Six dead: Italian mob feud spills over into Germany

A gangland execution took the lives of six Italian men early Wednesday in Duisburg, Germany, according to a Reuters news report. All the victims were shot in the head near a pizza restaurant called Da Bruno. The victims were all connected in some way to the restaurant, in which a birthday celebration for one of the victims had taken place the previous night. Giuliano Amato, foreign minister of Italy, indicated that the deaths might be related to a feud the southern Italy criminal society known as 'Ndrangheta.

Duisburg is home to a large Italian immigrant population, according to a story by Mark Landler and Ian Fisher of the New York Times. 'Ndrangheta apparently moved in with those residents.

German police said the six victims were all from San Luca, a town in eastern Calabria. Two of the victims were brothers. Authorities believe the six were the latest casulaties in a a 16-year-old feud between the Strangio-Nirta and Pelle-Romeo families within the 'Ndrangheta society.

Triads suspected in seven Germany murders

Police investigating the shooting deaths of six people in a Chinese restaurant in northern Germany lost their only witness last week, when a seventh victim succumbed to his injuries, according to a story published by Spiegel Online International.

The male victim had been taken to a local hospital in critical condition after the Feb. 4 shootings. He died the next day.

The six other victims - three men and three women - were killed in a apparent gang execution in the "Lin Yue" restaurant in Sittensen, near Hamburg. Some of the victims had their hands tied. All of them were shot in the head. Among the victims were the husband-and-wife owners of the establishment.

A two-year-old girl was found alive in the restaurant as the bodies were discovered shortly after midnight.

Authorities are considering whether the murders might be the work of a Triad Society, an ethnic Chinese organized crime entity. Triads are active in Hong Kong and mainland China but have also worked their way into Chinese communities around the globe.

According to the online report: "Rumor has it that the presence and size of a fish tank in a Chinese restaurant is an indication of whether it pays protection money, and how much. The more fish in the tank, the more money the restaurant has to pay. In the US, Triads are believed to have extorted restaurant owners by charging $500 per fish for fish food. A dead fish found floating in the tank is a warning to the owners."

The "Lin Yue" restaurant has an indoor pond with fish in it.