(ANSA) – ROME, FEB 17 – Some 83% of Italians think national politicians helped the mafia expand in Italy, according to a new survey by the anti-mafia Libera group.
Some 81% think political parties and local politicians are more to blame, the poll said.
The survey showed that 26% of Italians are aware that Italy’s various mafias have expanded from their southern bases nationwide.
It said 45% knew that the mafias had now an international reach.
A further 30% of those polled said corruption was currently worse than at the time of the landmark Bribesville probes of the early 1990s.
Italy’s main mafias are ‘Ndrangheta from Calabria, the most powerful and richest thanks to its hold on the European cocaine trade; older cousin Cosa Nostra from Sicily; and the Camorra from Naples.
There are also two other smaller and less expansive groups, the Sacra Corona Unita (United Holy Crown, SCU), in Puglia; and the Stidda (Star) in Sicily. (ANSA).