Italian officials have released a video of a mafia initiation ritual that was filmed during an investigation of the 'Ndrangheta Italian crime syndicate.
The two-year investigation, which included the use of wire-taps and hidden cameras, led to the arrest of about 40 people on charges of
criminal association, illegal arms sales, and extortion, The Guardian reported.
“For the first time the swearing-in ceremonies have been recorded live,” Milan prosecutor Ilda Boccassini said at a news conference. “For the first time we heard it from the voice of the mafia.”
The ritual begins with a mob elder saying: "In this holy night, in the silence of the night and under the starlight and the shining moon I create the holy chain. With humble words I create the holy society.”
During the oath, which incorporates a suicide pill and a gun, recruits are instructed to kill themselves if they are ever
coerced to betray the clan, the International Business Times reported.
Taken in the name of three 19th Century Italian nationalist figures, new members are asked to deny all of their families’ prior crime affiliations.
The Associated Press said the initiation ceremony occurred at a farmhouse in Castello di Brianza, northern Italy.
The arrests demonstrate the expansion of the mob into the northern part of the country, The Guardian said.
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