PALERMO, Italy, March 9 (UPI) -- Italian shop owners in Sicily said they are taking a stand against the Mafia by opening a supermarket operating outside the grasp of the organized crime
Shop owners in Sicily typically pay "pizzo," or protection money, to mob bosses in order to operate in their neighborhoods.
Sicilian officials estimate mob bosses extort about $240 million a year from shops and businesses in Palermo alone, The Sunday Telegraph said.
Fabio Messina decided to organize a supermarket in Palermo with backing from the group Addiopizzo, or Goodbye Pizzo, to offer goods from vendors who refuse to pay pizzo.
"All the products in the store are supplied by firms who have refused to pay pizzo -- we are talking about products from fruit and vegetables to wine, olive oil, pasta and bread," said Messina.
Sicilian politician Francesco Ferrante, an anti-mob official, says the Addiopizzo campaign is "a new symbol of rebellion and pride" against La Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian mafia.
"They have decided to declare war on the racketeers by giving honest citizens the opportunity to fight back against the godfathers with a simple gesture -- such as buying from a pizzo free supermarket," Ferrante said.
