FX.co ★ Even naughty boys to get Xmas gifts

Christmas time is a festive time; it is time for pleasant surprises and Christmas gifts. The holiday is awaited for the whole year and everyone hopes to find a desired box wrapped in bright paper. Being in such a mood and behind the bars, the members of the notorious Italian mafia are waiting for Christmas. In spite of the fact these guys behaved in an alarming way, they are still expecting gifts. Thus, for several years in a row Neapolitan mafia have run racket as an effective mechanism. According to local police reports, four law-breakers were arrested; a sharp increase in racket cases is registered during Christmas time. Thus, the members of criminal gangs collect money for the gifts for their imprisoned colleagues. For example, this year mafiosi offered the shop owners to buy flowers. Red poinsettia plant, a traditional Italian Christmas souvenir, usually costs no more than 4 euros. However, racketeers forced businessmen to buy it for 100 euros a piece. Those who rejected to buy flowers had problems with their businesses. The classical scheme has been functioning for several years and such claims have been registered since 2011. If the flowers used to be a Christmas symbol, now they smell the odor of organized crime activity, police say. Many entrepreneurs are not able to pay. The fact is the recession is ongoing in Italy and the revenues of the businessmen dropped considerably, the same holds true to the mafia’s earnings. However, the hope for a Christmas miracle is still alive! “They can deprive us of freedom, but they can’t deprive us of Christmas!” one of the prisoners commented on the event in Twitter.