Italian retailers' association Confcommercio unveiled a new manifesto on Monday pledging zero tolerance in the face of Mafia protection rackets.
The manifesto states that businesses and shopkeepers who continue to pay the 'pizzo', or protection money, to the Mob will be suspended or expelled from the retailers' association.
Confcommercio is promising its members confidential legal assistance and even counselling in its latest drive to break down the wall of silence, or omerta', that protects Mafia business dealings.
''We will help anyone who doesn't want to give in to fear or be on their own any more,'' said Luca Squeri, head of the association's security committee.
''But we will be equally intolerant of members who refuse to collaborate with police forces in the face of extortion.''
Mafia protection rackets are rife in southern Italy and particularly Sicily, where in some cities like the capital, Palermo, at least six out of ten shopkeepers are believed to pay the pizzo. Naples is also a hub for extortion, with an estimated 50% of businesses stumping up money for the Mob.
The Sicilian branch of industrial employers' federation Confindustria decided to expel members caught paying the pizzo in September last year and in January police arrested 39 people in an operation in Palermo called ''Goodbye Pizzo''.
However, many victims of rackets keep mum not just because of fear of reprisals but also because of interest in doing business with the Mafia.
According to a 2006 report by national retailers' association Confesercenti, the Mafia extorts 200 million euros a day from Italian businesses through the pizzo, loan sharking and other crimes.
The report said organised crime groups raked in 80 million euros every day from shopkeepers alone.
