Sicily's Mafia-free department store

A 29-year-old Sicilian named Fabio Messina opened a department store in Palermo that offers goods that are guaranteed to be supplied by shops that refuse to pay protection money (pizzo) to the Mafia.

(Caption: 'An entire population that pays the pizzo is a population without dignity.')
Fabio Messina has never run a shop before and agrees that the supermarket he sunk his savings into and opened yesterday sells a rather eclectic array of goods, from marmalade and pot plants to pyjamas and wristwatches.
But it is a landmark in Palermo: all products and staff are 100 per cent guaranteed Mafia-free, supplied only by shops and producers which have stood up to Sicily's Cosa Nostra and refused to pay protection money.
'I decided it was right to give those traders who refuse to pay an extra opportunity,' said Messina, 29, a former boating instructor and bar owner and now owner of Punto Pizzofree. The 'Pizzo' refers to the €200 (£153) to €500 that up to 80 per cent of Palermo's shopkeepers pay the mob monthly to avoid a smashed window, a mysterious fire or a bomb under their car.
The store is part of an anti-Mafia groundswell that started four years ago when activists plastered Palermo with bill stickers stating: 'An entire population that pays the pizzo is a population without dignity.'

Link | Link to Addiopizzo

Discussion

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#1 posted by Susan Oliver , March 10, 2008 1:27 PM

Dead pool anyone?

#2 posted by Clumpy

, March 10, 2008 1:37 PM

The guy's doing the right thing, but it's obviously not a fantastic choice from a safety perspective. More power to him.

#3 posted by Takuan , March 10, 2008 1:38 PM

"A population that accepts the TSA is a population without dignity"

#4 posted by scottfree , March 10, 2008 1:53 PM

I imagine most of us in the English speaking world think of mafioso as counter culture heroes; it really is odd to think of living somewhere mafia ruled. I hesitate to ask if there are any good documentaries?

#5 posted by Wingo , March 10, 2008 1:59 PM

Yeah, quite an honorable stance; he's definitely got some big brass ones.

But I sure hope he's prepared to guard his shop and his person/family with extreme vigilance around the clock.

#6 posted by gravedigger_jones , March 10, 2008 2:11 PM

Wow, this guy needs to get a goalie mask with a bullseye on it. Good luck, Fabio Messina, we hardly knew ye !

#7 posted by Moon , March 10, 2008 2:13 PM

I wonder what his insurance bill is? For the store? Personal?

#8 posted by mikelotus , March 10, 2008 3:41 PM

he's soon gonna sleep with da fishes, you know wha i mean?

#9 posted by boyhowdy

, March 10, 2008 4:17 PM

They sell POT plants? This guy has plenty of other things to worry about than the mafia.

Take the cannoli and run, man.

#10 posted by elsmiley , March 10, 2008 5:10 PM

Good for him. I hope to visit his grave, where I will say a solemn and sincere prayer. Thankfully, someone is standing up to those lazy, uneducated, no-talent, worthless criminals.

#11 posted by jphilby , March 10, 2008 8:40 PM

Pretty soon, you've got a population of shop owners who pay the pizzo so nobody knows they pay the pizzo.

#12 posted by Giovanni

, March 10, 2008 10:02 PM

Wow. I went to Palermo once and got ripped off by a Scooter Rental place for like 500 Euros. I went and talked to the police and they just scoffed and told me what I thought was a problem wasn't a problem.

They are such scammers over there!

Good pastries though...

#13 posted by Paul D , March 11, 2008 1:29 AM

"It really is odd to think of living somewhere mafia ruled."

You mean where you live, there's no organization that extorts 10-50% of your business and personal income "for your benefit"?

#14 posted by Dayv , March 11, 2008 4:31 AM

They sell POT plants?

Settle down, that's just the UK term for what we yanks call potted plants.

#15 posted by Enochrewt , March 11, 2008 9:16 AM

#13, at least that some of the money that we pay (I'm assuming you're talking about taxes) goes to fixing roads, school systems, etc. The money they pay goes no where but the Mafioso's pockets.

And if you're an American I hope you're not voting Democrat this year. You'll pay more for that wonderful healthcare they're promising.

Did you know in Canada the wait time for an OB/GYN to deliver your baby is 10 months? I hope you planned ahead!

#16 posted by padster123 , March 11, 2008 10:12 AM

#15 - As the grateful recipient of a tax-funded national heathcare system, I'd say that it's one of the pinnacles of our civilization. I really fail to see how one could effectively argue against it.

#17 posted by forgeweld , March 11, 2008 10:36 AM

#4-I haven't seen any documentaries, but Roberto Saviano wrote a very courageous book about the endemic mafia problem in Naples.

http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780374165277-0

#18 posted by stratosfyr , March 11, 2008 4:39 PM

I got ripped off by an unlicensed taxi for 80 Euros in Rome. On top of that, the shops in a particular area were giving kickbacks to tour guides who brought people there. I don't know if it's just because we weren't locals or what, but in Italy there seemed to be a huge culture of "take the money and run." Maybe it's different if you live there.

Good luck to this guy.

#19 posted by JDspeeder1

, March 12, 2008 4:58 PM

Anyone who's played Sam & Max Season 1 Episode 3 (The Mole, The Mob and the Meatball) knows that calling something "Mafia-Free" is just overcompensating.

http://telltalegames.com/samandmax/meatball