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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)