Mafia arrests by Italian and US police aim to dent resurgence of powerful crime family
Those targeted include members of the Inzerillo clan in the Sicilian capital Palermo and the New York-based Gambino family.
Wednesday 17 July 2019 13:43, UK
Scores of suspected members of two of Sicily and New York's most powerful crime families have been targeted in coordinated dawn raids.
Italian investigators joined forces with America's FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) to execute 19 arrest warrants.
More than 200 police officers were involved in Wednesday's crackdown which is aimed at those seeking to rebuild power bases in Siciliy.
They face a string of charges including membership of the mafia, aggravated extortion, fraud and "unfair competition".
Those targeted include members of the Inzerillo clan in the Sicilian capital Palermo and the New York-based Gambino family.
The Inzerillo family was forced into self-imposed exile in the US after rival crime family Cosa Nostra, headed by Salvatore 'Toto' Riina, took over their territory in the 1980s.
One of the most feared Godfathers in the history of the Sicilian mafia, Riina died in a hospital for prisoners at the age of 87 in 2007.
Cosa Nostra has been in a state of flux since his death, and the Inzerillo clan has since been looking to reclaim its old business with the help of its allies in New York.
"The investigation, dubbed 'New Connection', has registered the strong bond established between Cosa Nostra Palermo and US organised crime, with particular reference to the powerful Gambino crime family of New York," Italian police said in a statement.
Francesco 'Franky Boy' Cali, head of the Gambino family, was shot dead outside his Staten Island home in March.
He took charge in 2015 and had been linked with the Inzerillo clain.
It is not clear if his murder had anything to do with the rising tensions in Sicily.
Riina was one of Sicily's most notorious Mafia bosses, and was nicknamed The Beast during his time in charge of Cosa Nostra.
Among the most brutal murders he ordered was of a 13-year-old boy who was kidnapped to stop his father telling Mafia secrets. The teenager was strangled and dissolved in acid.