Mafia prospers as credit dries up in Italy

Authorities in Italy say loan sharks linked to the mafia are thriving as banks stop lending and people become desperate for cash.Office workers, middle-class people, owners of fruit stands, flower stalls are all becoming their victims, said Lino Busa of Confesercenti, the national shopkeepers association, We have never seen this happen.Confesercenti estimates 180,000 businesses recently turned ...