On Tuesday, anti-mafia police launched a significant operation against Sicilian organized crime. Their primary goal was to prevent the mob from reorganizing and establishing a new leadership body, known as a cupola.

The investigation uncovered an organized crime network that is increasingly adapting to contemporary challenges while also expressing a sense of nostalgia for its former grandeur.

Giancarlo Romano, who met a violent end last year, expressed concern to an associate during a wiretapped conversation, lamenting that they no longer produce mobsters of the same caliber.

Despite their longing for the notorious crimes of yesteryear, Sicilian Mafia remains a formidable presence, according to anti-mafia prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia, who warns, “Cosa nostra is alive and present.”

Investigative efforts have revealed that a new wave of gang leaders is now employing encrypted smartphones and utilizing thousands of short-lived micro-sim cards smuggled into correctional facilities.

By doing so, they aim to evade surveillance while engaging in activities related to drug trafficking, money laundering, and online gambling.

Moreover, Sicily’s Cosa Nostra has begun collaborating with other criminal organizations, including the infamous, larger ‘Ndrangheta from mainland Italy.

Among the 181 arrest warrants executed against suspected gangsters across four districts in Palermo, 33 targeted convicted criminals already incarcerated.

National anti-mafia prosecutor Giovanni Melillo commented that, despite numerous crackdowns, the high-security prison system remains vulnerable to mob influence.

One revelation from the investigation illustrated a gangster who was able to remotely oversee a violent act he had orchestrated from his jail cell using a video link.

The Mafia has shown remarkable confidence in its chosen encrypted messaging platform, which supports text messages, voice notes, and images.

However, a year ago, a bug placed in the residence of one gangster captured a conversation between him and another individual as they lamented connection issues during an encrypted chat. In their dialogue, several Mafia figures were named.

Law enforcement in Sicily intercepted every word.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni applauded the operation carried out by Italy’s Carabinieri military police, reiterating that the battle against the Mafia “has not stopped and will not stop.”

Notably, half of those apprehended were in their 20s and 30s.

In late 2023, Giancarlo Romano, perceived as a rising Mafia leader in Palermo’s Brancaccio area, was recorded expressing his discontent over the mob’s decline and the lack of quality in new recruits.

He remarked, “The caliber is low; today they arrest someone, and if he becomes a turncoat, they arrest someone else… it’s dismal and low-level,” which was captured during the wiretapped conversation.

Romano advised an aspiring mafioso to pursue education, network with professionals, and take notes from The Godfather trilogy, a cinematic portrayal of the fictional Corleone family.

He lamented that the current Mafia contented itself with petty sales of hashish, while once their ambitions were grander, such as orchestrating the arrival of a ship laden with hashish.

Romano’s life was cut short in February 2024, following an attack linked to online gambling extortion, prompting authorities to pursue further arrests connected to his faction of the Mafia.

Cosa Nostra has undeniably diminished from its once-feared status, significantly weakened by three decades of relentless anti-mafia efforts.

However, even as it seeks modernization, numerous traditional practices and codes endure.

As one mafioso was overheard saying, “Cosa Nostra is like marriage. You commit to this partner for life,” suggesting that leaving the organization is not an option.