Luxury Rome hotel linked to Mafia confiscated

The Grand Hotel Gianicolo, one of the most famous luxury hotels in Rome, was confiscated from two businessmen connected with the Calabrian mafia 'Ndrangheta on Tuesday. "This goes to show how far 'Ndrangheta money has penetrated the Italian capital. They are quite bold about where they will launder their money," police was quoted as saying by Ansa news agency. Located on the gorgeous Gianicolo hill, the hotel has 48 rooms, a swimming pool and its own car park. In the 1990 estate magnate Giuseppe Mattiani, and his son Pasquale, bought up the hotel - a monastery before the 2000 Catholic Church's Jubilee, trying to profit from pilgrimage tourism. Police targeted Mattiani family after investigators in Rome, Reggio Calabria, and Palmi coordinated separate investigations. In Tuesday's operation, another four-star hotel in Palmi, a Calabrian beach town, was confiscated from the Mattiani company. According to police, the Hotel Arcobaleno was seized along with other properties worth over 150 million euros (201 million U.S. dollars). Five years ago, the Cafe de Paris on the glamour Via Veneto, the most expensive street in Rome, turned out to be in the hands of the 'Ndrangheta, which recycles its vast cocaine profits in big Italian cities. Calabrian Mob is regarded as the richest and most impenetrable of Italy's mafias. A recent report from the Eurispes research agency revealed that annual drugs profits for 'Ndrangheta are now the equivalent of 3 percent of Italian GDP.