Latest news with #Mafia
Wall Street Journal
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
‘Mafia' Review: Balkanized Crime on Viaplay
The scenario that unfolds in the six-part 'Mafia' might ring an alarm bell—immigrant gangs from troubled countries importing bank robbery, smuggling and violence into a civilized Western nation. A Kristi Noem PSA? No, Sweden in the '90s. This Nordic Noir-ish thriller sets itself up well before the breakup of Yugoslavia, when the country was already sending proxies—'agents' might be overdoing it—into democracies like Sweden in search of the money needed to prop up a failing regime. But with Croatia's declaration of independence in 1991, and Eastern European nationalism on the rise, the criminal organizations themselves become balkanized, pun intended, and the opportunities in Stockholm both open and close. The trick is knowing whom to cultivate, and whom to kill.
Metro
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Every single season of The Traitors around the world and how to watch
It can feel like a long old year in between new seasons of The Traitors –sigh – but the waiting time might just provide the perfect opportunity for you to delve into one of the many international off-shoots. Loosely based on the party game Mafia, the murder mystery game show has such a winning formula its proven successful in several territories. The gripping twists and turns can be found everywhere from the US to Australia and New Zealand, as well as the one that started it all in the Netherlands. Once you delve into the different versions, it will start to feel like every country has its own version (because it does). Every season of The Traitors has a few fundamentals. There is a group of 20 or so contestants, who are divided up into Faithfuls and Traitors, with the Traitors secretly convening each night to murder a Faithful. The high-stakes drama comes from the roundtables each evening, when the contestants vote to banish the person they most suspect of hiding a traitorous identity. In between these moments of melodrama, there are challenges with far lower stakes to break up the tension and get some of the cash prize on offer in the bag. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video So here is your comprehensive guide to the international off-shoots of The Traitors and how you can watch them in the UK. With over 20 international versions in existence, there are far more versions of the show but, alas, most of them aren't available to watch in the UK. Want to get all the latest news and predictions for the best and most dramatic show this new year? Join our The Traitors WhatsApp channel for live episode coverage, behind-the-scenes gossip and a place to recover from all the cliffhangers. Simply click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in! Don't forget to turn on notifications! In that pile is the original show De Verraders, the Dutch version that premiered in 2021. They probably couldn't have anticipated what it would go on to achieve as a franchise… Replacing Claudia Winkleman is the suave actor Alan Cummings, who brings an arsenal of tartan suits to the Scottish castle. Unlike in the British version, the contestants are largely made up of former reality TV stars or people tangential to fame. Perhaps because they're a batch of celebs (many of them with a play-up-to-cameras background in reality TV), but the slanging match quota is far higher on the US version. As is the duplicity. It's a more brutal approach to the show but certainly makes for some jaw-dropping roundtable moments. Like when Zac Efron's acting ability caught a stray. The Traitors US is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Airing on CTV in Canada, this version of the show – also referred to as Les Traîtres – already has two seasons under its belt, with a third on the way. French Canadian actress Karine Vanasse is a cool and mysterious host on this version of The Traitors, presiding over The Manoir Rouville-Campbell in the Montérégie région of Canada, which is their equivalent for the Scottish castle. The Traitors Canada is available to stream on Apple TV Plus under Les Traîtres. De Verraders (Netherlands) Zrádci (Czech Republic) Forræder (Denmark) Petolliset (Finland) Les Traîtres (France) Die Verräter (Germany) Az Árulók (Hungary) The Traitors India HaBogdim (Israel) The Traitors Italia Forræder (Norway) The Traitors Zdrajcy (Poland) Traitors España It's been said that compared to our version of the show, the Australian spin-off was more tactical in its gameplay – instead of just banishing people on the basis of nothingness hunches like the latest batch of UK contestants. Hosted by Aussie actor Rodger Corser, the second season even mixed civilian and celebrity contestants. Yet it was also announced The Traitors Australia would not be back after said second season, due to low ratings, but you never know if it might some day return. The Traitors Australia is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. There's a brand-spanking-new season of this offshoot of The Traitors for you to dive into right now. The New Zealand spin-off series has just dropped on iPlayer, with all 12 episodes now available to stream while the show airs on BBC Three. The second season of the show sees 22 normie New Zealanders descend on Claremont Manor, which sits at the foot of Mount Horrible – real name – in Timaru. The spin-off sees Claudia Winkleman's hosting shoes filled by New Zealand TV presenter Paul Henry, who also hosts the New Zealand version of The Chase, so he's the local equivalent of Bradley Walsh. The Traitors New Zealand is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Known locally as Förrädarna, the Swedish version of The Traitors is hosted by the Swedish-Serbian actor Dragomir Mrsic. With three seasons to its name, there is also a fourth on the way. More Trending @vaultofechoes shared their verdict on Reddit, writing: 'An enjoyable enough cast even if not always the most strategic (on either end), some solid intrigue and good Traitor picks make this a worthwhile watch. 'This version does not have the utterly mind-blowing moments this franchise delivers at its peak, IMO, but I enjoyed it and no one is too insufferable. Sometimes, that's pretty good as it is!' View More » The Traitors Sweden is available to stream on Apple TV Plus. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Stephen Fry gives 'agonising' verdict on upcoming Celebrity Traitors series MORE: All six episodes of 'addictive' thriller now free to binge on BBC iPlayer MORE: Why is Eastenders not on BBC iPlayer? Reason Monday's episode is 'missing'
BBC News
16-06-2025
- BBC News
'It involved the Mafia, Freemasonry and the Vatican': The mysterious murder of 'God's Banker'
Forty-three years ago this week, the BBC reported on the death of Roberto Calvi, an Italian banker whose body was found in strange circumstances in the centre of London. His bank was linked to the Vatican, a masonic group and the Mafia – and his murder left many unanswered questions. Roberto Calvi was the chairman of the prestigious Banco Ambrosiano, the largest private bank in Italy. He was so closely connected to the Roman Catholic Church that he was known as "God's Banker". Warning: This article contains references to suicide and murder But in June 1982, the 62-year-old Calvi went missing. And on the morning of 18 June, his body was discovered hanging beneath Blackfriars Bridge in London. "Calvi was at the centre of an incredibly complex web of international fraud and intrigue," reported the BBC's Hugh Scully. "It involved the Italian banking world, the underworld, the Mafia, Freemasonry and, most startling of all, the Vatican." The banker's death would trigger a wide-ranging political and financial scandal in Italy. It would involve the disappearance of millions of dollars, and leave behind an enduring mystery. Calvi had been missing for nine days before he was discovered hanging from scaffolding beneath the bridge. But it was the strange circumstances of his death that puzzled UK police. His pockets were stuffed with bricks, and with some £10,000 ($14,000) in cash in multiple currencies. He also had a fake passport bearing the name Gian Roberto Calvini. Despite this, the initial coroner's report in July 1982 found no evidence of foul play on his body, so ruled that the banker had taken his own life. But even at the time there was suspicion that something far darker was afoot. "Calvi's last journey was hardly that of a man contemplating suicide," said Scully. "Indeed, he had made the most elaborate plans to get out of Italy secretly." The banker had shaved off his moustache to avoid being recognised before disguising his route out of Italy by going through other countries first and hiring a private plane to spirit him to London. "He had taken a one-month lease on a flat in Chelsea and then there was a false passport and an airline ticket," Scully continued. "Inside the passport was a current visa for Brazil and the airline ticket was for a one-way ticket to Rio de Janeiro. Why, you might ask, go to all those lengths simply to finish up on the end of a rope under Blackfriars Bridge?" Calvi's was not the only unexpected death at Banco Ambrosiano. The day before his body was found, his personal secretary Teresa Corrocher had also apparently jumped to her death from the fourth floor of the bank's headquarters in Milan. She left behind a note condemning her boss, writing that he should be "twice cursed for the damage he caused to the bank and all its employees". Calvi and his bank had operated in a murky world where finance, organised crime, politics and religion overlapped. Founded in 1896, Banco Ambrosiano had a long history with the Catholic Church – and the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), often known as the Vatican bank, had become its main shareholder. IOR holds the bank accounts of the Pope and the clergy, but it also manages the church's financial investments. Because the Vatican is its own country, Italian regulators have no control or oversight of the IOR. Mafia connections "The Vatican is entirely free of exchange controls and other government regulations; secrecy is everything," said Scully. "The Vatican has to account to no one for its financial dealings, and enormous sums of money can be sent anywhere in the world without anyone knowing about it other than those directly involved." Through his role as head of Banco Ambrosiano, Calvi had forged close ties with his opposite number in the IOR, its chairman Archbishop Paul Marcinkus. In turn, this American priest had financial connections and associates that raised eyebrows. "Best known of these was Michele Sindona, an international banker with mafia connections who is now serving a 25-year jail sentence for fraud in the US," said Scully. Sindona, who was known in banking circles as "the Shark", would later be transferred to prison in Italy where he would meet his own suspicious end in 1986, after drinking coffee laced with cyanide. Sindona had mentored Calvi in his banking career since the late 1960s, and they both belonged to a shadowy masonic lodge called Propaganda Two (P2). The masonic group was linked to extreme right-wing groups and was run by Italian multi-millionaire and avowed fascist Licio Gelli. It counted leading figures in the armed forces, politics, business and newspapers among its members. An Italian journalist, Count Paolo Filo della Torre, told the BBC in 1982 that while P2 was theoretically a masonic lodge, it "practically was something very much associated with [the] mafia and with all sorts of dirty dealings". In March 1981, Italian police raided Gelli's offices and discovered in a safe a list of hundreds of alleged P2 members, including politicians, military officers and media tycoon and future prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. The revelation caused a political explosion. The Italian prime minister Arnaldo Forlani and his whole cabinet resigned, a police chief shot himself, and a former minister was rushed to hospital after taking an overdose. The police raids also uncovered compromising documents that implicated Calvi in fraudulent practices and illegal offshore operations. By May 1981, the banker had been arrested and found guilty of currency violations. He was sentenced to four years in prison but was released on bail while pending appeal. Calvi used this as an opportunity to skip the country with a briefcase full of damning documents about Ambrosiano's activities. Within days of his arrival in London his bank had collapsed, leaving behind huge debts. Missing billions "Before Roberto Calvi disappeared, Italian investigators discovered that $1.5bn was missing from his bank," said Scully. "It's now believed that this money was sent abroad through the Vatican bank which escapes Italian exchange controls. Some of that money was lent to South American countries at low interest rates as directed by the Catholic Church. The rest was put into ghost companies in Luxembourg and South America from where it was returned to Italy to buy shares for Calvi in the Banco Ambrosiano. By this method he was able to use bank funds to build up his own personal fortune." Marcinkus was also sought for questioning but was granted immunity as a Vatican employee, and he maintained his innocence of any wrongdoing. The Vatican never admitted any legal responsibility for Banco Ambrosiano's collapse, but in 1984 said it had a moral responsibility for the bankruptcy and made a voluntary contribution to the bank's creditors of $406 million. More like this:• The woman who inspired The Sopranos• The bizarre siege behind Stockholm Syndrome• Why The Godfather was a stark warning for the US Investigators believed that the shell companies that Calvi had set up were being used to move money both to support secret political activities in other countries and to launder money for clients such as the mafia. "Police investigations of Calvi's affairs thus threaten many powerful people in Italy and some think provided a motive for his murder," said Scully. Filo della Torre, who knew Calvi, told the BBC in 1982 that he believed the banker had been killed, and that his body being left under Blackfriars Bridge indicated masonic symbolism. He said that P2 members wore black robes to their meetings and referred to themselves as "frati neri", Italian for "black friars". When Scully said that this made Calvi death's sound "like something out of the Borgias", the Italian journalist replied: "I'm afraid it does very much. We are going back in [a] sort of Italian tradition." Calvi's family also refused to accept the suicide ruling, which was overturned in 1983 when a second inquest delivered an open verdict on the death. But his family, including his widow, Clara Calvi, kept pushing for the police to investigate, hiring their own private investigators and forensic experts to look into the banker's death. After Calvi's body was exhumed in 1998, evidence mounted that he could not have killed himself. Forensic tests showed that injuries to his neck were inconsistent with death by hanging, and that Calvi's hands had never touched the bricks in the pockets of his clothes. In October 2002, Italian judges concluded that the banker had indeed been murdered. An Italian police investigation was launched, and in October 2005, five people went on trial in Rome, charged with Calvi's murder. The prosecutor, Luca Tescaroli, argued that the banker had been murdered for stealing Mafia money which he was meant to launder, and that Calvi was planning to blackmail several other prominent people, including politicians. In June 2007, after a 20-month trial, Sardinian financier Flavio Carboni, his former girlfriend Manuela Kleinszig, Roman entrepreneur Ernesto Diotallevi, Calvi's former driver bodyguard Silvano Vittor, and convicted Cosa Nostra treasurer Pippo Calo – who was serving two life sentences for unrelated Mafia crimes – were all acquitted of any involvement in Calvi's death. Speculation remains about who commissioned and ultimately carried out the killing of the Italian banker, but to date no one has been convicted. -- For more stories and never-before-published radio scripts to your inbox, sign up to the In History newsletter, while The Essential List delivers a handpicked selection of features and insights twice a week. For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Sun
15-06-2025
- The Sun
My brutal family shot rivals & blew up judges in Mafia's most infamous massacre…I'd be dead if I hadn't fled to UK at 12
HIS family tree is a rogues' gallery of hitmen, murderers and extortionists and were even behind the infamous bombings that killed two Sicilian judges and eight police officers in 1992. And at 12 years old, Riccardo di Cascia Burzotta was being lured into the dangerous underworld of the mafioso. 15 15 In his native Sicily, the Burzotta clan are woven into the fabric of the Mafia's most grisly crimes - and Riccardo was being groomed by older cousins into following their criminal way of life. But in a brave move which 'saved his life', his parents fled the Italian island for the UK - starting a new life in Southend on Sea in Essex. 'Before they were even in their teens my cousins were burning down shops to send messages to people who didn't pay their protection money," Riccardo tells The Sun. "If we stayed living in Sicily I would have joined them because I didn't really understand how dangerous it was and I didn't know any better. 'I was born into that life which meant I had little choice but to join the Mafia. 'When I was a kid it was normal for everyone to keep guns in the house for self protection. 'There wasn't much work around, most kids tended to drop out of school early and get caught up in crime. 'My parents feared I'd be drawn to the money and power." Riccardo's parents set up a restaurant business in Southend and he says coming to the UK was "a huge shock.' 'I didn't speak a word of English but suddenly I found myself in an all boys' school in Essex having to eat something disgusting called custard. I could not believe how bad the food was," he says. Italian police arrest Settimo Mineo, the mafia's new 'boss of bosses' in Sicily 'There was a lot of racism towards foreigners back then and I was called every name under the sun and beaten up in the playground almost daily. 'But if I had stayed in Sicily it would have been worse. I'm certain I would have ended up in prison - or dead. "The Mafia is an ugly cancer that destroys families. We needed to get well away before I ended up in prison myself. 'My parents' decision to start a new life in another country saved my life, without any doubt.' 15 15 Deadly family Riccardo has cousins serving time for murders, while other members of his close family have been involved in kidnapping and extortion. Some were also tangled up even the Capaci massacre - a violent terrorist attack in which mafiosi detonated a car bomb that killed the anti-Mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, his wife and three police guards in 1992. It was one of the most terrifying attacks ever executed by the Mafia and the international outrage it sparked marked a crucial turning point in the fight against organised crime in Italy. But, two months later, it was followed by the Via D'Amelio massacre in Palermo, killing a second judge, Paulo Borsellino, and five bodyguards. The murdered prosecutors had been at the forefront of a crackdown in organised crime in Sicily which led to the notorious Maxi Trial, which ran for six years and saw 19 life sentences handed to crime bosses and a further 338 members of the mob sentenced to a total of 2,665 years. Salvatore 'Toto' Riina - known as 'the Boss of Bosses' - was sentenced to two life sentences in absentia and ordered the assassination of the judges in retribution. He was captured and jailed in 1993 after 23 years as a fugitive. 15 15 15 Riccardo's family also fell foul of Sicily's anti-Mafia crackdown. In 2016, authorities seized over €4 million in assets from Giuseppe Burzotta and his family, including a sitting councillor. But the murders continued. In 2017 Guiseppe Marciano, a known associate of Riccardo's family, was shot in the head. Killers ambushed him in a Fiat Uno and although the car was burnt to destroy any evidence, Marciano's father in law Pino Burzotta - Riccardo's second cousin - was later arrested. If I had stayed in Sicily it would have been worse. I'm certain I would have ended up in prison - or dead. Riccardo di Burzotta Pino's brother Diego Burzotta, a notorious hitman, was already serving a life sentence for the double murder of Giovanni Ingoglia and Salvatore Guccione, killed between 1982 and 1987. He was also sentenced to nine years for Mafia association and for attacking vice commissioner Rino Germanà, who escaped death after a daring chase by the clan's hitmen in 1992. Another cousin, Luca Burzotta, was convicted of Mafia association and Pietro, was acquitted of a similar charge due to contradictory testimony from witnesses. Now a father of four himself, Riccardo has no contact with his Sicilian clan but has revealed the truth about his family's dark past to his own children. 'They were shocked when I told them about my childhood," he says. 'We go back to Sicily for holidays but I never speak to my cousins. "I nod if I see them in the street but that's as far as it goes. 15 15 'We've all been warned to stay away from them - any contact could mean an automatic prison sentence. "Many of my cousins have been involved in gambling rackets and extortion, meaning any shops or business that didn't pay them protection money would go up in flames. 'It's too risky to associate with them. "I hear about more arrests every day - members of my family and old friends I went to school with, it is beyond me how far they were willing to go. 'I plan to keep my own kids well away from it but I don't hide anything from them. 'They understand their heritage and it's important to teach them the value of who they are but I want them to keep on a straight path and understand that not all Sicilians are mafioso.' 15 15 Food for thought Riccardo's move to the UK, at the age of 12, allowed him to forge his own path away from crime. Although he hated the British weather and could not stand the food, Riccardo kept his head down, stayed out of trouble and did well at school. He helped out in his parents' Italian restaurant in Southend, learnt to speak fluent English and Spanish, excelled at Maths and History, and landed a job in a City stockbroking firm. He said: 'That was like winning the lottery, a real eye opener. 'I was earning great money, travelling the world and loving the fast lifestyle.' Now 48, Riccardo remains on a mission to distance himself from the stigma of his surname. He has retired from finance and is focusing on encouraging entrepreneurial young Sicilians to choose a career in food. 15 He says: 'My family's name is a burden, but it's also a responsibility. I want to show that we can choose a different path. 'We can't let the mistakes of our fathers define our children's future. Sicily's youth deserve more than the shadow of the Mafia. 'Change starts at the table. If we can break bread together, we can break the cycle.' Although police are working to dismantle Mafia control in Sicily, investigators warn that intimidation and corruption persist. And the statistics are daunting. Mafia activity has cost Sicily billions in lost economic potential. Anti-Mafia organisations estimate that extortion and racketeering have siphoned off up to two per cent of Sicily's GDP each year. In just one 2018 crackdown, police arrested 58 people from 16 Mafia families, seizing €11 million in assets. The Mafia's stranglehold has deterred investors, stifled innovation, and driven away the island's brightest young minds. Youth unemployment in Sicily stands at a staggering 37 per cent, nearly double the Italian national average. Every year, tens of thousands of young Sicilians leave in search of opportunity, draining the island of talent and hope. A new generation Riccardo believes the antidote to this malaise is teaching entrepreneurial young Sicilians to cook, run businesses, and celebrate their heritage. He hopes to foster a new generation of entrepreneurs through his campaign, Mobster Munch, which aims to munch away Sicily's mobster past and dish out a future built on celebrating food and family. He was inspired to help Sicily's youth by his own grandmother who, amid the violence and secrecy, preserved traditional culinary skills. Although she was a matriarch to mobsters, Leone Malda Burzotta also taught Riccardo how to cook her original Sicilian recipes. 'Sicily's youth deserve to inherit the recipes, the laughter, and the hope my grandmother gave me," added Riccardo. 'Food brings people together. Family gives us strength. 'We can't let the mistakes of our fathers define our children's future.' As part of his campaign he will host pop-up feasts, cooking classes, and food festivals across Sicily and the UK. The message is simple but powerful - every bite is a step away from the Mafia's grip, and a step towards a future built on honest work where crime once ruled. 15
Daily Mail
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE My family inspired The Godfather but everything you've been told about us is wrong... it's time for Trump to free the Mafia
Few last names conjure up the same level of notoriety as Gambino. One of New York's Five Families, the Gambinos get their name from Carlo Gambino - the 'boss of bosses' who inspired iconic mob movie The Godfather and led the Mafia dynasty until he died in 1976.
