in Italy, where many go to Church and worship openly, that they cannot call themselves Christians because they “carry death in their souls”.

Francis’ improvised words before tens of thousands of people at his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square was his strongest attack on organized crime in nearly four years.

“So we don’t have to go far, let’s think about what happens right here at home (Italy),” he said while speaking generally about “fake Christians” who are corrupt while pretending to be righteous.

“(What about) the so-called Christian Mafiosi,” he said. “They have nothing at all in them that is Christian. They call themselves Christians but they carry death in their souls and inflict it on others.”

Many members of organized crime groups in Italy, such as Sicily’s Cosa Nostra and Calabria’s ‘Ndrangheta, see themselves as part of a religious, cult-like group.

Particularly in smaller towns and cities in the south, they take part in Catholic sacraments, go to church and in some cases have also found complicity by some churchmen.

The town of Oppido Mamertina in the Calabria region made headlines in 2014 when locals carrying a statute of the Madonna in a traditional religious procession diverted its route to pass by the home of local mob boss who was infirm.

They paused before the boss’ house and tilted the statue slightly as if to kneel in a sign of respect toward the clan boss.

When Pope Francis visited the Calabria region the same year, he accused organized crime members of practising “the adoration of evil” and said Mafiosi excommunicate themselves from the Church by their actions.

At the audience in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, Francis asked the faithful for prayers for Mafiosi, “so that the Lord touches their souls”.

In 1993 Pope John Paul sternly warned members of Sicily’s Cosa Nostra that they would “one day face the justice of God”. The crime group responded several months later with bomb attacks against several churches in Rome, including the Basilica of St. John’s, which is a pope’s church in his capacity as bishop of Rome.

In recent years, the Calabria-based ‘Ndrangheta has overtaken Sicily’s Cosa Nostra as the most feared and lucrative Italian crime group, making most of its money from drug trafficking. It has spread throughout the world.

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Peter Graff)

Italian Police Seize $2 Billion From Mafia

Italian police announced a huge step forward in their fight against organized crime in their nation.

A police sting against the ‘Ndrangheta mafia, the crime syndicate which controls much of the cocaine trade across Europe, seized assets worth over 2 billion euros or over $2.2 billion American dollars.

“[This is] a serious blow to the ‘Ndrangheta,” Italy’s interior minister Angelino Alfrano told the BBC.

Police seized at least 1,500 betting parlors, 82 gambling websites, 45 Italian companies and 11 foreign companies under the mafia’s control.  Six of those companies were in Malta according to investigators.

“[The suspects] recycled an enormous amount of ‘dirty’ money through the use of gaming accounts assigned to willing or unwitting people,” a police statement read.  “They bypassed the laws governing this sector, accumulating significant profits that were then reinvested in the acquisition of new companies and licences to further expand their activities.”

It’s the second major seizure by police in the last two weeks.  Two weeks prior, they seized more than 1.6 billion euros in assets from five men suspected of links to the mafia.

Pope Francis Excommunicates Mafia Members

Pope Francis made another bold step, holding an open-air mass in a town known to be the home of Italy’s most ruthless mafia organization and saying their members are now excommunicated from the Catholic Church.

“Those who in their lives follow this path of evil, as mafiosi do, are not in communion with God. They are excommunicated,” the Pope said.  “This evil must be fought against, it must be pushed aside. We must say no to it.”

The Pope had traveled to the southern region of Calabria to comfort the family of a 3-year-old boy who along with his grandparents was gunned down by mafia members in a shootout.  Pope Francis visited the boy’s father in prison and tried to help him find peace over his son’s death.

“May children never again have to suffer in this way,” the Pope told him.

The mafia is known to be very religious despite their criminal activities and have given large amounts of money to Catholic Church activities and charities in the past. Anti-mafia prosecutors in Italy say until Pope Francis, many of the mafia laundered money through Catholic organizations.

Pope Francis Calls Out Italian Mafia

Pope Francis is taking a bold stand against Italy’s powerful mafia organizations, telling the leaders that if they don’t repent they will end up in hell.

The Pope made his comments at the end of a special mass for family members of those who have been killed by the mafia organizations.  The Pope sat in silent prayer as the names of 842 victims in the last year were read aloud.  He then issued a blessing to the family members before pausing and issuing his comments to the mafia members and leaders.

“I feel I cannot conclude without saying a word to the protagonists who are absent today, the men and women Mafiosi,” the Pope said.  “Please change your lives.  Convert yourselves.  Stop doing evil.”

“There is still time to avoid ending up in hell,” the Pope continued.  “That is what is waiting for you if you continue on this path.  You have had a father and a mother.  Think of them.  Cry a little and convert.”

The Pope then expanded his comments to a wider audience, saying the trappings of wealth, power and status would not give anyone true happiness.  He concluded by saying that no one will be able to take anything with them into the next life.

Prosecutor Warns Of Mafia Threat Against Pope Francis

An Italian prosecutor says the Christ-like ways of Pope Francis and his desire to reform the church is causing him to be viewed as a threat by at least one mafia organization.

State prosecutor Nicola Gratteri said that the ‘Ndrangheta crime organization is “very nervous” about the Pope’s attempts to reform the church.

“Those who have up until now profited from the influence and wealth drawn from the church are getting very nervous,” Gratteri told the Washington Post. “For many years, the mafia has laundered money and made investments with the complicity of the church. But now the pope is dismantling the poles of economic power in the Vatican, and that is dangerous.”

Pope Francis has spoken out against organized crime and even mentioned the ‘Ndrangheta in a speech given in May. The Pope spoke on Monday against corruption quoting the Gospel of Luke: “It would be better for (the corrupt man) if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea.”

Security officials for the Vatican are concerned about mafia action because of Pope Francis’ continual unwillingness to stick with establish protocol and go out into the masses that visit St. Peter’s Square.