Mafia mobsters banned from wearing designer label clothes

Rita Barbera, the new governor of Ucciardone jail in Palermo, the capital of Sicily, has said the practise of prisoners wearing Gucci, Armani and other designer clothes, as well as flashy jewellery, must stop.

Unlike many countries, prisoners in Italian jails are not required to wear uniforms.

Lax conditions at the 19th century prison, where one mafia godfather is reported to have celebrated his birthday with Champagne and lobster, have earned it the nickname ‘The Grand Hotel’.

The relaxed regime prompted comparisons with the Hollywood film Goodfellas, starring Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, whose characters lived the high life even when they were behind bars.

Mrs Barbera said she will no longer tolerate prisoners, many of them members of the Cosa Nostra mafia, showing off their status with Louis Vuitton jackets, Valentino silk shirts and adidas and Nike trainers.

“In the collective memory, this prison has been linked to images of godfathers wearing silk clothes, and this is something we need to snuff out,” the governor said. “We need to eliminate disparities between prisoners, which has been expressed through exhibitions of status, power and economic supremacy.”

But the crackdown has already sparked indignation from inmates and their families.

“Why should the authorities be allowed to dictate what my husband wears?” one woman told La Stampa newspaper.

Another complained: “My husband will have to walk around naked because he only has designer clothes, not to show off but because they’re of better quality and they last longer. Why humiliate him in this way and make me go and buy all his clothes in street markets?”

Not all prisoners enjoy such indulgent conditions. The seafront jail, a former fortress built by the Bourbon rulers of Sicily, is badly overcrowded, with 700 inmates crammed into cells which were designed to accommodate 500.

In contrast with wealthy mafiosi, who have been allowed to set themselves up in comfort, many prisoners are foreigners or common criminals who cannot even afford underwear or proper shoes, according to prison welfare groups