Organized by USEF, with funding from the Sicilian region, the conference took place at the conference hall of the Bavarian Parliament and featured Sicilian Anti-Mafia Commission President Antonello Cracolici, German judge of Sicilian descent Alessandro Bellardita, judicial journalist for the Bavarian state broadcasting service Oliver Benedixen, USEF executive and parliamentarian Fabio Porta, and Philip Kania from the Police Union. The conclusions were drawn by USEF President and ANPI executive Angelo Lauricella. Also present at the event was the Consul General Sergio Maffettone.

Organized crime is often considered a solely Italian phenomenon; however, it has managed to infiltrate the German economy almost without obstacles, generating a business worth billions of euros each year through money laundering, human trafficking, drug dealing, and intimidation of judicial bodies, prosecutors, and journalists.

The conference was preceded by the presentation of the exhibition “Journalists: Witnesses of Truth,” organized by the Sicilian Order of Journalists, dedicated to journalists killed by the Mafia and terrorism, curated by Francesco Nicastro, director of the Pio La Torre Study Center “A Sud’Europa.” Nicastro was called to the newspaper L’Ora to replace his colleague Mario Francese, who had just been killed by the Mafia. The exhibition will be open to the public until the end of October at the General Consulate of Munich. (9colonne)