Pro-Mafia Facebook pages spark outrage in Italy

Italian magistrates suggest those who join fan sites should be investigated

Online fan clubs for some of Italy’s most violent crime bosses have sprung up on Facebook, prompting outrage among anti-mafia activists. Notorious mobsters Bernardo Provenzano, arrested in 2006, and Toto Riina, also known as “The Beast,” both have fan sites with hundreds of admirers. Rita Borsellino, whose brother Paolo, an Italian magistrate, was killed by a mafia car bomb, told Reuters that Italy should enact laws against those who praise the mafia. Since an Italian newspaper mentioned the pages last week, some magistrates are calling for those who joined them to be investigated on suspicion of aiding and abetting organized crime. The page dedicated to Riina, who was arrested in 1993, seems to have been temporarily shut down after Italian media reported on it.

Reuters