Maldera was one of the so-called godfathers of the Franco-Italian mafia that terrorized the southeastern city in the 1980s, along with his brother Robert, a source close to the case told AFP.

Although the term "gangster" is used for any criminal from ... were protected by urban politicians and police. While the Italian mafia was the largest and most powerful, other ethnic groups ...

But what has emerged from their wide-ranging investigation is an organised crime group ... gangster had been able to watch a beating he had ordered from inside jail in real time via video-link ...