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Professor of Strategies for Combating Organized Crime

Associate of the Rutgers Institute on Anti-Corruption Studies (RIACS) – Newark (USA)

Professional Profile

University Professor, Forensic and Investigative Criminologist, Associate of the Rutgers Institute on Anti-Corruption Studies (RIACS) in Newark (USA), focusing primarily on systems for combating transnational organized crime.

Independent Researcher and Member of the High School of Strategic Studies on Organized Crime at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London.

President and Scientific Director of the Anti-Mafia Observatory of Molise. Scientific Director of the “Don Peppe Diana” School of Legality (Rome and Molise).

Adjunct Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology at various Italian and international universities (1993–2010), including the High School of Formation of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers in Rome (2011–2012).

Forensic Criminologist, analyst, and scholar specializing in strategies against organized crime and corruption. Registered Forensic Criminologist with the International Criminology Association (I.C.A.) of Great Britain.

Member of the research group on the relationship between illicit economies and organized crime at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime in Geneva.

Founder of the first "School of Legality" in Italy, dedicated to Don Giuseppe Diana.

Honors and Awards

2019: Received a Special Mention at the National "Don Peppe Diana" Prize in Casal di Principe, awarded by the family of the priest murdered by the Camorra.
December 27, 2022: Conferred the title of Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Cavaliere dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) by President of Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella.

Academic Career and Research

His scientific activity began in 1992 as a Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Molise. At age 24, he held the chair of Administrative Criminal Law, becoming the youngest adjunct professor in Italy for that year.

He has taught criminal law and criminology in Brescia, Naples, Chieti, and Campobasso, as well as at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers in Rome. Internationally, he has lectured at the Universities of Seville and Barcelona, and in Argentina and Brazil.

1994–1996: Researcher at the National Research Council (IRSIG-CNR) in Bologna under Prof. Giuseppe Di Federico, conducting comparative studies on organized crime in European and non-European countries.
Research Focus: Substantive criminal law, organized crime, corruption, and white-collar crime. His thought has been influenced by masters such as Giuliano Vassalli, Giuseppe Bettiol, and Ettore Gallo.

Publications and Editorial Work

Member of the steering committee and contributor to prestigious Italian and international legal journals, including:

Cassazione Penale, Rivista Penale, Giustizia Penale, Giurisprudenza Italiana, Rivista di Polizia.
International journals: New Journal of European Criminal Law (Belgium), Revista General de Derecho Penal (Spain), German Law Journal (Germany), L’Astree (France), and Ciencias Penales Contemporaneas (Argentina).
Contributor to the Encyclopedia of Law (Enciclopedia del Diritto) and the Digest of Criminal Law Disciplines (Digesto delle Discipline Penalistiche).

International Consultancies

2005: The only Italian criminal lawyer at the XVII Latin American Congress of Criminal Law and Criminology (University of Guayaquil, Ecuador).
Collaborator with the Council of the European Union regarding organized crime and human trafficking.
Collaborator with the Brazilian Institute of Criminal Sciences (IBCCRIM) on an international project regarding the EU economy and organized crime.
Coordinator for the Spanish Government and the University of Seville on a project concerning prevention and suppression systems for corruption.
Registered in the Council of Europe’s Register of Experts in criminal matters.

Social Advocacy and Anti-Mafia Activism

For over twenty years, he has been a prominent activist promoting a "culture of legality" in schools. Maria Falcone (sister of Judge Giovanni Falcone) stated: "Prof. Vincenzo Musacchio carries out meritorious work in Italian schools, ensuring that the men who gave their lives for legality are never forgotten."

His activism began after meeting Antonino Caponnetto, with whom he organized numerous educational encounters. In 2014, he launched the "Legality as a Common Good" Project, involving high-profile figures such as Pino Arlacchi, Maria Falcone, Salvatore Borsellino, and many others.

Despite receiving death threats against himself and his family due to his anti-mafia stance, he continues his tireless work in schools across Italy.

Media Presence

As an op-ed columnist and commentator, he collaborates with:

TV: RAI NEWS, TGCOM 24, and RAI programs such as Presa Diretta, Newsroom, TG1 (commenting on the arrest of Matteo Messina Denaro), and Report.
Press: Il Sole 24 Ore, Italia Oggi, L’Huffington Post, La Stampa, Il Manifesto, Avanti!, Famiglia Cristiana, and the historic Sicilian newspaper L’ORA.

(Note: On March 1, 2015, L’ORA published a previously unreleased letter from Judge Giovanni Falcone addressed to Professor Musacchio.)

This site is updated periodically and is the only version validated by the author.