Suspected mafia member, 64, jailed in Germany for fraud

Jul 12, 2010, 18:11 GMT

Karlsruhe, Germany - An Italian man described by prosecutors as a member of a Camorra crime syndicate was jailed Monday in Germany for 42 months after he admitted leading a fraudulent products scam.

His group specialized in selling electrical generators and other machinery, charging customers for high quality and delivering the lowest quality. German police rounded up the group 10 months ago.

Prosecutors, who had demanded four years' prison, said as the case closed that his connection with the Camorra mafia, the underworld of Naples, had not been proven in court, but judges could assume with a high degree of likelihood that the link existed.

The machinery selling scam operated for about a year from October 2007.

The state court in Karlsruhe convicted him on 14 counts of fraud by way of organized crime and two counts of attempting it.

In a joint operation, police in Germany and Italy swooped on the group in September 2009, searching 36 homes and warehouses and seizing 500 unsold generators with an average value of 3,000 euros apiece.

The accused made a detailed admission in court.