Brief: Beckham Versus The Mob?

Italian police are warning that the Ndragheta crime clan is planning to capitalize on David Beckham’s loan spell with AC Milan by manufacturing a large number of fake Beckham shirts and souvenirs.
According to the report, FBI agents in America passed along the tip after interrogating Giuseppe Collucio, a man said to be a senior underboss of the group, which operates out of the Calabria region of Italy. Collucio revealed that the Italian government’s war on the mob has caused racketeers to resort to less violent but more lucrative ventures, including merchandise piracy.

The Ndragheta has an annual revenue of roughly $50-60 billion, which amounts to approximately 3.5% of the GDP of Italy. This comes mostly from illegal drug trafficking, but also from ostensibly legal businesses such as construction, restaurants and supermarkets.

The Ndrangheta has recently expanded its activities to Northern Italy, mainly to sell drugs and to invest in legitimate businesses which can be used for money laundering. The mayor of Buccinasco was threatened when he tried to halt these investments. In May 2007, twenty members of Ndrangheta were arrested in Milan. - Wikipedia