Earthquakes are good for business

It’s been only two weeks since a devastating earthquake rocked the Italian city of L’Aquila, but investigators are already on the lookout for the inevitable aftershock: the mafia. Federal authorities are petrified that organized crime is poised to profit from the hefty rebuilding contracts, believed to be worth more than $16 billion. Franco Roberti, head of the Naples office of investigative magistrates, says the traditional crime clans—Cosa Nostra, ’ndrangheta and Camorra—have endless connections to cement companies, debris-removal outfits and other businesses that could infiltrate the reconstruction process. Over the weekend, the national Catholic daily L’Avvenire published this front-page warning: "Keep the vigilance high against mafias in construction sites.”

NBC News