ITALY: UCCIARDONE PRISON

(17 Nov 1994) Italian/Nat

There are renewed fears that the Mafia is once again gaining the upper hand in Italy, two years after the government ordered a clampdown on organised crime.

APTV has been to Sicily for an exclusive report from inside Ucciardone Prison - home to some of the Mafia's top bosses.

The population of Palermo's Ucciardone Prison has swelled in recent years as the Italian government cracks down on the Mafia.

The figures tell it all. Since 1992, 1,600 arrested for being members of the Mafia, 921 turned government witness, 3,000 of their relatives placed in government protection programmes and nearly $3 (m) million dollars worth of illegal goods confiscated.

Some of the Sicilian Mafia's top bosses - members of the elite Cupola - now live in high security cells where cameras survey their every move.

The Italian government was jolted into action in 1992 when two of Sicily's most prominent anti-Mafia judges - Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino - were assassinated.

But the successes of the past two years have slowed and many people now fear the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has lost its commitment to fight organised crime.

SOUNDBITE:
All is not well now in Sicily because people are waiting to see. There is a worry, apprehension that the new regime, the new government will not pursue the anti-Mafia track as it has done before.
SUPER CAPTION: Claire Sterling, journalist and Mafia expert

Guido Lo Forte, a prosecutor with Palermo's anti-Mafia pool, believes there is uncertainty in official circles over how to deal with the Mafia.

He fears the Mafia will use this to reassert itself.

SOUNDBITE:
"From an institutional point of view we have not let down our guard but from a general political point of view a series of contradictory signals and messages have been given."
SUPER CAPTION: Guido Lo Forte, Palermo prosecutor

Meanwhile the Mafia continues to rely on its traditional means of financing - extortion.

SOUNDBITE:
The principal source of funds is extortion and drug trafficking - and they remain the same in quality and quantity."
SUPER CAPTION: Guido Lo Forte

Luigi Panepinto knows this only too well. He runs a factory that makes building materials in the village of Bivona - a few hours by car from Palermo.

His father and uncle were shot dead by the Mafia after they refused to meet extortion demands. But Luigi remains defiant.

SOUNDBITE:
"I will never leave this factory even if I meet the same end as my father"
SUPER CAPTION: Luigi Panepinto

To continue his work, Luigi is accompanied everywhere by two bodyguards . Four heavily-armed soldiers protect the factory.

But workers are hard to find. The factory used to have 20 workers - only five remain.

Those responsible for the fight against the Mafia know they have a lot of work ahead.

SOUNDBITE:
"The Mafia is not defeated"
SUPER CAPTION: Arnaldo La Barbera, Palermo police chief

The threat on the streets of Palermo will be there for some time to come.

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