also infiltrated. Some of the charges were mafia association, attempted murder, money laundering, extortion and illegal weapons possession and trafficking. Italian prosecutor Nicola Gratteri said that the arrests were the most important step taken against the 'Ndrangehta in the past 20 years. Eleven suspects were detained, and accused of blackmailing and money laundering. They were deported back to Italy. Alessandro Figliomeni, former Mayor of Siderno, Calabria, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on 7 May 2018. He is alleged to be a member of the Commisso 'ndrina clan and served in the top hierarchy. In December 2019, more than 300 people were arrested in Calabria on suspicion of belonging to the 'Ndrangheta in an operation involving 2,500 police. Among those arrested was , a prominent lawyer and former member of Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party. The arrests were said by Nicola Gratteri, the chief prosecutor in Catanzaro, to be the second largest in number in the history of Italian organised crime, after those that led to the so-called "Maxi Trial" of Sicilian Mafia bosses in Palermo between 1986 and 1992. The trial against the more than 300 'Ndrangheta members began on 13 January 2021. Characteristics Italian anti-organized crime agencies estimated in 2007 that the 'Ndrangheta has an annual revenue of about € 35–40 billion (US$35–40 billion), which amounts to approximately 3.5% of the GDP of Italy."Mafiosi move north to take over the shops and cafés of Milan" , The Times, 5 May 2007. This comes mostly from illegal drug trafficking, but also from ostensibly legal businesses such as construction, restaurants and supermarkets. The 'Ndrangheta has a strong grip on the economy and governance in Calabria. According to a US Embassy cable leaked by WikiLeaks, the 'Ndrangheta controls huge segments of its territory and economy, and accounts for at least three percent of Italy's GDP through drug trafficking, extortion, skimming of public contracts, and usury."Italy's Brutal Export: The Mafia Goes Global" , Time, 9 March 2011. The principal difference with the Mafia is in recruitment methods. The 'Ndrangheta recruits members on the criterion of blood relationships resulting in an extraordinary cohesion within the family clan that presents a major obstacle to investigation. Sons of ndranghetisti are expected to follow in their fathers' footsteps, and go through a grooming process in their youth to become giovani d'onore (boys of honour) before they eventually enter the ranks as uomini d'onore (men of