PALERMO: Italian and U.S. police have launched a coordinated crackdown on a Sicilian Mafia family that was seeking to rebuild its power base after years of exile in the United States, Italian investigators said on Wednesday. “The investigation “has registered the strong bond established between Cosa Nostra Palermo and U.S. organised crime,” particularly the Gambino clan, a police statement said. FBI officers and Italian colleagues with international search warrants carried out raids on three properties in New Jersey, Staten Island and Philadelphia, police said. Italian police said the suspects arrested on Wednesday faced a string of charges, including membership of the mafia, aggravated extortion, fraud and “unfair competition”. Amongst those detained was Salvatore Gambino, the mayor of a village near Palermo, and Tommaso and Francesco Inzerillo, close relatives of Salvatore Inzerillo who was killed by Riina in 1981.

Source: Pakistan Today July 17, 2019 14:03 UTC