Italian scholar gives Quebec corruption probe intensive course on the Mob.

MONTREAL – An Italian scholar is providing Quebec’s inquiry into corruption in the construction industry with an intensive course on the Mob.

Valentina Tenti, who holds a doctorate in criminology and is an expert in the Italian Mafia, is testifying at the Charbonneau commission today.

Her report for the commission looks at the Italian Mafia, its highly structured makeup and its ability to spread into legitimate businesses, such as construction.

The commission wants to expose the structure of organized crime groups and the Quebec Mafia in order to determine how these groups target, infiltrate and manipulate various organizations.

Tenti is providing some context about the Mafia in Italy and how those groups have evolved and changed over time.

She said 181 Cosa Nostra families still existed in Sicily in the early 2000s.

The Cosa Nostra, or Sicilian Mafia, has long been the dominant Mafia group in Quebec.