Sacred united crown

Apulia on the map of Italy.

The Sacra Corona Unita is a criminal mafia organization from the Apulia region (in Italian Puglia) in southern Italy, and especially active in its capital Bari. Known as la cuarta mafia (the fourth mafia), it is relatively recent; was born in 1981. It has connections with the Ndrangheta, the Camorra and the Cosa Nostra, and operates with drug trafficking, prostitution, extortion and money laundering.

The Sacra Corona Unita is made up of three different hierarchical levels. Members are promoted from one level to another by riti battesimali (baptism ritual). The religious symbolism is likely to stick with the SCU as a reminiscence of its past with the Camorra.

The bottom level, the Società Minore, is made up of low-level members who do street work. Members start out as picciotti, managing the collection of the so-called 'pizzo' (payment by extortion) and go through a period of around forty days to ensure that they can carry it out and that they have no ties to the police. The candidate must also take an oath of devotion to the Sacra corona unita.

The second level, the Società Maggiore, is made up of two sub-levels or categories. Lo Sgarro, which is only awarded to members who have killed at least three people for the Sacra corona unita. The individual can now form their own picciotti team, known as a filiale. After indoctrination, the member is given a firearm, a cyanide pill, cotton (representing the White Mountain, which is considered sacred), a lemon (symbolically to treat comrades' wounds), a needle for pricking the index finger of the right hand, handkerchiefs (representing purity of spirit) and a spartenza (a gift of some kind, usually cigarettes).

The last and highest level in the hierarchy is the Segreta Società, the nucleus of the organization where transcendental decisions are made and which must be followed by the rest of the members.

Etymology

The name of this organization, strongly linked to popular religiosity, is made up of three words:

• Sacra (Holy): because when you join a new member of the organization, this is "baptized" or "consecrated" as a religious sacrament;
• Crown: because the rosary (or crown) is used in religious processions;
• Unita (united): as the links of a chain are united and strong.

Oath

Members of this organization, as in other Italian criminal organizations, take an oath of loyalty and fidelity, inspired by religion and belonging to a family or clan.

"Giuro su questa tip di pugnale bagnata di sangue, di essere fedele sempre a questo corpo di società di uomini liberi, attivi e affermativi appartenenti alla Sacra Corona Unita e di rappresentarne ovunque il fondatore, Giuseppe Rogoli."

Juramento de la Sacra Corona Unita