European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 30, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 8 the stars and stripes Friday november 30,1990 a French worker with paint buckets in hand walks along the main gallery of the eur Tunnel on wednesday. A ceremony is planned next saturday to celebrate the French connection the connecting of the English Section of the Tunnel to the French Section. The Tunnel nicknamed the Chun Nel is being carved out under the English Channel. When the construction is completed cars and trucks from France and England will be Able to Cross Back and Forth under the Channel without the use of ferries. Military roundup2 sergeants at Alconbury win Safe safety honors Raf Alconbury England two technical sergeants stationed at Raf Alconbury have received Safe safety awards. Tech. Sgt. Gordon Anderson of the 10th tac fighter Wing was named ground safety technician of the year tech. Sgt. Hugh Mccloskey of the 17th consolidated aircraft Maint so was named the commands ground safety representative of the year. Anderson the wings ground safety manager revamped the safety inspection system and also implemented weekly nighttime inspections. Mccloskey a survival equipment technician and the bases Only motorcycle safety instructor relocated the motorcycle training Range from Raf Upwood to Alconbury motorcycle Accident injuries Are Down by 71 percent since last year according to an article in the base club card accepted at More air Force facilities Randolph fab Texas a the air forces morale welfare and recreation system has expanded acceptance of diners club cards. Now mar food service facilities will Honor the credit cards As payment. More than 180 air Force locations worldwide now accept diners club cards for billeting food expenses and travel costs incurred during the performance of official duties. The credit cards were first issued in june to military personnel and Federal employees to cover their lodging expenses while on official travels. World today8 gunned Down 7 injured in suspected mafia attack Gela Sicily apr assailants opened fire inside a game Hall and outside a nearby Butcher shop tuesday night killing eight people and wounding seven police said. State television said the attacks were apparently carried out by a mafia gang seeking to kill members of a rival clan. Police said the two attacks occurred about 7 . In the Center of this City of 80,000 residents on Sicily a Southern coast. Six were killed when the assailants sprayed gunfire inside a game halt crowded with people playing cards and billiards. Two others were shot in front of a Butcher shop Down the Street. Rai to said investigators suspect the assailants targeted members of the Madonia crime family. Despite fear Croton residents stage strike to protest mafia by j. King Cruger Mediterranean Bureau the citizens of Croton Italy the City closest to the proposed new Home of the air forces 401st tac fighter Wing Rose up last week in protest against organized crime. Croton a notorious Center of mafia crime was paralysed As merchants closed shops and thousands of locals took to the main Square for two hours shouting anti mafia slogans. A the mood is one of fear these Days a said Domenico Napolitano managing editor of ii crot onese the City a weekly newspaper. A crimes Are More and More frequent in a when citizens get together in groups they talk big about doing something about organized crime. But As individuals they Are fearful a Napolitano said wednesday. A out of the 35 murders we have had Here this year police have suspects in Only three or four the nov. 22 strike was organized by local unions and grew out of a Daylight massacre two Days earlier in which three people were shot to death and two others were wounded in a nearby Square. Armed with pistols and shotguns the assailants opened fire on a group of men gathered outside a bar at about 5 10 ., when the Square was packed with hundreds of people. The main target appeared to be the suspected Boss of a local gang of nor Argheta the calabrian version of the sicilian mafia. He was killed in the shooting. The other two people killed were allegedly mafioso henchmen. One of the wounded was a suspected crime figure the other a woman was a passer by. The shooting is part of a struggle for control of drug trafficking and other rackets by rival nor Argheta gangs i police said. So far this year 35 slayings All connected Ini some Way with organized crime have taken place Ini Croton an East coast Market town with a population of less than 60,000. Like last weeks massacre Many of Croton a a slayings have taken place in Broad Daylight in Public places and i in front of Many witnesses. Yet according to Napolitano witnesses pretend to have seen nothing when they Are questioned by police. A we have a saying a Napolitano said a that fear stitches Mouths Croton a a criminal courts Are jammed with cases and the backlogged court dockets grow longer each Day. A cases now in the system Arentt scheduled to be heard i until 1994. We have 40 to 50 criminal arraignments each Day and if this trend continues through next year new cases wont be heard until the year 2000,�?� he said. The air base is being built to the House the 401st, i which must leave its Home at Torrejon a in Spain by 1992. But the nato facility has run into increasing criticism from the . Congress. As an expression of this opposition Congress struck the . Contribution to j the facility from the appropriations Bill for fiscal 1991. The future of the base will be discussed during a se-1 Ries of High level nato gatherings in december including a meeting of defense ministers on dec. 6 and 7. Contributing to this report Candida Sansone , Italy mafia s grip on Italy growing Naples Italy a amps a the mafia which likes to portray its members As honorable family men who love children As much As loot has begun to kill youths who could testify against the organizations assassins. Twelve year old Andrea Esposito witnessed a Cam Orra ambush in september in a Market near Naples where he unloaded crates each morning before going off to school. He was shot twice in the head As he pleaded for mercy. Since september at least four other children As Young As 8, have been killed. The attacks seem to be an indication of the organizations growing grip on parts of Italy which is described in a recent report by Italy a intelligence services. The report said the country a three main crime groups Are increasing their hold Over Southern Italy while gaining political control and economic influence Over entire areas. It said Italy has three main branches of organized crime a the mafia largely based in Sicily. A the Camorrah headquartered in Campania the Region around Naples. A nor Argheta based in Calabria the southernmost Region of the italian Mainland. The report presented to prime minister Giulio Andreotti said the sicilian mafia has 180 families with 4.000 members. The Camorrah reportedly is divided Between the older and More powerful a clans a which specialize in International drug trafficking and a Host of minor clans that operate All Over Southern Italy the report said. There Are a total of More than 100 clans and 6,000 people. Nor Argheta has 140 a cosche a or gangs with about 5.000 members it said. The 15,000 Are said to be full time operatives and the three organizations Are connected with International crime and drug trafficking syndicates the report said. Organized crime runs everything from local City Halls to football pools to prostitution to Protection rackets. While the greatest alarm is caused by the organizations growing political and economic weight the crime rate is rising sharply. In the first six months of 1990,774 people were slain in Southern Italy compared with fewer than 700 people in the same period last year. Italian president Francesco Corsiga declared recently that a entire areas of the National territory Are beyond the control of the state.�?�, the government has responded to the crisis by instituting new measures including stiffer sentences without parole and tighter weapons Laws
