Sicilian Mafia Complains About Lack of Quality Recruits Among Youth

sicily, italy - Sicilian mafia bosses lament the decline in quality of recruits among the youth, as revealed in intercepted conversations.

Modern Challenges for Sicilian Mafia

Recent police actions aimed to prevent Sicilian mafia from regrouping and installing a new leadership. However, investigations show that organized crime is struggling to adapt to modern realities and longs for the ambitious days of the past.

Giancarlo Romano, a rising figure in the mafia world before his assassination, expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of new recruits. He criticized their low level and lack of commitment, stating, 'Today they arrest someone, and if he turns informant, they just arrest another.'

During intercepted conversations, Romano advised a novice mafioso to attend school, meet doctors and lawyers, and draw lessons from 'The Godfather' film trilogy. He bemoaned the current mafia's satisfaction with small-scale drug sales, contrasting it with past gangsters facing life imprisonment for large drug shipments.

Romano's murder in February 2024, seemingly linked to online gambling extortion, led to further arrests within his mafia branch. Despite Cosa Nostra's diminished status, prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia warns that it remains a force to be reckoned with.

The new generation of mob leaders employs encrypted mobile phones and disposable micro-SIM cards smuggled into prisons to evade surveillance. They engage in drug trafficking, money laundering, and online gambling, forming alliances with other criminal groups such as the 'ndrangheta on the Italian mainland.