The Navy’s lease-construction contract structure structurally invited Camorra criminal involvement

Evidence

The relationship between the U.S. military and the Camorra is neither a coincidence nor an aberration. Indeed, the construction project at Gricignano probably couldn’t have been better designed to ensure Camorra involvement. … To begin with, any construction in the Campania region was likely to attract the Camorra given its infiltration of the industry. Beyond that, the Navy’s “lease-construction” contract meant there was even more pressure than usual on the developer to keep construction costs as low as possible. The contract’s structure meant the developer wouldn’t be paid until construction was complete and the lease payments started. This meant taking on considerable debt in the meantime, as opposed to a standard contract that would have paid the developer at intervals during construction. Keeping costs—and thus debt—to a manageable amount, especially around Naples, meant acquiring land as cheaply as possible (by means legal or otherwise) and reducing construction and labor costs as much as possible (by means legal or otherwise). — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 365

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to work on how procurement-contract design incentives create perverse outcomes, echoing the earlier chapter themes on base contracting and corruption.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 365