Rome - Rome's Cafe de Paris, a symbol of the Dolce Vita as immortalized by filmmaker Federico Fellini, has been bought by a Calabrian mafia crime family, a newspaper reported Wednesday, citing a police report. The Alvaro-Palamra clan of the 'Ndrangheta gained control of the celebrated watering hole after paying six million euros in cash (7.7 million dollars) Rome-based daily, La Repubblica, reported.
The establishment's purchase is part of the 'Ndrangheta's expansion from its southern Italian heartland into the real estate market of Rome, but also Germany, the Netherlands and Brazil, Repubblica said, quoting the anti-fraud police report.
According to investigators, the Cafe de Paris' takeover has led to a major refurbishment of the venue which is situated on Via Veneto, not far from the US embassy.
Via Veneto gained fame during Rome's 1950s cinema-industry boom, when the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Anita Ekberg, Frank Sinatra and Gary Cooper often frequented its restaurants and nightclubs.
