They dismantle a network that tried to strengthen Cosa Nostra led by a 23-year-old This content was published on June 27, 2023 - 10:51 June 27, 2023 - 10:51 4 minutes Rome, June 27 (EFE).- The Italian authorities today dismantled a network of 33 subjects who were trying to strengthen the Sicilian mafia Cosa Nostra and which was led by Vincenzo Sorrentino, 23 years old and invested as "substitute" boss by his father, currently in the jail.
Finally, of the 33 people implicated in this case, 25 were subjected to precautionary detention, one to house arrest and the other seven have been prohibited from managing businesses until the trial is held, according to a statement from the Finance Guard (fiscal police). .
The operation ordered by the Palermo Prosecutor's Office (south) and baptized "Villaggio di famiglia" (family town) was carried out tonight by 220 police officers in the peripheral neighborhood of Santa Rosalia in the Sicilian capital, the stronghold of this clan of the Cosa Nostra.
The members of the network are accused of crimes such as belonging to a mafia association, with the aggravation of illegal possession of weapons, as well as drug trafficking and fraudulent movement of capital to "benefit" Cosa Nostra, according to a note.
Investigators have reconstructed the "consolidated and comprehensive criminal dynamics" of the Sorrentino family, which controls the eastern area of ??Palermo and is part of the Pagliarelli clan, one of the most loyal to Cosa Nostra and also one of the most hermetic.
The capo, Salvino Sorrentino, is currently imprisoned in the Roman prison of Rebibbia for his crimes but, nevertheless, "he has managed to retain his leadership by maintaining direct and indirect contacts with his henchmen" from his cell.
Specifically, the Palermo prosecutors detail, without giving names of those arrested, the boss's son, identified by the press as Vincenzo Sorrentino, 23, "was invested with a role as a substitute for the father to protect mafia interests."
The heir, one of the new pupils of Cosa Nostra, was in charge of ensuring that the clan continued to infiltrate the social, economic and criminal fabric of Palermo with the help of another "young partner" who acted as the "operative arm" of the father and son. .
The evidence collected suggests that both "had managed to maintain control of the territory, constantly reaffirming their role and fighting the attempts of other mafia exponents to limit" their primacy.
It has even emerged that the boss could issue orders from prison to "numerous partners", "reinforcing their identity", through "video calls", a benefit introduced during the pandemic to avoid personal visits and that is still in force.
The investigation has shown that the clan from the Santa Rosalía neighborhood "strongly" conditioned the economic fabric of their area of ??interest. Control was, in fact, almost total.
The clan supervised the sale of bread, even imposing its price, authorized the opening of shops, conditioned real estate operations, dominated the construction sector, and exercised a monopoly on street vendors in the city's cemeteries.
Their power was such that they even carried out "management forms of public order" acting as judges to "resolve lawsuits and problems between private parties."
The gangsters of Santa Rosalía also maintained relations with the region of Calabria (south), where the 'Ndrangheta, one of the most powerful and bloodthirsty mafias in the world, operates. Specifically, the Calabrian drug traffickers were paid 700,000 euros to receive cocaine and "supply the streets of Palermo and Trapani."
In the operation, which required the deployment of 220 police officers, six companies worth 5,000 million euros have been requisitioned, from the catering, food, transport and construction sectors, as well as 7 kilos of cocaine. EFE
