How the Mafia Took Control of Italian Food

WATCH NEXT: Inside the Mafia’s Fight for Land In Italy - https://youtu.be/Amb4PWe6EjU

Please do an investigation on the US Pharmaceutical cartel.

As an italian, i can say this was really well made. This video truly shows how disgusting and damaging the mafia is.

It's actually despicable from a journalistic perspective that someone asked for their face not to be shown and yet you can see his face plain as day.

That’s a typical mafia threat the journalist suffered, they attack brutally and then say you don’t do what we say, its gonna get worse. This shows you why we need freedom of the press and we need to offer journalists like Paola uncovering corruption protection for reporting what is happening. They are assisting law enforcement. Without being a part of it. And they need protection.

The farmer who speaks on camera, the journalist under police protection, these are brave men. These are men with strong wills. Nothing but respect. I wish more men in America and even abroad would stand for what they believe in.

@3:30 The farmer is subtly trying to tell the documentarians that the police are in bed with the mafia, but it seems they didn't quite get what he was trying to allude to when he said the mafia has a white collar and that he gets bothered by the mafia and the cops.

It's like in michoacan, México. So many farmers had to flee from their towns because they were getting threatened, and other had their homes and farm with crops burned to ashes.

8:18 "Not fully film his face" They even put his name lol

the farmer who is fighting back against the mafia is my hero. the interview with him could be the start of a cool movie. "Why do you risk you life fighting the mafia ? "its a challenge for me. I enjoy it. so im doing it with enthusiasm"

Here in Australia the Italian mafia once had control of the fresh produce supply for one of our two biggest supermarket chains, Woolworths. They demanded 50 cents for every crate. The one Woolworths executive who spoke up about it disappeared.

as an Italian, congratulations. This is made extremely well.

This has been going on forever. It’s so messed up. Sad that Italy has to be put through this dangerous situation. It used to be just Sicily, then Naples, now …

It amazes me how we will glorify criminals of the worst kind by having movies made like The Godfather. In the book Luca Gratzi throws his baby into the incinerator. But they didn’t show that in the movie. The horse killing scene where the movie director ends up with his Prize stallion’s head in the bed. The consigliere sees the movie director take advantage of a young female child, so he tells The Godfather about that knowing he will be disgusted. In real life the ex mobster from New York that murdered the leader so he could take control, John Gotti saw a attractive female in a restaurant and made advances and she literally had to move out of state to avoid him because he was angry she would not go out with him.

My grandfather was a judge in southern italy from the 1970's till 2002 when he was sadly killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. That being said he lead a fairly interesting life that contained even more interesting story's, one of them being the time when he had to sit down with the local mod boss of the town he was working in for a "coffee" after said boss had been pulled over by the military police ( i carabinieri, o meglio detto " gli sbirri") for carrying in his car a machete. My grandfather didn't have much say in the matter other than to accept this caffè with this boss for if he did not accept, it would have been viewed as disrespect on the highest level. In the following conversation held in a little caffè shop in rural southern Italy, there was a surprising amount of mutual respect from both party's and eventually after a bit of small talk my grandfather asks the big question " What were you doing with such a big machete in the back of your car mr..." The boss responded saying "mister judge, i had it simply because i need it to open the muscles i catch at sea". In then end my grandfather sentenced him to a year in prison and sadly soon after both my grandfather and the boss met grim faiths, one dying in a violent car crash and other being shot dead in a fish shop ironically named "the gates of paradise".

Many years ago my grandfather broke the arm of a man bothering my grandmother. This guy was a leg breaker for the mob and the toughest guy of the North End in Boston. The don or leader of the mob wanted my grandfather to work for them he politely declined and moved a few weeks later. He was from naples and knew of their reputation.

When asked to the restaurant owner if his town is a mafia town and denies it, Just with his body language, you can tell he doesn't believe his answer.

Probably not a good idea to show the old assassin in the witness protection program walking around the neighborhood where he does his grocery shopping. I hope you had the foresight to drive him to a completely different part of the country for that footage.

3:40 bestemmietta tradotta con "goddammit" hahaha

Thank you to VICE for reporting the story in a compelling, informative way. I've been to Sicily ten times and had no idea what lurked beneath the surface of all the scrumptious food. I hope the farmers and public officials keep finding courage to fight corruption.