AI-generated transcript, reviewed and corrected by Jacques Bertrand. Timestamps refer to the original audio.

[00:03] Italians resisting the mafia. Their courage, our inspiration. This is the Omerta Overcomers Podcast with Jacques Bertrand.

[00:22] Beatrice Portinari. Today’s episode is special. I’m talking about cows, about the mafia, in this case, Cosa Nostra. and about a woman trying to keep her land. Although the story is fictional, it’s based on real-life situations. There’s more about these real cases and real people later in the second part.

[00:44] Cows, Crops and Cosa Nostra, Mafia intimidation in rural Italy. The story of Maria. So Beatrice, the story takes place near a small town in the middle of Sicily. Maria is 32. She works for an accountant. She owns a piece of land and she makes a little bit of money by selling wheat and hay. She doesn’t have animals, but one morning, there’s a bunch of cows grazing in her field and they’re ruining the crop. Visibly the cows have been in action for quite a while. They’re free-roaming cows. Yes, you can actually come across these cows in southern Italy, and people won’t touch them because maybe they belong to the local boss of the Mafia, or Capo. And so, people call them “sacred cows,” but there’s nothing sacred or religious about them. The message from the Capo to the local population is this: “Here, I can do whatever I want.” Maria takes a look at the wired fence. It was cut. Someone pushed the cows into her field. She has an idea of who might be responsible: Silvio Lombardo. Silvio Lombardo’s family is tied to Cosa Nostra. Maria and him went to the same school. Silvio was always a bully. She always avoided him. But it so happened that two weeks before the cow invasion, one night he had shown up on her doorstep. When Maria recognized him, her heart sank. He said he came to offer his condolences. The month before, Maria’s dad had a fatal accident with his tractor, and shortly after, her brother was a victim of a hit and run in the village. The driver was never found. Lombardo told her taking care of a land was a hard thing to do for a woman. He said he was prepared to make an offer. But she replied, “A woman can handle land just fine. I don’t want to sell.” “Very well,” said Lombardo. “If you change your mind, come see me.” There was no direct threat, of course, but Maria felt he wasn’t happy. That meant Cosa Nostra wasn’t happy. And she was shaking inside.

[03:10] Two weeks after the visit, cows are pushed into her field. Maria doesn’t know what to do. She could go to the police, but what for? Would they really help? It’s hard for her to think of anyone she can turn to. In town when you mention the Lombardo family, the conversation goes quiet. People whisper things like “Here it’s them who decide. It will never change.” She goes for a cafe with her best friend Antonella. But Antonella only asks her, “Why don’t you just sell?” That’s not what Maria wants to hear. For a while, Maria just hopes that things will get better. A few days before the start of the second harvest, disaster strikes again. It’s another cow invasion, about 15 of them. She lost about 3,000 euros worth of crops. This time she calls the carabineri. They’re more helpful than she thought they would be. Afterwards, they go talk to some people, including Lombardo. He admits he is interested in buying the land, but he denies any connection to the cows. The police don’t have any proof, so nothing happens. Over the next few months, Maria’s life takes a turn for the worse. One day she finds one of her dogs was poisoned. And only a week later she opens a plastic bag wondering what it is. And inside is the head of her second dog. Each time the carabinieri come to document the crime, the maresciallo tells her about other cases in Sicily. This is the Mafia di Pascoli, he explains. This is how different mafia groups in different parts of Italy acquire more land. Maria goes online and finds out that mafia groups go after agricultural grants from the European Union. This is worth millions of euros to them. She now feels the enemy is difficult to define. It’s not only Silvio Lombardo she’s dealing with. Or is it? Maria is really struggling to cope with all this. As months go by, Maria dreads falling asleep because she has terrible nightmares, and she hates even more waking up in the morning. She is scared by Silvio Lombardo’s gang, but at the same time, she doesn’t like to be pushed around, especially by bullies and chauvinist men. Of course, choosing to resist doesn’t make the fear disappear. In her situation, most people would rather cave in, but not her, at least not now. She speaks to a few journalists, but she only gets a few brief mentions in the press.

[06:01] Maria is left to concentrate on her everyday life. She works with Marco, an accountant. When Marco points out that she’s been lacking focus lately, Maria decides to open up to him. He listens carefully and then he talks about all the advantages if she were to sell her land. She’s almost convinced to follow his advice, until it occurs to her that some of Marco’s clients don’t have a great reputation and may be connected to Lombardo’s businesses… So… can Marco’s advice be shaped by pressures from Lombardo’s circles? Now she wonders, can I really trust Marco?

[06:49] Maria is feeling extremely isolated. She also worries about her safety. She never received explicit threats, letters, or calls. On the other hand, of course, what they did to her dogs was a message. Still, Maria struggles to believe they’d physically harm her. She thinks that would attract investigations and more media attention, something the mafia doesn’t like. The mafiosi need to consider whether harming her is worth the trouble or the risks. Plus, Maria is telling herself, “I’m not really a threat to their interests. I’m not harming their current business.” No matter how she tries to rationalize things one way or the other, the situation is always on her mind. She can’t rule anything out. For example, one night she starts thinking: “Dad was killed in a tractor accident in the field. And just two weeks after, my brother dies in a hit and run. That leaves me as the sole owner of the land. And then this Silvio Lombardo knocks on my door and makes me an offer. Was he responsible for the death of my brother? Was the plan to place me in a position where just a little push would be enough to convince me to sell? If that’s the case, then they could harm me too.”

[08:10] There are no limits to where Maria’s imagination can go as she thinks about all this. It’s affecting her mental well-being. At this stage, Maria needs support. From friends who listen, from the anti-Mafia movement standing by her side, probably also from a mental health professional who can help her find some peace.

[08:55] The story I wrote about cows, the mafia and a woman refusing to give up her land, was inspired by several people, especially three sisters, Irene, Ina and Mariana Napoli, the owners of a land near Mezzojuso in the middle of Sicily. It started with an article in newspaper Repubblica by Salvo Palazzolo, a local expert on Cosa Nostra. Palazzolo shed light on their situation, the cow invasions, and the acts of intimidation. The story was then picked up by Massimo Giletti, at the time the host of a popular Sunday television program, Non à l’arena. Over several months Giletti featured the Napoli sisters exposing the presence of the mafia in the Mezzojuso area. He even held a three-hour-long live broadcast in the town’s main piazza. The case really received a lot of attention. The Napoli sisters and Mezzojuso are a good example of what can happen when the media gets involved, even though the results are not always black and white. In that saga, four men were arrested and put on trial, but they were all acquitted in 2023. The Mezzojuso Municipal Council was dissolved by the government because of a risk of mafia infiltration, and commissioners were put in charge there to clean things up. In terms of justice, the Napoli sisters may have been disappointed. But at least because they’re so well known now, when something happens to them, they do get the attention of the police and the media. For instance, when someone went to the cemetery and vandalized their father’s grave, it made the news. The mafiosi need to ask themselves whether continuing to intimidate the Napoli sisters is worth the trouble.

[10:50] Many other Italians had to fight to keep their land and not always with a happy outcome. Magda Scalisi had to give up running a small inn in a beautiful park area. In Calabria Bruno Bonfà, whose father was killed by the ndrangheta over 30 years ago, is still refusing to give up his land. You can find more information about them on my website, omertaovercomers.ca. In Sicily, Cosa Nostra plays a real-life game of Monopoly, where land ownership is key to winning. More land equals more power, more respect, and the ability to influence decision makers or replace them. All over Italy, groups such as Cosa Nostra, the ndrangheta and the Camorra invest millions in the legal economy. They build connections and they can bribe people across all sectors of society to influence decisions. This goes to show that Italians have a far deeper rooted problem than most people admit. Now, obviously, the problem with the Mafia is much bigger than the cows ravaging the fields of the Napoli sisters, Bruno Bonfa or Magda Scalisi. But people like them, they’re in the trenches, they can’t be forsaken. Intimidation against small business owners, journalists, public officials, and so many others happens every hour. Many of them refuse to yield, which is so admirable because it takes enormous courage to do so day after day, often alone, and knowing there’s no quick and easy win in this battle. These are the Omerta Overcomers. Thank you for listening, Beatrice.

[12:51] We’re grateful for your presence today. For more information, check out our website at omertaovercomers.ca Feel free to connect with Jacques at MyReaction@protonmail.com

[13:08] And, spread the word by sharing this episode with two or three people. We appreciate you. A presto.