The Mafia is one of the most feared and powerful criminal organizations the world has ever known. It was also, briefly during World War II, Americas ally--a fact that had a profound effect on the fortunes of the Fascists, and on those of the Mafia, whom Mussolini had effectively crushed.
This book brings to light a little-known chapter in the history of World War II, and of organized crime. It tells how Cesare Mori, deputized by Mussolini to "cauterize the sore of crime in Italy," waged all-out war on the Mafia in the name of fascism; and how the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943 (Operation Husky) gave the Mafia an opening to regain its strength--and its hold on political power--in the vacuum created by the Fascists defeat.
A provocative account of how the rise and ultimate defeat of fascism in Italy affected the worlds largest and most notorious criminal organization, Mafia Allies also illuminates a dark truth about the unexpected long-term consequences of wartime alliances of convenience.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
James Bond Girl Target of Mafia Kidnapping Plot
Friends of ours: Giuseppe Maniaci, Salvatore Micali
A plan by Mafia mobsters planned to kidnap a stunning Bond girl to make a "sack of money" has been foiled.
The gang had planned to seize actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta, 37, star of The World Is Not Enough
and Il Postino
, and hold her to ransom. But their daring plan was foiled by Italian police.
Details of the kidnap plot emerged in a court case involving mobsters Giuseppe Maniaci, 50, and Salvatore Micali, 38, from the Mafia's stronghold of Messina on the Italian island of Sicily. The pair, who were charged with extortion, hatched the plot in 1997.
Police intercepted telephone conversations of the pair hatching the plan. They are heard saying they could make "a sack of money" by kidnapping the actress.
Ms Cucinotta agent was reported to have said the actress had been unaware of the plot.
A plan by Mafia mobsters planned to kidnap a stunning Bond girl to make a "sack of money" has been foiled.The gang had planned to seize actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta, 37, star of The World Is Not Enough
and Il Postino, and hold her to ransom. But their daring plan was foiled by Italian police.Details of the kidnap plot emerged in a court case involving mobsters Giuseppe Maniaci, 50, and Salvatore Micali, 38, from the Mafia's stronghold of Messina on the Italian island of Sicily. The pair, who were charged with extortion, hatched the plot in 1997.
Police intercepted telephone conversations of the pair hatching the plan. They are heard saying they could make "a sack of money" by kidnapping the actress.
Ms Cucinotta agent was reported to have said the actress had been unaware of the plot.
Supected Mobster Shot to Death
Friends of ours: Rudolph Izzi, Robert DeCicco, Genovese Crime Family, Gambino Crime Family
A man suspected of being connected to the Mafia was found shot to death in an apartment where someone had kicked in the door, police said.
Officers discovered the body of Rudolph Izzi, 74, at about 2:30 p.m. Thursday on a bed inside his Brooklyn apartment. He had been shot in the head.
Izzi was the victim of a pistol-whipping by an unidentified man in his home in 2001, when news reports identified him as a reputed soldier in the Genovese organized crime family.
Police said there was no immediate evidence that the slaying was connected to the shooting on Tuesday of another reputed mobster outside a social club run by his father in the same Brooklyn neighborhood. In that case, Robert DeCicco, son of a notorious captain in the Gambino crime family, was shot four times as he sat in his car near the club, officials said. There were no arrests.
A man suspected of being connected to the Mafia was found shot to death in an apartment where someone had kicked in the door, police said.
Officers discovered the body of Rudolph Izzi, 74, at about 2:30 p.m. Thursday on a bed inside his Brooklyn apartment. He had been shot in the head.
Izzi was the victim of a pistol-whipping by an unidentified man in his home in 2001, when news reports identified him as a reputed soldier in the Genovese organized crime family.
Police said there was no immediate evidence that the slaying was connected to the shooting on Tuesday of another reputed mobster outside a social club run by his father in the same Brooklyn neighborhood. In that case, Robert DeCicco, son of a notorious captain in the Gambino crime family, was shot four times as he sat in his car near the club, officials said. There were no arrests.
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