Blitz in the kingdom of Messina Denaro: 35 arrests and 70 suspects Operation between Mazara del Vallo, Marsala and Campobello di Mazara by Riccardo Lo Verso 3 'OF READING 0 Comments TRAPANI - The sirens of the gazelles of the carabinieri wake up a large slice of the province of Trapani where the Cosa Nostra continues to dictate the law. In a blitz by the Carabinieri del Ros and the Provincial Command, coordinated by the Palermo Anti-Mafia District Directorate, 35 people between Mazara del Vallo, Marsala and Campobello di Mazara end up in jail.
Messina Denaro "is alive" It is the reign of Matteo Messina Denaro who, so some intercepted suspects say, would have sent the directives to decide the names to be placed at the top of the families. Somehow he still manages to get his communications through when he needs it. "He is alive", said without hesitation one of the suspects.
The strong man of the entire area would become Francesco Luppino, a key figure in the investigation, a faithful friend of the fugitive, who returned free after serving a sentence. The military is carrying out dozens of searches in search of traces of the fugitive. Overall, the suspects are 70.
The loyal Franco Luppino Luppino has been talked about for over a decade. Starting from the season of the re-foundation of the Cosa Nostra attempted by the Palermo bosses before the “Perseo” operation of 2008 took place.
Benedetto Capizzi, life sentence boss of Villagrazia-Santa Maria del Gesù , then under house arrest in his villa for health reasons, wanted to summon the dome again. He knew that without Messina Denaro's "blessing" his project would not have had the necessary authority. There was a group of dissidents, led by Gaetano Lo Presti, boss of Porta Nuova, who then committed suicide in prison .
Scaduto's hook would have been Luppino. Through him we got to know the opinion of the fugitive who, after initial support, would have made it known that Totò Riina could not be ousted.
Relations with the Palermo bosses "... while I was there ... I get pizzini as well, meetings they had with Trapani ... tickets that arrived from Trapani ... - said Scaduto - I saw the pizzini too ... I read them ... I recognized the handwriting of the pizzini that come to me ... the same handwriting ... that tells us: 'we do not know anyone., we are firm as we have been', he says' we are in relationships with everyone ... we are available to those in need ... for other things we do not recognize nobody…".
Messina Denaro in that period had started a communication channel with the Biondino di San Lorenzo. "I care", said the Trapani boss, referring to the mafia guide of Biondino who took over from Salvatore Lo Piccolo, arrested on November 5, 2007 together with his son Sandro in a small villa in Giardinello.
The meeting with Lo Piccolo That day Luppino was expected by the Lo Piccolo for a meeting. He noticed the movements of the policemen and reversed in a Fiat Panda. Accompanying him was Ferdinando Freddy Gallina, a life sentence from Carini, extradited from the United States. Someone speculates that there was a third person aboard the subcompact. That it was even Messina Denaro. The car was followed as far as Campobello di Mazara. There remains the yellow that we reconstruct in another article.
Even today the Palermo mafia when referring to the group headed by Luppino use the phrase "those who belong to Messina Denaro".
The new business The new investigation, coordinated by the deputy prosecutor Paolo Guido, reveals the mafia power that is based on extortion (including those suffered by the owners of a winery and some hotels), control of contracts, drug trafficking, gambling. The bosses manage security in night clubs and debt collection in a monopoly way.
The carabinieri of the provincial commands of Palermo and Catania, the hunters of Sicily, the helicopter group and the Sicily Regiment participate in the blitz.
