Characteristics and Activities
The Unione Corse is alleged to be far more secretive and tightly knit than the Mafia, and law enforcement have found it hard to extract information from members, who follow a code of silence similar to the Sicilian Omertà. In addition, family ties creates bonds between the members. These bonds are not only stronger but allow protection against outsiders trying to either infiltrate or gather information about any of the members.
Typical of the Unione Corse's secrecy would be the case of a man known only as Antoine Rinieri. On 12 June 1962, Rinieri, who identified as an art broker, arrived in the City of New York by air from Paris, France, carrying $247,000 in hard currency, ostensibly to purchase an object of art from an American identified as "Mr Anderson". He arrived at a club to complete the purchase, but the seller was a no-show; Rinieri decided to visit a friend, Gennett, in Asheville, North Carolina, before he left for Europe. For the duration of his visit, the money was stored in a jointly-held safety deposit box at Wachovia Bank in Asheville, per the recommendation of said Gennett. On 18 June, Rinieri left Gennett, flew to Chicago, and there boarded an aircraft which was to fly to Zürich via Montréal. The flight was rerouted to New York, where Rinieri was arrested and questioned.
At its conclusion, he was served with a notice to appear before a Federal grand jury, which he did. At the proceedings, he refused to identify the American from whom he intended to purchase art, and furthermore refused to identify a Swiss acquaintance who had had temporary possession of the money prior to Rinieri's entry into the U.S.A., on grounds of a "code of ethics" and a desire not to violate "confidential relationships". Rinieri specifically declined to rely upon the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
It was alleged by the prosecution that 'unnamed agents of the Bureau of Narcotics "believe" these funds represent the proceeds from the sale of narcotics in the United States by' Rinieri. He was sentenced to incarceration for a term of six months for contempt of court, after which he was flown back to France. During this time, no link was, or could be, established between his money and undocumented trade in narcotics; the money was paid back with interest.
Like the Mafia, the Unione Corse is also split into separate crime families. As of the early 1970s, there were around 15 clans operating in France, the most notorious being the Francisci, Orsini, Venturi, and Guerini.
Read more about this topic: Unione Corse
Famous quotes containing the word activities:
“No culture on earth outside of mid-century suburban America has ever deployed one woman per child without simultaneously assigning her such major productive activities as weaving, farming, gathering, temple maintenance, and tent-building. The reason is that full-time, one-on-one child-raising is not good for women or children.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)