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Article: Sicilian businessmen openly defying the Mafia in rebellion shaking Cosa Nostra to its core
- Article from:
- AP Worldstream
- Article date:
- January 13, 2008
- Author:
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When it came down to business, Cosa Nostra could always count on fear.
No more.
In a rebellion shaking the Sicilian Mafia to its centuries-old roots, businesses are joining forces in refusing to submit to demands for protection money called "pizzo."
And they're getting away with it, threatening to sap an already weakened crime syndicate of one of its steadiest sources of revenue.
The Mafia has a history of bouncing back from defeat, but this time it is up against something entirely new: a Web site where businessmen are finding safety in numbers to say no to the mob.
At the same time, businessmen ranging from neighborhood shopkeepers to industrialists ...