Cosa Nostra News

John Paul Getty III in Lagonegro, Italy, in Dec. 1973, after kidnappers freed him. Part 1 J. Paul Getty III, a grandson of the oil baron once considered the richest man in the world, gained tragic infamy when he was kidnapped in Rome in 1973 by Italian gangsters. "Italian gangsters" means little to anyone who knows about Italy and gangsters. ("Calabrian bandits," as per initial news reports, is more revealing, as only one crime ring hails from that region in southern Italy. Still, it's important to remember that the kidnapping was initially and widely believed to be a prank pulled by the grandson to get fast cash from granddad. That's partly why the kidnappers had to slice off an ear and put it in the mail.) After all, Italy is the birthplace of several major organized crime groups with "global footprints" today, all of which are known generally as the Mafia. Mafia is an overarching term and includes the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, an offshoot ...

REVISED, EXPANDED Around a dozen unsolved incidents of violence have occurred so far this year in Southern Ontario, a volley of gunfire, restaurant bombings, and outright murder. It's presumed by law enforcement in Canada that this is an ongoing mob war to fill a leadership vacuum created by the death of  "the Canadian John Gotti," as Gang Land News dubbed him. Vito Rizzuto was waging a war of annihilation against foes internal and external  once he returned home after serving a stint in an American prison for participating in a notorious triple homicide of Bonanno capos in 1981. Vito Rizzuto died allegedly of natural causes in December 2013. His death from cancer is the only thing that stopped him from killing more mobsters who either were against him or had shown disloyalty to him. Rizzuto's father and eldest son were slain by Ndrangheta members while he was in prison after Joseph Massino, the Bonanno crime family boss, flipped and gave testimony abou...

Northern Italy's Emilia-Romagna region is widely known for its medieval cities and seaside resorts. It also has the distinction of being the birthplace of some of the world's premier delicacies, including Prosciutto di Parma , Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and Balsamic Vinegar . And, up until a few years ago, it was one of the few places in Italy  not typically known to have a Mafia presence. Nicola Femia was arrested for running a gambling racket. Historically, Italy's various organized crime groups tended to keep away from Emilia-Romagna, either by chance or by design. That was then.