He specialises in investigating the criminal activity and political connections of Italian mafia groups, and for this he is routinely subjected to violent threats. Abbate has written four books about mafia groups since 1993. The most recent, Fimmine Ribelli or Rebel Women (2013), illustrates the severe plight of women living under the sway of the ‘Ndrangheta – the Calabrian mafia. Abbate is also a leading member of press freedom NGO Ossigeno per l’Informazione (Oxygen via Information). In 2011 he founded an anti-mafia literary festival called Trame, which has taken place annually in the heart of Calabrian mafia territory.