Mafia Crocodile

Anyone who has seen the great mob hits like the Godfather, The Sopranos, Goodfellas, etc knows that Italian mafiosi will go to great lengths in the name of extortion.

From the $600,000 horse head in the bed of Godfather character Jack Woltz to the baseball-bat beatings dished out by the likes of Tony Soprano and friends, when it comes to making someone pay up, common sense should tell you that you don't want to mess with these guys.

In modern Italy, the mafia remains a reality but a subdued one that is often talked about but rarely actually seen. Once in a while, it rears its ugly head and when this happens, it does make headlines. Recently a 5.5 foot Crocodile was discovered near Naples in the home of a Caserta known mobster while police searched for arms and other implicating evidence.

According to the police, the crocodile is capable or snapping off a man's limb (or worse) with a single bite. Presumably the mobsters would take the animal along on occasions where more traditional money collection methods failed.

The suspect has now been charged with illegal animal posession, and the "pet" has been taken to an animal rehabilitation center.

photo care of elvis santana