San Luca, Italy
A Calabrian mob called Ndrangheta was responsible for the execution-style killing of six Italians in a pizzeria in Germany last week, Italian officials said. The group has replaced Cosa Nostra as Italys biggest crime syndicate, thanks largely to a major government crackdown on the Sicilian Mafia throughout the 1990s. As Cosa Nostra lost power, Ndrangheta began buying up property in the former East Germany, opening a network of pizzerias to launder money for its cocaine-smuggling business. Calabrian prosecutor Nicola Gratteri said the slayings in Germany were part of a feud between two families in the syndicate.
