[imagesource:pexels]
An Italian nun has been arrested after allegedly acting as a conduit between a powerful mafia network and its associates in prison.
Sister Anna Donelli, 57, was among 25 people arrested in Italy on suspicion of being part of a criminal gang with links to the feared ’Ndrangheta network.
Investigators said her “spiritual role” ensured connection with the prisoners and allowed her to have “free access to the penitentiary facilities”. You could almost say she picked up a bad habit.
A former councillor with Brothers of Italy, the party led by the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, and a former politician with the League, a ruling coalition partner, were also arrested and more than €1.8m in illicit earnings seized by police in the dawn raids across several towns in the Lombardy and Veneto regions.
The suspects are charged with extortion, weapons and drug trafficking, receiving stolen items, usury, tax evasion, money laundering, and, in the case of the League politician, vote-buying.
The Brothers of Italy lawmaker is accused of making himself available to the gang “during the execution of crimes”.
Francesco Prete, head prosecutor in Brescia, stated during a news conference that the suspects “exploited the criminal fame of the original [‘Ndrangheta] organisation” while adapting it to northern Italy, where they “dealt with fiscal matters.”
’Ndrangheta, which originated in Calabria, is one of the world’s richest organised crime groups. It has exploited its vast cocaine revenues to extend its reach across Italy, the rest of Europe and beyond. Earlier this year, more than 130 people were detained in coordinated raids in half a dozen European countries as part of a crackdown against the organisation.
The gang is said to allegedly have deployed the “typical violence” used by the ‘Ndrangheta, but “demonstrated a chameleon-like ability to keep up with the times”.
According to Rai news, the rogue nun has been a volunteer at San Vittore prison in Milan since 2010 and has also worked in prisons in Pavia and Rome. In February she was one of the recipients of the “Golden Panettone”, an annual Milanese civic award.
Oooh, Jesus must be so mad.
[source:guardian]
