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In a shocking report published Monday, it was revealed that Italy’s Calabrian mafia, known as 'Ndrangheta, used a number of well-known donors to parties on both sides of the Australian political divide to legitimise its activities.
According to the investigation, the son of an alleged mafia boss worked at the Australian embassy in Rome in 2010 while former Liberal minister Amanda Vanstone was ambassador.
From the Australian:
It also alleged that a man with “deep mafia associations” met then-prime minister John Howard and other influential party officials at a Liberal Party fundraising event in the early 2000s.
There was no suggestion that Mr Howard knew of the man's alleged criminal links.
There was also no suggestion that Ms Vanstone knew of the mafia link regarding the work placement. While a foreign affairs spokesperson told Fairfax Media the man did not have access to sensitive information, the incident has been described as a major security lapse.
It was also alleged that a number of key Australian political figures lobbied for mafia boss Frank Madafferi to be granted an Australian visa, thwarting efforts to deport him. He was granted a visa in 2005 by Ms Vanstone, then immigration minister. Madafferi was arrested in 2008 and later jailed for drug trafficking.
There was again no suggestion that Ms Vanstone acted improperly.
In addition to allegedly being among the biggest importers of South American cocaine, ‘Ndrangheta and other rival Italian Mafia factions are said to dabble heavily in gambling, trucking, and the restaurant and hotel trade.
Earlier this year, Pope Francis spoke out against the Italian Mafia following a spate of brutal murders, one of which resulted in the death of an infant. - Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
