https://www.corrieredellacalabria.i...esi-la-capitale-come-terra-di-conquista/'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
