According to several news reports in Italy (here, here and here), a whole family of the ‘Ndrangheta, an international criminal organization that originated in Italy, was convicted Wednesday of illegally operating online gambling websites after a three year trial called “Black Monkey”.
Nicola Femia, his daughter and two sons were sentenced to 56 years incarceration collectively in Bologna, Italy. They ran several online gambling websites hosted in Romania and the UK that provided services online at 888Suite.com, Vivacasinoelite.com, Vanillascasino.com and Davidcasino.com and also operated a series of slot machines and VLTs across Italy, collecting debts in violent ways from gamblers.
Femia is alleged to have paid €100,000 to a member of the local police to try to influence the outcome of his trial by attempting to bribe the judge. The policeman and the financial intermediary were arrested in October 2013.
In 2008, the U.S. Department of the Treasury added the ‘Ndrangheta to the Office of Foreign Assets Control Specially Designated Nationals list. The ‘Ndrangheta are present in Toronto and in the northern parts of Toronto and according to folklore, once a person is affiliated with them, there is no such thing as ending the relationship.