The Mafia Threat – How Criminal Gangs are taking over Germany
July 31, 2014
Drug trafficking, armsracketeering and extortion – these are the classic crimes one associates with the Mafia. Today’s Mafia, however, has long since moved on. Its operations have become more subtle and less visible – which has made it more dangerous than ever. Germany has become indispensable for mafia gangs. Here they can act “almost undisturbed," says prosecutor Roberto Scarpinato, one of Italy’s most important Mafia hunters. The construction industry in particular has become a lucrative source of business for the Mafiosi.
“There is not a single construction site in this country where the Mafia doesn’t take a pay-off,” says a German detective. Front companies are set up using figureheads, often simple people who have never had anything to do with construction. This deprives the state of billions of Euros in tax revenues and social security contributions. But the criminals can quickly generate vast profits. Police and prosecutors in and around Cologne recently managed to break up one mafia network.
Four defendants are now on trial, accused of evading over 20 million Euros in taxes and social security contributions. This film looks at the way the Mafia have conquered Germany, talking to German taxmen and Italian lawyers who have long been trying to destroy the Mafia. But we also meet a former Mafia killer, who tells us about the organization’s inner workings, methods and structures and explains why the Mafia has it relatively easy in Germany.
Broadcasting Hours:
DW
WED 06.08.2014 – 22:15 UTC
THU 07.08.2014 – 06:15 UTC
THU 07.08.2014 – 13:15 UTC
THU 07.08.2014 – 17:15 UTC
FRI 08.08.2014 – 04:15 UTC
FRI 08.08.2014 – 10:15 UTC
Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4
DW (Europe)
THU 07.08.2014 – 04:15 UTC
THU 07.08.2014 – 17:15 UTC
FRI 08.08.2014 – 06:15 UTC
FRI 08.08.2014 – 13:15 UTC
London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +4
DW (Arabia)
THU 07.08.2014 – 04:15 UTC
Tunis UTC +1 | Cairo UTC + 3 | Dubai UTC +4
DW (Amerika)
THU 07.08.2014 – 06:15 UTC
Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3