N'DRANGHETA SENDS MESSAGE TO PRIEST, "SHUT YOUR MOUTH OR ELSE."

 Father Felice Palamara, got the message.  N'Drangeta is all about the business of being quiet.  For along time Father Palamara has been speaking out against N'drangheta, and mafia like groups. For a long time Catholic priests and the church has been speaking out about organized crime, calling them "abhorrent evil," however their own standards can be called into question especially concerning that of the massive amounts of child molestation charges they have buried over the years.  While this may not be the pot calling the kettle black, the Church seems to bypass its own evil, shady dealings and focused its attention onto organized crime groups.  Not that the sins of one, equal the sins of all.

In Cessaniti, Calabria, N'drangheta controls pretty much everything.  Calabria has long been the root of N'drangheta which has replaced old world Sicilian Cosa Nostra as the biggest criminal conglomerate on earth.  For months, Palamara has called out N'drangheta along with other parish priests and apparently N'drangeta has heard enough.  In the last few months, Father Palamara has been threatened, and his car has been vandalized twice.  Additionally Father Francesco Pontoriero, has been threatened as well, who has received death threats and a deceased cat was placed on the hood of his car.

On Sunday while serving mass, Father Palamara was handed a chalice of wine, and immediately noticed, that something was wrong.  The contents of the wine in the chalice, reeked of bleach. He also noticed that the water, was laced with bleach as well.  The police were called, and Palamara believes it was N'drangheta attempting to kill him as a result of his speaking out against the criminal organization. Police are still investigating the incident, and Palamara believes it was N'drangheta reacting his terse about them.

N'drangheta, which also can be referred to as N'drina, has been around since the 18th century and are one of the oldest and now largest criminal organization on earth. They have completely absorbed the narcotics market and pull in an estimated $44 billion dollars a year.  They account for just over 3.7% of Italy's GDP.  Once just confined to Calabria, they have expanded into Australia, Argentina, Albania, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Netherlands, Malta, Mexico, Slovakia, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, the United States, Spain, and have expanded into areas once controlled by the Sicilian counter part Cosa Nostra. While Italy has tried to knock down N'drangheta over the years, the problem has been their tacit way of shutting down judges who dare to even indict them. Many new prosecutors who get assigned to districts that N'drangheta controls, often turn in papers to be transferred immediately.  It's very reminiscent of the control that Salvatore "Toto" Riina had over Corleone, and into Rome. N'drangheta just in sheer numbers of members topple Cosa Nostra and the Neopolitan Camorra.

In May of 2007, 20 members of N'drangheta were arrested in Milan. Then in August of that same year San Luca was raided by Italian authorities as a result of a fued between rival N'drangheta clans. As a result 30 men and women would be arrested for the murder of six mobsters in Germany. May of 2023, one thousand police officers took part in a multi-country raid on N'drangheta.  108 were arrested in Italy, 30 arrested in Germany.  Then in January of 2021 300 members of N'drangheta would go on trial. Then in November of 2023 200 were convicted in the largest mob trial in 30 years, surpassing the infamous Maxi Trial.

If you compare, N'drangheta losing 300 members, did nothing to stop them in their tracks. In comparison, if one of the fab five in New York were to take a hit, such as a 300 member indictment, it would decimate an entire family right then and there. It would be over for one of the five families, and it shows you the sheer size and volume of N'drangheta.