People march in remembrance of the victims of organized crime in Naples. An alleged boss of the Camorra mafia based in the Italian city of Naples has been arrested by police at an upmarket apartment in Rome, Italian press said. (AFP/File/Mario Laporta)From Yahoo News/AP:
NAPLES, Italy – While businesses around the world are hunkering down for survival, the Italian mob is living a golden moment.
Italy's various organized crime syndicates — often lumped together colloquially as Mafia Inc. — are gobbling up gas stations, muscling in on supermarket franchises, making loans to cash-starved businesses, taking over trattorias and acquiring buildings in swank neighborhoods in Rome and Milan, investigators say.
These mobsters have lots of what is in short supply for many businesses these days — liquidity — as well as centuries-honed expertise in preying on the vulnerable, whose ranks are swelling in the current financial crisis.
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My Comment: Criminal enterprises and organizations are responsible for much of the world's conflicts and suffering. From Drug Cartels to criminal organizations that exploit people's weaknesses, this part of mankind has always been with us .... and probably always will be.