{"id":1531,"date":"2018-03-09T09:44:32","date_gmt":"2018-03-09T09:44:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/freemasonrywatch.org\/blog\/?p=1531"},"modified":"2023-12-22T11:13:38","modified_gmt":"2023-12-22T11:13:38","slug":"the-times-mafia-join-italys-freemasons-to-do-deals-with-judiciary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freemasonrywatch.org\/blog\/2018\/03\/09\/the-times-mafia-join-italys-freemasons-to-do-deals-with-judiciary\/","title":{"rendered":"The Times: Mafia join Italy\u2019s freemasons to \u2018do deals\u2019 with judiciary"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Times, London UK<\/p>\n

December 27 2017<\/p>\n

\"Ties
Ties between the Mob and the masons are close in Calabria
ALAMY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tom Kington, Rome<\/p>\n

Strong links between Italy\u2019s secretive freemasons and the mafia have been exposed by police raids, with 193 crime bosses found to be members of lodges in Calabria and Sicily.<\/p>\n

The investigation has confirmed long-standing accusations by magistrates and mob turncoats that freemason lodges in southern Italy are often venues for secret deals with corrupt judges, politicians and business owners.<\/p>\n

The mafia\u2019s enthusiastic participation in freemasonry \u201chas led some to believe that the two have become one and the same\u201d, according to a report this month from an anti-mafia parliamentary commission. Masons were \u201cacquiescent\u201d and \u201ctolerant\u201d of the takeover, it added.<\/p>\n

The raids were ordered after the heads of Italy\u2019s four main freemasonry orders refused to hand over their membership lists. \u201cIt was impossible to get\u2026<\/p>\n

Article Continues<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"FBI
FBI Director James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 3, 2017, before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing: “Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.” (AP Photo\/Carolyn Kaster)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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