Maxi operation against the 'Ndrangheta by the Carabinieri ... Ndrangheta gang included in the “local dell'Ariola”, with economic-criminal projections in Piedmont, Abruzzo, Switzerland and Germany.
THE NAMES Luciano Barone, born in 1974 in Atri (Teramo) Cosimo Bertucci, born in 1974, from Vibo Francesco Bertucci, born in 1973, from Vibo Cristian Domenico Capomolla, born in 1988, from Acquaro Francesco Capomolla, born in 1983, from Gerocarne Giuseppe Chiera, born in Soriano in 1988 Francesco Antonio Ciconte, born in 1996, from Soriano Gaetano Emanuele, born in 1975, from Gerocarne Domenico Fusca, born in 1981, from Dasà Giorgio Galiano, born in 1975, from Vibo Sandro Ganino, born in 1984, from Acquaro Cosmo Damiano Inzitari, born in 1977, from Acquaro Rinaldo Loielo, born in 1995, from Soriano Angelo Maiolo, born in 1984, from Acquaro Francesco Maiolo, born in 1979, from Acquaro Francesco Maiolo, born in 1984, from Acquaro, resident in Brandizzo (To) Luca Marano, born in 1979, from Chieti Filippo Monardo, born in 1996, from Soriano Nicola Antonio Papaleo, born in 1959, from Rosarno Rodolphe Pinto, born in 1962, born in France, resident in San Salvo (CH) Vincenzo Pisano, born in 1994, from Soriano Francesco Sorleto, born in 1979, from Acquaro Pasquale Rottura, born in 1994, from Acquaro Francesca Silipo, born in 1985, from Acquaro Francesco Tarzia, born in 1982, from Acquaro Giuseppe Taverniti, born in 1977, from Vibo, resident in Brandizzo (TO)
‘These kids are violent, drunk on power’: can mafia children be saved from a life of crime? Meet the judge taking mini mafiosi away from their families to see if he can break the cycle
Clare Longrigg Sat 22 Jun 2024 11.00 CEST
Before dawn on a June morning in 2010, police burst through the high security gates of a palazzo belonging to a notable mafia family on the edge of a small town in Calabria. As agents swarmed through the building, turning the place over, family members moved frantically to hide any evidence. Maria, the family’s 12-year-old daughter, was given a page ripped from a notebook. It was a list of debts owing. She was told to hide it: “Put it in your knickers, they won’t touch you.” Her brother Cosimo, 14, watched in helpless rage as his father, mother, even his grandmother, were handcuffed and led out to the waiting police cars.
After the arrests, Cosimo was the only male family member outside prison, and it became his responsibility to collect money for the lawyers’ fees. He was a baby boss with his own driver, visiting local businesses who were on the family’s books, and demanding payment with menaces. “He was recognised as the boss,” says journalist Dario Cirrincione. “If he went to a bar in the village, older men would get up to greet him. People waited on him, drove him around, did anything he needed. This sort of treatment turns these kids into little kings.”
STRETTOWEB » CALABRIA Klaus Davi: "I am not a suicide bomber, I faced the Ndrangheta of San Luca, I will also face this world of radical Islam" The note from mass media expert Klaus Davi by Ilaria Calabrò 23 Jun 2024 | 12.23pm klaus davi man of peace “My journalistic investigation will continue and what happened demonstrates that there is a clear deficit in control of these realities and also a sensational underestimation of certain politics. I'm not a suicide bomber, I faced the Ndrangheta of San Luca, I will also face this world of radical Islam, I'm not a Milanese salon anti-mafia person”. Mass media expert Klaus Davi stated this in a note .
“I am the only journalist who personally knows the main bosses of San Luca and their families. I am one of the few from Rome upwards who also has a personal and sociological knowledge of the Ndrangheta, because I frequent their social context and have been hosted in their homes, as prosecutors of great standing such as Nicola Gratteri and Giuseppe Lombardo know well. And all this will be very useful to me here in the North."
“I would like to underline two things: I was not attacked 'because I am Jewish' but because I was perceived as such by the Islamic Community, which is even more indicative. Unfortunately, this fact supports the considerations that I also expressed at a recent meeting of the Swiss Israel association in Lugano. The perceived outlines the reality and it is also on this level that the Hamas-Israel conflict took place. Hamas has won the war of perception. Not having understood this was a fatal error of supreme arrogance on the part of the State of Israel."
“Actual religious affiliation is irrelevant if you are perceived as Jewish. You just become one. Having said that: I am ready to meet the Imams and start a constructive dialogue. I deeply love Muslim music and culture. In France I frequent the Sephardic Jewish communities that speak Arabic. I am a man of dialogue, or as they wrote on all the walls of Reggio Calabria "Klaus Davi is a man of peace".
'Ndrangheta, Rome "open city" to Calabrian clans: the capital as a land of conquest
The most powerful 'ndrine, over the years, have managed to take root in large territories of Lazio. In the Dia report, the Anzio and Nettuno cases and the “Tritone” and “Propaggine” trials LAMEZIA TERME Organized criminal groups capable of "camouflaging" themselves and moving with ease among the various economic and commercial opportunities and, therefore, more subtle and ambiguous. The extension of Rome is, therefore, a great opportunity also for the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta. This is what emerges from the half-yearly report of the Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate relating to the first six months of 2023. Reconstructions that photograph, even in the reference period, an alarming and desolate picture. Families in the capital Like the tentacles of an octopus, the Calabrian clans have literally "taken" entire territories of the capital, with investigators able to trace the presence of the 'ndrine Alvaro-Carzo of Sinopoli, the Gallico of Palmi, the Pelle-Vottari of San Luca and the Fiarè of San Gregorio di Ippona. And then the Mancusos of Limbadi, the Gallace-Novellas of Guardavalle, the 'ndrina Marando of Platì, the Strangio family of San Luca and the Belloccos of Rosarno. Furthermore, as stated in the report, in the area of ??Northern Rome the presence of subjects contiguous to the 'ndrina Morabito of Africo Nuovo was ascertained, in particular in the municipalities of Morlupo, Rignano Flaminio, Riano, Castelnuovo di Porto and Capena. In the Castelli Romani area, the interests and presence of organic subjects in the Molè and Mazzagatti 'ndrine of Oppido Mamertina are confirmed. In the Appio Latino-San Giovanni neighborhood, the interests of the Piromalli family of Gioia Tauro persist, just as had already emerged from the "Alberone" operation of 2021.
Investigations and trials To confirm the presence of the 'ndrangheta in Rome and the interests of the Calabrian gangs there are some sentences from which it emerges «how in the Lazio territory, in addition to the stable presence of native criminal structures, there are real mafia consortia, branches of the organizations of origin », is written in the report. And the reference is, for example, to the "Tritone" operation with the arrest of 65 individuals linked to the Madaffari, Gallace, Tedesco and Perronace gangs, as well as to the commissionership and subsequent dissolution of the Municipalities of Anzio and Nettuno, revealing the presence of a "local" of 'ndrangheta that would have effectively assumed control of some large areas of the coast south of Rome, representing in all respects a "detachment" of the 'ndrine of Santa Cristina d'Aspromonte and Guardavalle. The association would have managed international drug trafficking operations to also "colonize" the economic-productive fabric by infiltrating in an attempt to influence the Public Administrations by awarding strategic contracts in various sectors, from the fishing sector to that of waste disposal.
The Anzio and Nettuno cases In fact, on 23 February last year, the Court of Rome issued the sentence with which it sanctioned the existence of a mafia-type criminal association of 'Ndrangheta origin in the municipalities of Anzio and Nettuno, inflicting sentences of 260 years of imprisonment for the 25 defendants judged under the abbreviated procedure. Four individuals, believed to be top members of the coterie, were each sentenced to 20 years in prison. A month earlier, on 23 January 2023, a third phase of the repeatedly referred to " Offshoot " investigation conducted by Dia had been concluded , and in particular, with the latest measures carried out, the investigative findings were further strengthened, confirming the presence of a branch of the organization operating in the municipality of Rome. The incisive presence of the 'ndrangheta in Lazio is also demonstrated by the sentence issued by the Court of Cassation on 23 February 2023 on the confiscation decree of June 2021 issued by the Court of Rome. The provision arose from the procedural outcomes of the operation called "Hands off" in July 2019, carried out by the State Police, following which a seizure of assets with a total value of over 120 million euros was carried out, against of prominent exponents of the Morabito-Mollica-Palamara-Scriva 'ndrina, rooted in the northern province of Rome (in particular in the municipalities of Rignano Flaminio, Morlupo, Sant'Oreste, Capena, Castelnuovo di Porto, Campagnano and Sacrofano).
The “Eureka” investigation Furthermore, figures active on the Roman territory also emerged as part of the "Eureka" operation, coordinated by the Anti-Mafia District of Reggio Calabria and concluded on 3 May 2023 by the Carabinieri, which led to the execution of 4 precautionary measures in against 108 people under investigation, for various reasons, for mafia-type association, external complicity in mafia-type association, association aimed at international drug trafficking with the aggravating circumstances of transnationality and large quantity, possession/trafficking of weapons including weapons of war , money laundering, aiding and abetting, procured non-compliance with sentences, fraudulent transfer of values ??and other crimes. The investigation activities, initially concentrated on illicit trafficking attributable to exponents of the 'ndrina Nirta-Strangio, were subsequently extended to various families in Locride, reconstructing, in addition to the types of crime reported above, also conduct aimed at the reinvestment of illicit capital in entrepreneurial activities - both in Italy and abroad - in particular in the catering, tourism and real estate sectors. Seize opportunities As stated in the Dia report, therefore, at present the 'ndrangheta appears to be the organization most intent on seizing and exploiting the numerous money laundering opportunities, inevitably facilitated by the vastness of the territory and the demographic density of the Capital, also making use of strategic collaborations established if necessary with some exponents of indigenous criminal groups. ( g.curcio@corrierecal.it
The eyes of the 'Ndrangheta on Africa: drug trafficking in Libya and the route to the port of Gioia Tauro
It is currently the most influential organization in cocaine trafficking. Ivory Coast, Ghana and Guinea-Bissau are also targeted. The Calabrian port is a fundamental "gateway" to Europe
LAMEZIA TERME The 'ndrangheta today presents itself, with pressing rhythms, as particularly threatening to the economic and democratic order, as a highly equipped, modern, multi-purpose, polycentric system, capable of grasping and "creating" any economic and/or financial impulse capable of facilitate "money laundering" operations and the reuse of goods and other benefits of illicit origin". It is one of the most relevant passages of the latest report of the Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate relating to the first half of 2023.
Contacts with Central and South America According to the latest data, in fact, the availability of large amounts of capital deriving from the significant role of the 'ndrangheta in international drug trafficking, combined with a strong ability to manage the various segments and hubs of trafficking, have allowed the clans to consolidate relationships with the most important networks international criminals. And it is in this scenario that the Port of Gioia Tauro is of great importance , within the dynamics that affect the narcotics sector. The 'Ndrangheta's interest in this port is linked to the enormous enrichment potential that derives from it, transforming the clans into solidly reliable partners for the similar criminal organizations of Central and South America, suppliers of the narcotic substance, as demonstrated by the the outcome of numerous investigations, including very recent ones.
Relations with West Africa In this scenario, therefore, the African continent also plays an increasingly important role and, above all, the western area, an increasingly important stop for the trafficking of the 'Ndrangheta. All eyes are on the Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau and Ghana, the first countries to end up in the sights of the mafias, becoming crucial logistical bases for narcos. Libya has recently been added to these countries . Citing the latest data from the DCSA (central directorate for anti-drug services) dating back to 2022, the port of Gioia Tauro plays an absolutely central role, in which 80.35% of the cocaine seizures carried out at the maritime border are concentrated, with an incidence of 61.73% on the national total. And, in this complex scenario, the hegemonic role of the Calabrian 'ndrangheta is strengthened, the most insidious and pervasive Italian mafia organisation, characterized by a pronounced tendency to expand both on a national and international scale and one of the most powerful and dangerous criminal organizations in the world. Thanks to the presence of its own exponents and operational brokers, established in the places of production and in the temporary storage areas of drugs, not only on the national territory, but also at a European level, it represents the most influential organization in the trafficking of cocaine from South America .
Trafficking from Libya Furthermore, according to the report, the availability of large amounts of capital of illicit origin and a strong ability to manage the various segments and hubs of trafficking have allowed it, over time, to consolidate an important role in international drug trafficking, to which other criminal networks refer. for the supply of the narcotic to be sent to consumer markets. The DCSA Report also highlights the role assumed by North African countries in recent years, including Libya and the route to Gioia Tauro. In Libya, in the last 5 years, there have been hundreds of seizures of narcotic substances, in particular hashish, cocaine, heroin and above all synthetic drugs and psychotropic drugs (specifically tramadol). The vast majority of the drugs seized were destined for European ports and airports, particularly Italian ones, such as that of Gioia Tauro, considered by criminal groups dedicated to drug trafficking to be the "gateway" to Europe . ( g.curcio@corrierecal.it )
'Ndrangheta, the maxi trial begins in Calabria: 126 defendants, including important politicians and entrepreneurs | NAMES
The words of the district judge of the preliminary hearing of Catanzaro Sara Merlini towards the large group of defendants involved in the investigation called Glicine Acheronte One hundred people indicted before the Court of Crotone where the trial will begin on October 9th ; another 25, however, will be judged with the abbreviated procedure starting from early September. This is what the district judge of the preliminary hearing of Catanzaro Sara Merlini decided against the large group of defendants involved in the investigation called Glicine Acheronte which began in June last year at the conclusion of an investigation by the DDA which allegedly brought to light a political committee business, linked in some cases to the 'Ndrangheta gangs, capable of influencing local and regional public administrations, directing the vote, deciding on appointments and contracts. On trial – as reported by AGI – there are a total of 126 defendants accused, in various capacities, of mafia association and criminal association aimed at committing crimes against public administration. The hypothetical business committee would have included, as promoters and participants, excellent names in Calabrian politics such as the former president of the regional council Mario Oliverio and the former vice president Nicola Adamo , sent for trial; the former regional councilor Vincenzo Sculco (since last June under house arrest) whose position was separated for health reasons and will be examined on June 27 by the preliminary hearing judge Merlini. Among the defendants sent to trial again include the former municipal councilor of Crotone Giancarlo Devona , the entrepreneurs Giovanni Mazzei , Raffaele Vrenna and his brother Gianni, respectively former president and current president of FC Crotone. And also managers of the Calabria Region and the Crotone Provincial Health Authority. Then the boss of the Papanice gang of the same name Mico Megna and a large group of affiliates involved in a parallel line of investigation, considering that the Papaniciari 'Ndrangheta club would have had systematic relations with the public administration. Megna was sent to trial before the Catanzaro assize court for the murder of Salvatore Sarcone, murdered in September 2014 in Crotone.
'Ndrangheta in Lombardy: 30 arrests for drugs, extortion and usury
Operation by the state police, coordinated by the Milan anti-mafia district directorate. Two associations dismantled
Anti-mafia and anti-drug operation in Lombardy. The state police, coordinated by the Milan anti-mafia district directorate, carried out 30 precautionary custody orders - 25 in prison and five under house arrest - between Lombardy, Piedmont and Calabria. According to investigators, two organizations linked to the 'Ndrangheta based in the Como area were dismantled. Forty people are under investigation, including several residents between Milan and the hinterland. Among those arrested also a resident of Cernusco sul Naviglio and one of Nerviano.
The alleged crimes are various: criminal association aimed at drug trafficking with the aggravating circumstance of armed association, usury, extortion with the aggravating circumstance of the mafia method, self-laundering linked to the reuse of the proceeds of drug dealing for the purchase of premises and financing of companies . And, again, fictitious registration, undue receipt of public funds in relation to obtaining mortgages through guarantee funds with the presentation of false documentation.
A dense network structured hierarchically in which everyone had a specific role, from the top to the delivery boys. A criminal syndicate where hashish, cocaine and marijuana were supplied, packaged and placed on the market. It is a precise system aimed at evading controls especially in transport.
How the ‘Ndrangheta divided up the Como area and why the mafia war in Lombardy came close
Tenerife's dark Mafia underworld explored with Jay Slater still missing on island Tenerife has long been a favourite destination for British holidaymakers - but the island also has a sinister side and has become a hub for Italian organised crime groups
'Ndrangheta, Vincenzo Pasquino begins to collaborate. Stories about drug trafficking: "Those who do not respect the rules risk being killed" The minutes filed in the “Eureka” trial. Pasquino was captured in 2021 together with the super boss of 'ndrangheta Rocco Morabito
REGGIO CALABRIA He was captured in 2021 together with the super boss of 'ndrangheta Rocco Morabito. Now Vincenzo Pasquino, born in '90, born and raised in Turin , but considered a leading member of the Calabrian criminal organization, has decided to collaborate with justice . The minutes containing the statements made before the magistrates of the DDA of Reggio Calabria Giuseppe Lombardo and Diego Capece Minutolo were filed during the "Eureka" trial underway in Locri in ordinary and in Reggio Calabria in abbreviated. The maxi operation saw the cooperation of the DDA of Reggio Calabria, Milan and Genoa, of the investigators of Germany, Belgium and Portugal and dismantled a transnational organization dedicated to money laundering, drug trafficking and arms throughout the world, hitting in particular the Nirta-Strangio clans of San Luca and Morabito of Africo . The investigation, according to what has emerged, has reached the highest levels of the criminal organization, also allowing us to reconstruct the fugitive status of the super boss Rocco Morabito , known as “Tamunga” after his escape from prison in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 2019. The "rules" of drug trafficking are in the minutes «A Calabrian family that sends a load of cocaine to Gioia Tauro is required to inform the other families. Only if important families are not interested in purchasing a share of the cargo can it be offered to other people. Anyone who does not respect this rule risks being killed or being "stripped" in the sense of being ousted from any business or being deprived of protection ", said Vincenzo Pasquino, who, speaking of his relationships with the 'Ndrangheta families, explained: «The relationships between my group and the Nirta di San Luca began in 2017 because we needed a "climb" from the ports of Brazil (...) After the rift between us and the Platiotes, which I talked about in a previous report (... ) asked us to find serious people to work with. It is at this moment, as I have already explained, that relations with Nirta's group began." And again: «My job was to guarantee the passage of the money. 50% of the cocaine (...) that arrived in Gioia Tauro was sold by the San Luca group (mainly in Northern Italy and Sicily) (...) sold the cocaine to us at 5000/5500 Euros per kg, which became 7,500/7,000 Euros with the price of salida." «We had to turn drugs into tiles» Going into the details of a drug shipment, the former fugitive then recounts: «On that occasion (…) he told me that some Colombians had money from some of his Calabrian relatives who live in Australia and then asked me if we had the possibility of shipping cocaine to Australia, passing through Singapore. I spoke with them, we made a group with the Australian PGP chats where I was (…) the Australians spoke in English. We were supposed to take the drugs from the Colombians who were in contact with the Australians and transform them into bricks measuring one meter by one meter. It was cocaine in blocks (they sent a photo of the drugs which had the “MTM” or perhaps “TMT” mark in brown packages) . The problem, however, arose from the fact that to transform the blocks into bricks, the goods would have had to be crushed, with the risk that they would have turned into chalk, while in Australia only the “flakes” are required . At this point I proposed not to transform the drugs and to send them as they were to Goia Tauro in a load of bananas». "People from (...) - he concludes - went to Guayakquil to get the drugs from the Colombians. I had contact with them through SkyEcc to organize the delivery but I don't remember their nickname. I worked with them only on that occasion". (m.ripolo@corrierecal.it)
PETROMAFIA 'Ndrangheta hydrocarbons business: 12 convictions re-determined on appeal – THE NAMES The sentence of the appeal trial celebrated with abbreviated procedure has been issued. Two new acquittals while there are 4 acquitted in total
CATANZARO The judges of the Court of Appeal of Catanzaro (Bravin president) have re-determined several sentences issued at the end of the “Petrolmafie” trial, celebrated with an abbreviated procedure, born from the investigation of the Dda of Catanzaro. Compared to the verdict issued by the preliminary hearing judge on 5 October 2022, in fact, the judges have acquitted Antonio Ricci and Gerardo Caparrotta , while confirming the acquittals of Filippo Fiarè and Gregorio Giofrè. The defendants are accused, to varying degrees, of mafia association, extortion, fictitious registration of assets, money laundering, reinvestment of money of illicit origin, corruption, tax and excise evasion also through the issuance and use of invoices for non-existent transactions, political-mafia electoral exchange and disturbed freedom of auctions.
Sentences re-determined for: Francescantonio ring 6 years (7 years); Prestanicola Daniele 6 years (7 years) Carvelli Giovanni in years 3 months 3 days 20 of imprisonment (3 years and 4 months); Carvelli Armando in years 3 months 1 day 20 of imprisonment (3 years and 2 months); Ucchino Angelo in years 3 months 1 day 20 of imprisonment; (3 years and 2 months); Ucchino Salvatore in years 3 months 7 days 20 of imprisonment (3 years and 8 months); Falduto Vincenzo Zera in years 2 months 9 days 20 of imprisonment (3 years and two months); Tirendi Alessandro Primo in years 6 months 7 days 20 of imprisonment (6 years and 8 months); Giorgio Salvatore in 7 years 9 months and 20 days of imprisonment (7 years and 10 months); Rigillo Salvatore in years 7 months 1 and 3 days of imprisonment (7 years and 10 months); Romeo Orazio in years 3 months 10 of imprisonment (5 years) Mercadante Giuseppe in years 3 months 1 of imprisonment (4 years and 6 months).
Sentences confirmed for: Giuseppe Barbieri, 6 years in prison and a 6000 euro fine Pasquale Gallone, 6 years in prison and a 6,000 euro fine; Acquittals confirmed then for: Filippo Fiarè and Gregorio Giofré, to which were added those of Antonio Ricci (2 years and 6 months) and Gerardo Caparrotta (4 years). (redazione@corrierecal.it)
Dia Center Chief, Fazio: '''Ndrangheta infiltrated in deviant Masonic lodges'' Jamil El Sadi July 03, 2024 Report on the situation in the Catanzaro District presented " The 'Ndrangheta has two faces. An archaic one, which is organized hierarchically, and one that has had the opportunity, as the investigations of the DDA of Reggio Calabria have shown, to enter deviant Masonic lodges and which, thanks to this, has become invisible ." This was stated by the head of the DIA of Catanzaro, Beniamino Fazio , speaking to journalists in Rende, on the sidelines of the presentation at the University of Calabria of the report on the situation of organized crime in the territory of the Judicial District of Catanzaro. " Precisely for this reason - added Fazio - the 'Ndrangheta has become increasingly insidious and dangerous over the years ”. That mafia organisations were infiltrated within Freemasonry has been amply demonstrated by numerous investigations that have shed light on the so-called "hinge men". As explained in several public meetings by the deputy prosecutor of Reggio Calabria Giuseppe Lombardo, today there is a high mafia that has acquired and lives by Masonic logic. " The mafia components need to interact with other areas, which can be institutional, entrepreneurial, financial, economic of various kinds. We generally indicate these areas in highly profitable sectors. It is difficult to identify within the Masonic component of the mafias a part of regular or irregular Freemasonry. Let's say that, in light of the procedural emergencies of recent years, on the profiles of irregular Freemasonry, perhaps, an in-depth study should be done. That irregular part, probably, comes into contact with a series of mafia components ".
During the meeting in Rende, Fazio underlined that " the number of murders has decreased " but " the dangerousness of the 'Ndrangheta has not diminished. The significant fact, rather, is that there is a smaller response from civil society. The 'Ndrangheta has become dangerous because there is a systematic underestimation of its strength at the level of public opinion. The murders are only a form of settlement between clans. This is why the Calabrian criminal organization has silently introduced itself into the social and economic fabric of the region ". The money laundering activity is carried out through the purchase of luxury goods and the start-up of businesses, in particular, in the catering and car wash sectors. " It is clear that where there is money, there is organized crime - added the DIA official -. The 'Ndrangheta is interested, in particular, in the funds provided by the Pnrr, but it also extends its tentacles to the financing for the Jubilee of 2025, for the Olympic and Paralympic Games of 2026 in Milan and for the Bridge over the Strait of Messina ”. From the recently published half-yearly report of the DIA, it clearly emerges that the primary form of financing that the 'Ndrangheta draws on remains drugs. And this is demonstrated by the high quantities of drugs that had the port of Gioia Tauro as their logistical hub and privileged point of entry. " Drug trafficking - said Fazio - is the primary form of profit that allows the 'Ndrangheta to then invest this money in the most disparate economic activities ".
Drug Trafficking, a Sicilian Repentant Reveals: «They Asked Me If I Wanted to Join the 'Ndrangheta» In Fabio Messina's stories, drug trafficking, encrypted phones and reward. «Cocaine and heroin towards Messina, Taranto and Cagliari» LOCRI «I want to do this because I am really tired of this disgusting life, I want to try to become a new person if… especially for… for my children». This is how Fabio Messina, born in 1989 in the province of Ragusa, speaking with the prosecutors of the DDA of Reggio Calabria, motivated his choice to collaborate with justice. The statements of the 35-year-old were filed during the last hearing of the “Eureka” trial underway in Locri with an ordinary rite. Statements, therefore, that are added to those of an “excellent” repentant like Vincenzo Pasquino, a leading member of the Calabrian criminal organization and “king” of the narcos of the 'ndrangheta.
The criminal history Messina's criminal career began when he was very young, in 2008, and culminated in 2016 when he was arrested for drug dealing. "I was arrested in 2016 but I have been in contact with the world of drug trafficking since 2013 ," explains the former drug trafficker, who in a statement filed with the Public Prosecutor's Office a few days before being heard for the first time on August 25, 2022, had declared that "I am tired of my life as a prisoner, so I want to undertake a serious path of collaboration with justice and inform the PM about relevant facts of my knowledge; from this moment on, I seriously fear for my physical safety because I will certainly be threatened by other prisoners, therefore, to protect myself, I ask to be placed in a single room and subjected to a ban on meeting with the entire prison population."
«They asked me if I wanted to join the 'ndrangheta » During the conversations with the prosecutors, Messina declared that he wanted to talk about the trafficking of "cocaine and heroin that took place between Africo and Cosenza, Taranto, Cagliari". Trafficking organised by the 'ndrangheta and which started from Locride : "I took the drugs - he says - (with cars that I rented in my name) in Bovalino" from individuals "from San Luca". Speaking of the relationships with those who entrusted him with the narcotic substance, Messina states: "Once they even asked me if I wanted, eh, if I wanted to be part of his family and I..., I told them: 'I'm not part of anyone, I..." "With this - he specifies - meaning if I wanted to join the 'ndrangheta" , "they would have given me safe money every month, protection, like, no one would have touched me and all this stuff".
The use of encrypted phones and the “reward”: 1,500 euros per transport " I know they used encrypted phones , because I was once given one to let them know I had arrived at my destination." "The first trip," the collaborator of justice continues, "we made it to San Leonardo di Cutro." The reward for each transport was supposed to be one thousand and 500 euros . "He told me that... the first time we met he asked me that he had to... he had to take a kilo of heroin to San Leonardo di Cutro and he asked me: "How much do you want?", eh., at that point I asked him (...) I said: "How much do we have to ask for here?" and we asked him for one thousand and five hundred euros, and he told us: "Okay, when you come back I'll give it to you", because then when we went there he gave us the money to take them back." The reward was later reduced: "We had one thousand and five left but he gave me one thousand, divided by two five hundred, that is, a pittance." Shipments to San Leonardo di Cutro, which will earn the organization 19 thousand euros, and not only that . « The one they sent to Messina was better and they made it for twenty-two» , explains the collaborator of justice who in fact also speaks of Messina, Taranto, Brindisi and Cosenza: «the heroin is… down there, on the Ionian coast there is a lot of it and there is no sale in the same areas, the areas where heroin is sold the most are Cosenza and Sicily , places near where I live». (m.ripolo@corrierecal.it)
Alessandro Pannunzi, so called “prince” of international drug trafficking son of 'Bebe' Pannunzi. He was arrested in Siderno in 2018 any idea of his current status I couldn't find anything about a conviction?
Pannunzi started to contact Colombian traffickers in Venezuela, Amsterdam and Madrid.[9] He moved to Colombia where he would become one of the most important cocaine brokers for both the Sicilian Mafia and the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta with the Colombian cocaine cartels.[4] According to the deputy chief prosecutor in Reggio Calabria, Nicola Gratteri [it], Pannunzi would become "the only one who can sell both to the 'Ndrangheta and to Cosa Nostra. He is definitely the most powerful drug broker in the world".[15] According to crime writer Roberto Saviano, he traded cocaine to rival Italian crime families: "He collected money from the various families, often rival families.[6]
At the height of his criminal career he was trading 1,500 to 2,000 kilograms of cocaine a month.[4] On a tapped phone, he was overheard boasting of the ease and confidence with which he handled his Colombian suppliers. To reinforce the bonds with his Colombian suppliers, Pannunzi arranged his son Alessandro Pannunzi's marriage with a notorious family from the Medellín Cartel.[4]
THE EPISODE Wine imposed by the 'ndrangheta in Germany, the restaurateur tries to rebel: «I wouldn't want to take it» In the reasons for the appeal ruling of “Stige”, the Calabrian entrepreneurs “paid for goods that were of no use, to be safe” CROTONE « This wine is owned by both dogs and pigs (…)». A Calabrian restaurateur in Germany complains about an unsolicited delivery: 50 boxes of Cirotan wine. « It's a bit exaggerated… but tell me one thing, how much is this wine worth?… I wouldn't want to take it that much, because I… you know, I can expect an inspection, right? And I don't even have the bill (…)». The entrepreneur tries to explain the reasons for the refusal to buy bottles of the nectar of the Gods, but his interlocutor is not a representative looking for yet another deal but a man believed to be close to the Farao-Marincola gang , considered a direct expression of the Grande Aracri gang , head of the criminal province of Crotone. The clan's core business is «investments and a tendency towards economic projects outside the province, made possible thanks also to the support of internal and adjacent figures resident in Emilia and abroad». Circumstance that also emerged during the investigation called “ Stige ” and retraced in the reasons for the Appeal sentence . There were 26 acquittals decided, many, however, the sentences re-determined compared to the first sentence issued in February 2021. The wine business Returning to the episode cited, from the interceptions reported in the sentence, the Court reiterates the guilt of some defendants in relation to the accusation of having imposed wine on some Calabrian restaurateurs resident in Germany. « The extortionate imposition of wines distributed by the gangs necessarily had the effect of restricting, although not canceling them, the market shares of the competitors, and this is where the act of illicit competition takes shape », the judges write in black and white. The gang, therefore, «was able to obtain the same advantageous results, if not greater, by directly acquiring the management of economic activities especially in the territory of origin, thus replacing the impositions on entrepreneurs with the appropriation of market sectors managed in a substantially monopolistic or absolutely prevalent manner». But how did the imposition of wine occur on German soil. « Intimidating pressure, with a veiled or “silent” threat deriving from the evocation of the origin of the product from subjects close to the gang ». Some subjects "were already on the road with the restaurateurs" and when they asked to buy the wine, no one refused "because they didn't want to have arguments". In fact, the restaurateurs " were content to pay for a product that was useless ", for them it was important to "be calm". To the previously mentioned episode, in which an entrepreneur showed clear doubts about the deal, a further interception is added that reveals the details of the current system of taxation of an unwelcome product. Two subjects, intercepted, discuss the position taken by an entrepreneur. " He told me he doesn't want it anymore. He says he doesn't want it anymore ". The restaurateur, from what has emerged, also tried to mediate by trying to ask for a lower price, but the answer is negative. " Don't lower anything, don't lower anything (...) If you want it, that's how it is. If you don't want it ...".
The reasons for the sentence From a methodological perspective, the judges write in the reasons for the Appeal ruling, " the aggravating circumstance is inherent in the very methods of the conduct , carried out by knowingly exploiting, in the imposition of the products, the power of intimidation emanating from the ties with the gang". The wiretaps cited when examining the position of Vincenzo Farao (the 14-year sentence was confirmed on appeal) are also illuminating. The defendant and his brother report to their father on the profits that the business guarantees to the group and emphasize " we have earned good money... " and Vincenzo Farao himself reports to his father on the division of the common proceeds. In this regard, again according to the Court, "even if the individual members of the group acted with a view to individual profits not intended to pass through a common " basin ", the facilitative aggravating circumstance would still be configured, in the presence of an activity that was among the typical purposes of the association". (f.benincasa@corrierecal.it)
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