Italy countercyclical fact of the day

Here is another good one from John De Palma:

Revenue raked in by Italy’s mob
surged 40 percent last year, turning crime into the nation’s No.
1 business, Eurispes said in its annual report.

Income increased to 130 billion euros ($167 billion), up
from about 90 billion euros in 2007, according to figures
supplied by Eurispes and SOS Impresa, an association of
businessmen to protest against extortion. Drug trafficking
remains the primary source of revenue, bringing in about 59
billion euros, and the mob earned 5.8 billion euros from selling
arms, the Rome-based Eurispes research group said today.