Governments Hate Competition

A spectacular funeral was held in Rome for alleged crime boss Vittorio Casamonica.  The funeral cortege included "a gilded and elaborate black and gold carriage pulled by six black horses wearing plumes, a low-flying helicopter dropping rose petals from the sky and a large crowd of tearful mourners.  There was even a brass band playing the theme tune from The Godfather."  A placard hung on the wall of the Basilica of San Giovanni Bosco, where the funeral was held, featuring  an image of Casamonica looming above the Vatican and the Colliseum with the inscription "The King of Rome."  Predictably, leaders of the other gang in town, which is even more corrupt, dangerous, and brazen were not amused that they were upstaged.  Politicians from across the ideological spectrum including Italian cabinet Ministers, MPs, and municipal officials outdid one another expressing their shock and outrage.  Matteo Orfini, the president of the ruling Democratic Party, one of the successor parties of the notoriously corrupt Christian Democratic party disbanded in 1994, tweeted,  "Never again. Rome cannot be defaced by those who want it to become the set of The Godfather."