Wednesday, 16th September 2009 - 09:23CET
Mafia turncoat says funds deposited in Malta
An Italian mafia turncoat testifying about the dumping of nuclear and toxic waste in the Mediterranean Sea said that Malta was one of three countries where the criminal organisation deposited money coming from illegal operations.
A former member of the Calabrian Mafia (ndrangheta), Francesco Fonti admitted in front of an Italian judge that the criminal organisation had sunk ships carrying nuclear and toxic waste in the Mediterranean Sea in the 1980s and 1990s.
The accusations are not new but in the past judges had always archived suspect cases because no proof was ever provided of the sunken ships. However, this changed last Saturday when a submersible robot discovered the wreck of a ship that went down in 1992 with 120 drums of toxic waste. The drums were also visible at a depth of 487 metres.
Mr Fonti admitted he had sunk the cargo ship Cunsky off the Cosenza coast after loading its bow with explosives.
In an interview yesterday on Rainews 24, Mr Fonti said the Mafia was paid good money for running the dumping operation. He alleged that the money than found its way to Switzerland, Cyprus and Malta, without elaborating.
Italian environment group Legambiente said there were between 40 and 100 suspect cases between 1985 and 1995 of ships laden with nuclear and toxic waste that mysteriously sunk in the Mediterranean's deepest points. In each of the cases, the ships never launched a May-day signal and the crew mysteriously disappeared.
The more notable cases include the Maltese-registered cargo vessel Anni, which sank in 1989 off the Ravenna coast in international waters.
Other ships include the Nikos I that vanished in 1985 during a voyage that started in La Spezia for Lome in Togo and sank somewhere between Lebanon and Greece.
Another ship, the Mikigan, sank in the Tyrrhenian Sea in 1986 while carrying suspect cargo.
However, it was the sinking of the Rigel in September 1987 that ignited Legambiente's suspicions and which led to the first judicial investigation into the matter.
The recent discovery of toxic cargo in the depths of the Mediterranean Sea is expected to prompt a re-opening of archived judicial cases.
"Re-opening the cases was important to establish who was responsible for the illegal dumping and to monitor the sea contamination, which could be dangerous for human health and the ecosystems," Nuccio Barilla of Legambiente Calabria was quoted as saying.
BOX:
Mysterious disappearances
1985 - Nikos I sank while travelling from La Spezia to Lome in Togo. It probably disappeared somewhere between Lebanon and Greece.
1986 - The Mikigan sank in the Calabrian area of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
1987 - On September 21, the Rigel sank 20 miles off Capo Spartivento in Calabria.
1989 - The Maltese-registered Anni sinks in international waters off the coast of Ravenna.
1990 - In December, the cargo ship Rosso, formerly known as Jolly Rosso, disappeared below the sea along the Tyrrhenian coast in the province of Cosenza.
1992 - The Cunsky mysteriously sinks off the Cosenza coast. It transpires that it carried 120 drums of toxic waste.
1993 - The Marco Polo vanished in the Sicilian Channel.
1995 - In November, the German ship Koraline sank mysteriously off the coast of Ustica.
RSS
Comments
Another big blow to our fishing and tourist industries. Compensation is a MUST!
Have you noticed that the words 'hazardous' and 'completely safe' tend to be direct opposites?
I doubt they would have done it unless it was completely safe!
Why are we getting all antsy about this all of a sudden!
Does Somali piracy got to do?
Read:The European roots of Somali piracy
21.04.2009
EUOBSERVER / FEATURE - As global powers ratchet up the naval pressure off the coast of Somalia and the European Union this week prepares to play host to a major international conference on the growing scourge of piracy, very little attention is being paid to the other 'piracy' in the area - the decades of European illegal fishing and dumping of toxic waste in Somali waters.
http://euobserver.com/9/27966/?rk=1
Well, hope that Malta will not be blamed for money laudering - I agree 100% with A. Spiteri's comment. Dear 65 Maltese MPs show us at least for once that you're not qieghdin hemm biex issahhnu s-siggijiet - speak up for the Maltese nation. Don't be cowards. We're been hit hard by the Italian media especially by PDL's Frattini. Wake up.
Since when are the utterances of a Sicilian Mafioso Gospel truth?
Or is this another convenient occasion for the Italians to discredit another successful Maltese industry?
You are right, tests are regularly done and no sign of toxicity has ever been reported, more so of a nuclear toxic waste. This does not mean however that today the danger is not present, most especially since the confessions of Francesco Fonti are recently being corroborated by evidence.
Lets not be paranoid and think this is doom's day, but let's not adopt our usual laissez faire attitude we know so well, hoping that other Mediterranean countries would conduct the investigations themselves first and then we'll see. This is not an attitude our politicians should support. They should also investigate the alleged funds that the Mafia deposited in Malta.
Hardly a year passes by when test samples of the quality of the water around our shores are not taken by the Health Authorities.
This has been going on, and rightly so, for many years.
You know how tests sometimes have a way of turning out: you're looking for something and you stumble on the unexpected.
Over these long years, didn't anything unexpected crop up?
This is a question of priority that has risen to the surface and must be looked into professionally and expertly, no matter what the cost. The two Parties should inform the EU Commission about this and ask for the finance and personnel to deal with this problem. They must do it immediately without delay!
They do everything to get power and so they must be responsible and held accountable if they do not act in a way that ensure safety towards the Maltese humanity. This is not paranoia, this is grave concern.
Authorities please note and act!!!
I have always been wanting to ask what the enormous patches of foamy substances that can be seen everyday at our shores are.
Any one knows? I had taken some pics but can't upload here to show. They look like massive patches of white foam floating there next to shore. I have seen these practically all around the islands and also offshore (up to 2 miles out).
I am quite sure this is not a natural occurance.
also,,, does nuclear and toxic waste 'travel' in the seas?