When corruption creates its Mafia. The “middle-world” case in Rome

Abstract The judicial operation “mondo di mezzo” (middle-world) revealed in 2014 the existence of a criminal network in Rome, dubbed Mafia capitale. Its main function was the governance of a systemic corruption scheme that permeated many sectors of the public administration and the political process of the Italian capital city. Notwithstanding a convulsed judicial history, the network analytically manifests traits of a mafia-type group. Through a qualitative content analysis of intercepted materials, juridical files, and interviews, this paper argues that the peculiar systemic corruption scheme of Mafia capitale has indeed generated mafia-type behaviours. Mafia capitale interconnected corruption and collusion in public procurement, corruption in the bureaucratic and electoral processes (the upperword) together with enforcement of deals from the underworld. This mafia-type group was able to enforce extra-legal deals, through reputational assets and intimidation, inducing people into compliance and silence and gaining benefits for a period of almost three years.