Unione Corse
Encyclopedia
The Unione Corse is a secretive criminal organization operating primarily out of Corsica
and Marseilles in France
. Unlike the Sicilian Mafia
, it has not attempted to gain a foothold in the United States
, and thus does not have the other organization's notoriety. "Unione Corse" is the general name given by French and American authorities to the major Corsican gangs
who organized the French Connection
, the heroin trade between France and the U.S. from the 1950s to the early 1970s.
. One typical example would be that of Antoine Rinieri, who was arrested in New York City
in the early 1960s carrying around $247,000 in cash from a suspected drug deal. Under police interrogation he refused to give his real name or what he was doing with the money and was sentenced to six months imprisonment for contempt of court. At the end of his sentence he was deported back to France, but since no link was established between his money and drug trafficking, the government was forced to pay him back the sum, with interest.
Like the Mafia, the Unione Corse is also split into separate crime families. As of the early 1970s, there were around 15 clans operating in France, the most notorious being the Francisci, Orsini, Venturi, and Guerini.
, the organization carried out murders of prominent German sympathisers in Marseille on behalf of the French Resistance
, and this continued into the postwar years. In 1948 the French government called upon the Unione Corse again to break up union strikes in Marseille which had Communist support. The gangsters provided an army of strikebreaking longshoremen to unload the ships and gunned down or intimidated defiant union leaders.
The organization had also managed to infiltrate various government agencies with its own members, such as the police, customs service and SDECE. It is believed that the organization's influence was one of the key factors behind the government's reluctance to crack down on their criminal activity.
in 1954, Corsican mobsters flew in drugs from Laos
to South Vietnam
by plane. The operations were collectively known as "Air Opium".
The most famous aspect of the Unione Corse's involvement in the heroin trade was what became known as "the French Connection". Between the 1930s and 1970s, they smuggled heroin refined in Marseilles to New York. Ultimately, international cooperation between law enforcement agencies dismantled the operation.
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
and Marseilles in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Unlike the Sicilian Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
, it has not attempted to gain a foothold in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and thus does not have the other organization's notoriety. "Unione Corse" is the general name given by French and American authorities to the major Corsican gangs
Corsican mafia
The Corsican mafia is the general term used to describe the various criminal groups originating from Corsica. The Corsican mafia is one of the most influential organized crime structures in France, also active in many African and Latin American countries...
who organized the French Connection
French Connection
The French Connection was a scheme through which heroin was smuggled from Turkey to France and then to the United States. The operation reached its peak in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when it provided the vast majority of the illicit heroin used in the United States...
, the heroin trade between France and the U.S. from the 1950s to the early 1970s.
Characteristics and activities
The Unione Corse is alleged to be far more secretive and tightly knit than the Mafia, and law enforcement have found it hard to extract information from members, who follow a code of silence similar to the Sicilian OmertàOmertà
Omertà is a popular attitude and code of honour and a common definition is the "code of silence". It is common in areas of southern Italy, such as Sicily, Apulia, Calabria, and Campania, where criminal organizations defined as Mafia such as the Cosa Nostra, 'Ndrangheta, Sacra Corona Unita, and...
. One typical example would be that of Antoine Rinieri, who was arrested in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the early 1960s carrying around $247,000 in cash from a suspected drug deal. Under police interrogation he refused to give his real name or what he was doing with the money and was sentenced to six months imprisonment for contempt of court. At the end of his sentence he was deported back to France, but since no link was established between his money and drug trafficking, the government was forced to pay him back the sum, with interest.
Like the Mafia, the Unione Corse is also split into separate crime families. As of the early 1970s, there were around 15 clans operating in France, the most notorious being the Francisci, Orsini, Venturi, and Guerini.
Activities of the Corsican Mafia
- Money laundering
- Racketeering
- Drug trafficking
- Prostitution
- Extortion
- Control of football clubs
- Malpractice at the levels of the European subventions
- Robbery
- White-collar crime
- Tax avoidance and tax evasion
- Contract killing
- Casinos, hotel nightclubs
- Political corruption
Relationship with the French government
The Unione Corse has enjoyed some degree of influence within French government and law enforcement. During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the organization carried out murders of prominent German sympathisers in Marseille on behalf of the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
, and this continued into the postwar years. In 1948 the French government called upon the Unione Corse again to break up union strikes in Marseille which had Communist support. The gangsters provided an army of strikebreaking longshoremen to unload the ships and gunned down or intimidated defiant union leaders.
The organization had also managed to infiltrate various government agencies with its own members, such as the police, customs service and SDECE. It is believed that the organization's influence was one of the key factors behind the government's reluctance to crack down on their criminal activity.
Involvement in the heroin trade
The Unione Corse was heavily involved in the heroin trade for a good part of the 20th century. It was heavily involved in the drugs trade in South-East Asia in the 1940s, and after the French retreat from IndochinaIndochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
in 1954, Corsican mobsters flew in drugs from Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
to South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
by plane. The operations were collectively known as "Air Opium".
The most famous aspect of the Unione Corse's involvement in the heroin trade was what became known as "the French Connection". Between the 1930s and 1970s, they smuggled heroin refined in Marseilles to New York. Ultimately, international cooperation between law enforcement agencies dismantled the operation.
Notable members
- Antoine Guérini
- Marcel FrancisciMarcel FrancisciMarcel Francisci was an alleged member of the Unione Corse who was accused of masterminding the French Connection drug network. As a young man, Francisci fought in World War II and was awarded the Croix de Guerre. Following the war, he developed a business empire that included casinos in Britain,...
- Dominique Venturi
- Lucien SartiLucien SartiLucien Sarti was a drug trafficker and killer-for-hire involved in the infamous French Connection heroin network. He was named on the television series The Men Who Killed Kennedy, as well as in a deathbed confession by former CIA agent E. Howard Hunt, as one of the men who shot at U.S. President...