Sicily Mafia watches and waits for Italy to vote

PALERMO, Sicily (Reuters) - Years ago, when the Mafia wanted to influence elections in Sicily, it did not think twice about setting off a bomb or leaving a headless goat on a doorstep as a not-so-subtle message about whom to vote for.Now, as Italy approaches April's general election, the Sicilian Mafia has kept a low profile, a wait-and-see attitude aimed at not drawing attention to itself.

"The Mafia is paying attention. It is watching," said Antonio Ingroia, a top anti-Mafia magistrate in Sicily.

"It realizes that this is a delicate moment which could lead to some changes that might affect it," Ingroia said in an interview in Palermo's heavily protected main court building.

Magistrates and other anti-Mafia experts say the Mob is doing just fine these days. It is making money hand over fist without getting its hands bloody.

A new "Pax Mafiosa" has settled over the island.

The Mafia, realizing that the spotlight is not good for business, has stopped killing its enemies -- police officers, magistrates and politicians -- and even its own members.

"The Mafia is continuing in its strategy of keeping a low profile, a truce: weapons are out, business is in," Ingroia said.

The Mafia makes its money from ensuring that companies it controls directly or indirectly get a share of services and construction contracts, especially public works contracts.

Spain busts Romanian mafia ring, 297 arrested

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish police have arrested a mafia ring of nearly 300 Romanians in one of their biggest operations against foreign criminals.

The network was organised by one leader, known as Iorgu I or Talanu, with several lieutenants, and operated in eight of Spain's 17 regions, the Interior Ministry said on Friday.

"The crimes for which these mafia groups are accused include violent robbery, forgery and fraudulent use of credit cards, drug trafficking, falsifying documents, illegal possession of weapons, prostitution and offences against worker rights," Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso told a news conference.

Spanish police arrested 283 people and Romanian authorities detained another 14.

Gotti jury deadlocks in NY Mafia mistrial

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A judge declared a mistrial in the case of suspected Mafia boss John "Junior" Gotti on Friday after deadlocked jurors were unable to reach a verdict for the second time in six months.Prosecutors immediately said they would seek a third trial on racketeering and other charges against Gotti, whose late father was one of New York's most notorious crime bosses.

Judge Shira Scheindlin called the jury's day-and-a-half of deliberations "surprisingly short" but said "the jury has spoken" after it had sent her two notes saying the 12-member panel was hopelessly deadlocked.

A hearing was called for Monday at which a new trial date could be set.

Gotti's defense focused on the claim that he had given up mob life. He hugged his lawyers upon hearing of the mistrial and left the courthouse surrounded by a gaggle of reporters.

"I want to raise my children," he said. "That's all I wanted in life."

A previous trial also resulted in a deadlocked jury, forcing the retrial. The second trial rekindled New York's obsession with the Mafia and Gotti's infamous father, revealing accounts of bloody shootings and secret mob codes.

Gotti, 42, was accused of leading the Gambino crime family, extorting construction companies, loan-sharking and ordering a brutal attack on Curtis Sliwa, the founder of New York's Guardian Angels anti-crime patrol, because of his critical comments about the Gotti family on his radio show.

Sliwa did not believe Gotti had withdrawn from the Mafia, telling reporters, "There's only one way to withdraw from the mob and that's to be at room temperature."

Mills linked to mafia go-between

Fresh doubts about the business affairs of Tessa Jowell's husband emerged yesterday with the discovery that he set up a company whose directors included a man acting as the intermediary between Silvio Berlusconi's political party and the mafia.

David Mills, a corporate lawyer, carried out the appointment of Marcello Dell'Utri as a director on the board of Publitalia International, a London-registered media advertising agency on the day of the company's incorporation in 1985.