"Nothing earns more than a wind farm," said Edoardo Zanchini, an environmental campaigner who has investigated Mafia infiltration of the industry. "Anything that creates wealth interests the Mafia."
Wind power is awash (aflutter?) in government money and overseas private investors' cash, and where there's money, there's Mafia. Thirty wind farms have been built in Sicily, with another 60 planned. And it's not just Italy where government wind subsidies draw organized crime; other hot spots include Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, and Corsica.
One advantage of Mafia involvement for pro-wind farm campaigners: It really cuts down on the NIMBYism.
In the UK, if a company proposed putting up 100 turbines across the countryside, there would be an uproar," he said. "In Italy, everyone keeps quiet because they are afraid to stand up to the Mafia."
