I must say that only the ill-informed could claim that the Sicilian Mafia of today is as strong and profitable as that of the 1970s and 1980s.
Matteo Messina Denaro, the last head of the Mafia, recently arrested and about to die of cancer, led a life that, were it not for the nefarious consequences of his actions and role, would be considered quite ridiculous, certainly not comparable to that of the Mexican or Colombian drug lords: he had little "disposable income", lived in a small apartment, and frequented a few prostitutes, energized by Viagra.
Bernardo Provenzano, who before Messina Denaro was the head of the Mafia, lived for at least a decade in a farmhouse, largely alone, communicating with his "picciotti" with "pizzini," small pieces of paper with something barely comprehensible written on them: when they arrested him, he looked like an elderly man in rough shape.
The Camorra has followed a similar decline, mostly due to internal fighting in the 90s and early 2000s, while the 'Ndrangheta, the Calabrian mafia, is unfortunately still strong, in Italy, Spain, Central Europe, Canada, Australia and South America. The books of Gratteri on 'Ndrangheta are an interesting read.
I hate organized crime as much as one can hate organized crime and "mafiosi", and I would still to this day favor and support the iron fist of Mori, the police chief sent to Sicily a hundred years ago, who used rather, let's say, energetic methods to eradicate the mafia. I would give life imprisonment to mobsters, like one gives candy to kids on Halloween. Generously.
But the Mafia and Camorra are no longer as powerful as they once were. And I hope they will be even less so in the future.
Uhm, I live and i Was born in sicily. MMD lived a great life with a lot of money in comparison to shitty overtaxed italian salaries and got arrested just to get medical attention without enacting the Andrea bonafede identity. He was seen many many Times in castelvetrano. He sold himself to the police.
Binnu was an ignorant peasant, only good at violent acts, just like Riina and the other corleonesi. He sold himself to the police too. Those people are not criminal masterminds a la Gustavo Frings, are just analphabet goat shepherds with a knack for vioolence.
Mandamenti might be less powerful such as in commanding entrepreneurs Who to hire and so on (mainly because sicily is depleted of Economic activity) but they still control a big part of sicilian politics, huge part of sicily national health system, lots of first sector (natural environment plus huge eu subsidies so a lot of scams and so on), tourist and nightlife activities, drug and prostitution (often in collaboration with black axe from nigeria)…calabria is even shittier and more crippled…should i go on?
I could disagree with something you say, in particular about the great life that Messina Denaro lived (in my opinion, I live a better life, and I am not talking about some grandiose "living with clear conscience", like materially I mean), but overall I agree with what you write. I also agree that Messina Denaro, in the end, wanted to be caught.
In fact, in my original comment, I wrote, "Although still present, organized crime in Italy was severely curtailed...". It is still present.
From a cultural point of view, though, blatant extortions, homicides et similia would no longer be accepted either by the citizens and the politicians, even the corrupted ones; times have changed.
I mean, something like the assassination of Mattarella, the President of the Region Sicilia and brother of the current President of the Italian Republic, would be difficult to imagine nowadays. Or the killing of Generale Dalla Chiesa.
Similarly, a new season of terrorism, like the one that in the 70s and 80s terrorized, in fact, Italy, would be difficult to imagine nowadays; the "New Red Brigades" of the early 2000s looked like a group of out-of-shape, ideologically retired "nostalgics", more than a "serious" terrorist group (even if they were able to killed two minor--and I say minor from a political, and not human point of view--semi-political figures)
There is still a lot to do to eradicate organized crime, and as I wrote before, were it for me, I would use the iron fist again, and again. And again.
