Local zoning laws were criminally altered to hand farmland to the Navy’s developer

Evidence

In 1999, prosecutors investigated multiple allegations of crime and corruption at Gricignano. Some of the allegations came from Vincenzo Coppola, whose own company had lost the construction contract to his brother. Vincenzo claimed Cristoforo had won the contract illegally and that the Navy had changed its rules during the bidding. The Navy denied the charge. However, prosecutors also discovered that Gricignano’s municipal government helped Mirabella get two hundred acres of farmland by changing local zoning laws. Prosecutors said the changes could only have happened through criminal dealings. According to the Stars and Stripes newspaper, which covers the U.S. military worldwide, a former Camorra boss “hinted that organized crime did, in fact, influence Gricignano town policy.” A former town councillor said that the land was expropriated from farmers at a cut-rate price. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 353