“European countries have no idea what a mafioso, a serious criminal, really is and what they are capable of,” says Nicola Gratteri. He speaks with RTL Nieuws at a heavily guarded location that is kept secret until the last minute.
‘Secure Peter R. de Vries’
“Heavier penalties, better equipment, more far-reaching regulations and more manpower”, according to Gratteri, are “the Italian lessons” that the Netherlands can learn.
Gratteri also has a clear opinion about the attack on Peter R. de Vries. “He should have been protected,” the Italian prosecutor said resolutely. “It’s a very serious matter. We’re talking about freedom of thought, expression, democracy… About civilization.” Peter R. de Vries also refused security himself.
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‘Nobody shuts my mouth’
Gratteri himself is heavily protected: he has at least ten bodyguards around him. For 30 years, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. It is the price he pays for his fight against the mafia. “I feel mentally free, that’s the most important thing,” he says. “I sacrificed my physical freedom a long time ago, but there is no one to shut me up.”
Gratteri’s sacrifices also pay off. At the beginning of this year, 355 suspects were brought to trial. They belong to the ‘Ndrangheta, the mafia of southern Italy. This mega-trial is the greatest success of Gratteri’s career.
One man committed a hundred murders
Gratteri uses key witnesses. “After many preliminary conversations and tracing the circles they are in, I will talk to them. Recently I spoke with a criminal who is suspected of about a hundred murders. He tried to fake us with sophisticated lies. You have to get through that. can sting.”
After those conversations, the regretful optants must be in isolation for at least six months. If they still cooperate after that, there is only talk of a reduction in sentence, sometimes up to about 50 percent, according to the public prosecutor.
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‘The Netherlands underestimates the mafia’
The Netherlands is also struggling with organized crime, following attacks on successively the brother (Redouan B.), the lawyer (Derk Wiersum) and the confidential adviser (Peter R. de Vries) of crown witness Nabil B. According to Gratteri, the problem is that drug violence and threats in The Netherlands are too often seen as isolated incidents, not as a systematic problem.
And that problem, he says, will not just go away. “Not only is the Netherlands logistically interesting for organized crime – with transit ports such as Rotterdam and Amsterdam in the cocaine trade – there is also a lot of laundering through the opening of restaurants and hotels. The Dutch system also benefits, which is why it is so difficult to stop.”
“The Netherlands underestimates the mafia,” says Gratteri. He thinks it should be made more difficult for prisoners. There is a difference in mentality in that regard. This turned out to be the case with an Italian drug trafficker who was in a Dutch cell. “He called his wife and said he didn’t want to come to Italy. He was fine in the cell, there he had everything he needs.”
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