Court sentences 70 people in major Italian mafia trial

An Italian court has sentenced 70 individuals in what is one of the biggest mafia trials the country has seen in decades

Defendants were facing charges ranging from attempted murder to extortion, with further hearings to occur over the next two years.

A total of 355 alleged mobsters and gang members will face court for their involvement with Italy’s richest and most powerful crime group.

The high-stakes hearings involve hundreds of lawyers and up to 1-thousand witnesses, and will all be held behind closed doors out of safety concerns.

The accused have opted for a so-called “speedy trial” whereby their sentences will be reduced by a third if a guilty verdict is found.

The crime network sprawls right across Italy and consists of 150 families in total, with this trial just focussing on just one – the Mancuso family.