A Catholic nun has been arrested as part of a major anti-mafia operation in northern Italy. Sister Anna Donelli, 57, a member of the Sisters of Charity Institute in Milan, was among 25 people apprehended early Thursday morning on charges ranging from extortion and drug trafficking to money laundering and receiving stolen goods, CNN reports.
Known to inmates as “Sister Collina,” Donelli volunteered at several prisons around Brescia, Lombardy. However, according to prosecutors, her role extended far beyond offering spiritual comfort. Prosecutors allege she acted as a key intermediary for the ‘Ndrangheta, Italy’s powerful Calabrian mafia, exploiting her position to relay messages and orders between incarcerated bosses and their associates on the outside.
“She carried orders, directives, moral and material aid to associates, receiving in turn from the prisoners useful information to better plan criminal strategies,” stated Prosecutor Francesco Prete at a press conference announcing the arrests.
The wide-ranging operation involved 300 anti-mafia officers and specialized police dogs, resulting in the seizure of €1.8 million ($1.9 million) in cash, along with weapons and drugs in Bergamo, Verona, and Treviso. Among those arrested was a physician and member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, accused of treating mobsters’ injuries to avoid raising suspicion within the public health system.
Donelli, who is currently under house arrest, was described by Prete as being “at the disposal of the criminal association to guarantee the connection with the associates detained in prison and those outside.” Ironically, in a 2020 interview with religious news network TV2000, Donelli described her work as a liaison between prison officials and inmates, and as a soccer referee during prisoners’ recreational time.
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