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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: pocotrader who wrote (1437917)	2/6/2024 8:20:36 PM
From: Broken_Clock	2 Recommendations Recommended By Bill longz Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1580820

Who do you think lobbied for all that? Wall St. which is mafioso with ties in boardrooms Hows this one? 7: Wind Energy Wind turbines are pictured in the village of Patirnico, Italy, on Sept. 15, 2010. The seizure of a record $2 billion from a Sicilian businessman known as "Lord of the Wind" on the same day put the spotlight on Mafia money-laundering through renewable energy ventures. MARCELLO PATERNOSTRO/AFP via Getty Images Talk about an ill wind. In countries across Europe, criminals are investing in wind farms and other types of green energy as a way to launder dirty money. In fact, a growing "eco Mafia" in Italy is taking advantage of environmental grants offered by the Italian government and the European Union by entering the wind business. A combination of factors makes wind power attractive to criminals. There is a lack of regulation in the industry, a high price for the product, complicated financing — and government subsidies. Wind power sells for a higher price in Italy than anywhere else in the world, which is why there are now so many windmills dotting the Sicilian hills. While the country's citizens have to look at a propeller-filled landscape, they keep quiet for fear of retribution. Meanwhile, legitimate wind providers get muscled out of licenses to build working farms, or they are unwittingly sold licenses by the Mafia without knowing exactly what kind of businesspeople they're dealing with [source: Squires and Meo]. This Mafia-backed wind power extends beyond Italy, with Italian wind developers looking to source turbines and equipment to other regions of Europe. One mobster who was sentenced in 2018 told officials that he had half a million euros (more than $1 million U.S.) earmarked for regional authorities to get permits for new wind farms and that he would make more than 15 million euros (about $17 million) from selling these permits to large companies in the sector. It's clear officials will need to keep a close eye on potential fraudulent activity in this sector [source: Traileoni].