Italian Mafia trains up kids as killers

Riccardo Dibitonto, attorney-general of Bari, main town of Apulia region, was quoted as saying: "The chief characteristic of organised crime in Bari is the regular professional use of adolescents trained in firearms and used as killers as soon as they display proper talent."

Newspaper reports quoted him as speaking at a special seminar in Bari to address the problem.

Desire Digeronimo, deputy attorney-general in Bari, quoted the confessions of a turncoat mafioso, who had described to police how he had grown up surrounded by armed men and had begun selling drugs at age 10.