ITALY - Italian police have thwarted efforts by the Calabrian mafia to muscle into the 2015 Universal Exposition in Milan, according to officials.
Fifteen members of a crime clan were arrested at the end of last week in and around Milan, charged with infiltrating businesses associated with the planned exposition, according to Italian news agency ANSA.
According to interior minister, Roberto Marconi, the ‘Ndrangheta clan specialised in loan sharking to take over legitimate shops and businesses. Italian authorities are alleged to have seized more than US$12m in assets during two police raids.
The news agency claims mobsters had obtained permits to operate a mini-casino, disco and restaurant in the town of Pero, outside Milan, as part of urban renewal projects preceding the Expo.
Officials hope up to 20m people will attend the Milan Universal Expo, the successor to the ongoing Shanghai Expo, and is budgeted at nearly US$9.4bn.
