Basilischi

{{About|the criminal organization|the 1963 film|I basilischi}}

The Basilischi ({{IPA|it|baziˈliski|lang}}) was an organized crime group based in Basilicata, Southern Italy, officially formed in 1994 by Giovanni Luigi Cosentino in Potenza. According to the national anti-mafia prosecutor's office, the areas with Basilischi strongholds are those of Policoro, Montalbano Jonico, Pisticci, Scanzano Jonico, the Val d'Agri and the Vulture region.{{Cite web|url=https://storiografia.me/2012/12/16/antonio-de-lisa-i-basilischi-lucani-la-quinta-mafia-ditalia/|title=Antonio De Lisa- I Basilischi lucani – La quinta mafia d'Italia}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/it/article/mafia-basilischi/|title=Ascesa e caduta dei Basilischi, la mafia italiana che voleva imitare la 'ndrangheta|date=14 June 2016 }}{{Cite web|url=https://corrieredipolicoro.blogspot.it/2017/07/mafia-la-basilicata-e-sempre-assediata.html|title=Mafia: la Basilicata è sempre assediata|date=2017 }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.giornalettismo.com/archives/1726303/mafia-ndrangheta-camorra-mappa-clan/|title=Mafia, 'ndrangheta, camorra: la mappa dei clan|date=5 February 2015 }}

On 22 April 1999, 84 orders for pre-trial custody were issued by the Prosecutor's Office in Potenza. That started what became known as the "maxi-trial", which jailed the main figures of the Basilischi and demonstrated their existence and strength in Basilicata.{{cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/633694|title=Fifth Column: Italy's Fifth Mafia, the Basilischi|first=Anna |last=Sergi}} The maxi-trial concluded in 2007, with a 700-page summation by the judges and the sentencing of 26 people for mafia association to a total of 242 years in prison. In a ruling dated 30 October 2012, the Court of Appeal of Potenza confirmed the existence of the Basilischi.[https://books.google.it/books?id=8MlCDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA646&lpg=PA646&dq=Il+30+ottobre+2012+la+Corte+d%27appello+di+Potenza+ha+confermato+la+sussistenza+del+clan+mafioso+dei+%E2%80%9CBasilischi%E2%80%9D.&source=bl&ots=VUckt6aJy1&sig=ACfU3U3iR5o2moO0ECuZz44urRNDoKP_zw&hl=it&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj_2eDnl87nAhXmw8QBHdZmAT0Q6AEwAXoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=Il%2030%20ottobre%202012%20la%20Corte%20d'appello%20di%20Potenza%20ha%20confermato%20la%20sussistenza%20del%20clan%20mafioso%20dei%20%E2%80%9CBasilischi%E2%80%9D.&f=false La mafia dell'antimafia prima parte pag. 646]

The conviction of many high-profile members of the clan caused the group to become fractured and fall further under the influence of the more powerful Calabrian-based 'Ndrangheta.