It's too Bad that the US can't Seize Assets Proceeds of Crimes of Fraud, Bribes, etc. What a an Equitable Punishment (along with Jail time), and great Revenue Raiser. 

ROME- The Italian police seized $1.9 billion in assets belonging to a Sicilian businessman linked to the Mafia in the country?s biggest blow against organized crime, Italy?s interior minister said Tuesday. 

The businessman, Vito Nicastri, mainly operates in the alternative-energy business and has already been involved in several investigations focused on Mafia infiltration in the construction of windmills in Sicily?s Trapani Province and on links between the Mafia and ?Ndrangheta crime associations in Calabria, according to a statement by Rome Anti-Mafia Directorate. Italian authorities seized Mr. Nicastri?s assets to investigate him, but he has not been arrested. 

The seized assets included more than 100 properties around Sicily, 43 companies operating mainly in the wind- and solar-power industry    "some with headquarters in Luxembourg" as well as luxury cars, a 46-foot catamaran, bank accounts and securities. 

?This is the proof of the fact that the Mafia is dynamic and able to interpret the new needs of our society",  said Francesco Forgione, President of the parliamentary Anti-Mafia Commission in the previous government and author of the book "Mafia Exports". "They all used to work a lot in construction and now the Camorra operates in the waste business" he added, referring to the Neapolitan crime syndicate" ?whereas the Mafia?s in the alternative-energy business." 

The interior minister, Roberto Maroni, said in a television interview on Tuesday that Mr. Nicastri, 54, was "close to the Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, currently at large". 

The Trapani investigation is part of a larger government strategy targeting people they consider to be linked to a new leader of Cosa Nostra, Matteo Messina Denaro. Originally from Trapani, he has been a fugitive since 1993. He is known as the "Boss of the Bosses" and the "Playboy Boss" because of his penchant for fast cars, women and luxury goods. 

In 2008, the government began stepping up its investigations into organized crime and introduced laws that allow investigators to seize assets connected to Mafia business before the criminal trial starts. Several important raids against organized crime have been carried out by police all over the country and have involved different economic sectors, including health care, construction, retailing and finance. 

In August, Mr. Maroni said Italian police had seized 15 billion euros in assets from organized-crime groups in the previous 14 months. 

?On average, we arrested eight Mafia members a day and one of Italy?s most wanted men a month", Mr. Maroni said to Italian press. 

However, critics say the government is working at cross purposes. Earlier this year, the government has tried to pass a bill that would restrict wiretaps used in criminal investigations, a tool that many consider vital to fight organized crime. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/world/europe/
15rome.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
 

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