https://www.corrieredellacalabria.i...o-questo-cretino-me-lo-faccio-in-piazza/the investigation
'Ndrangheta, the feud narrowly avoided by a slap. "I'll do this idiot in the square"
Among the protagonists Pasquale Conidi, ready to "protect" his friend Foti from a possible retaliation. Only the arrest avoided the worst
Published: 11/14/2024 – 6:33
LAMEZIA TERME "I do it in the square, this idiot doesn't understand a damn thing...". A particularly hot summer, that of 2021, and the risk of a criminal escalation that could have ended with a murder. It is 2021 and the investigators intercept a series of conversations that see among the protagonists Pasquale Conidi (class of '55) and some individuals who, according to the Anti-Mafia District of Florence, would be part of a criminal group dedicated to cocaine trafficking between Calabria and the Tuscan capital. Conidi ended up in handcuffs in the operation, conducted by the Carabinieri of the Investigative Unit of Florence , together with Giuseppe Foti, Antonio Callipari and Marco Trimarchi. Carmela Greco, Stefano Diversi and Fabio Cugliari ended up under house arrest.
The scorching summer of 2021
During the investigation phase, however, the investigators come across a heated dispute involving Conidi's partner, Giuseppe Foti. On the monitored telephone numbers, the investigators are unable to intercept any between the two, "confirming the use of encrypted telephones," the investigating judge notes in the order. It is the evening of July 25, 2021 when Conidi, from Lamezia Terme, arrives in Stefanaconi, in the Vibo Valentia area, to reach his friend Foti. Investigators, in the meantime, trace a long series of meetings between the two, continuous trips between Lamezia, Curinga and Stefanaconi, always to Foti's house.
The slap of discord
The picture was still unclear when investigators learned of Conidi's intentions to return to Florence shortly after Ferragosto. But, in the meantime, there was still a matter to be resolved. "I'll bring you the bread... the suppressant..." Conidi said in a phone call to his partner Diversi from Tosano, while he told another partner from Calabria that he needed to meet him because "there's a good business deal for you... with the salami... with the cheeses that you work with...". In reality, Conidi wanted to meet his fellow countryman to find - as investigators would soon ascertain - some firearms to avenge an affront suffered by his friend and partner Giuseppe Foti. Apparently, in fact, Foti had slapped a certain "son of Maisano", fearing, as a consequence, an immediate reprisal from him . The discussion is addressed by Conidi while he is arguing with his brother, to whom he also says that he has already taken steps to obtain firearms through his friend from Mileto.
«Peppone had an argument… now… this afternoon a friend of mine is coming… from Mileto… maybe he has… because this guy has gotten too big for his boots… and Peppe did the right thing! He gave him a “moscata” (…) I told him “cousin, in the end, what do they have… we’ll find the pistols… we’ve got the rifles!”.
The conversation between the brothers, however, takes on worrying overtones since Pasquale Conidi says he is ready to carry out an ambush. «(…) at this point we’ll just shoot him! (…) the mess he’s made… we’ll ring the bell “come down for a minute”…». And again: «There’s a war! Now let’s see how it ends… if someone dies, he dies! Tomorrow, if anything… let’s do it tomorrow…».
"I'll do this idiot in the square"
Later that evening, Pasquale Conidi tells a certain “Giovanni” «of the provocation suffered by Foti di Saverio Maisano», the investigating judge reports in the order, inside a barber shop, and of his intention to avenge him. «(…) I was really pissed off… I had firefights with the car… with the armored vehicles… imagine if I think about this idiot, I do it in the square… this idiot didn't understand a damn thing, that's not the problem…». And, at a certain point, Conidi raises some doubts: «if he left without having any reason… there's something behind it… it doesn't hold up Giova'… you understand that it doesn't hold up… it's premeditated, or don't you agree?». According to Conidi – as confirmed by the wiretaps – the existing friction between Foti and Maisano «derived from the hegemony that both wanted to have over drug trafficking», the investigating judge reports in the order, also citing a certain “Cola” who, for the investigators, is none other than Nicola Bartolotta, father-in-law of Saverio Maisano and «historical head of one of the 'ndrangheta structures operating in Stefanaconi», the investigating judge also notes in the order.
The weapon ready and the arrest
On August 14, Conidi receives the expected phone call from Mileto's friend, whom he reaches shortly thereafter. During the meeting, as the investigating judge notes in the order, Conidi "looks at two pistols, including a .357, stating that the latter was his "personal" weapon", weapons that Mileto's friend wants to sell him for 4 thousand euros. The two, therefore, agree to buy a single pistol that Conidi hides inside a sort of secret compartment in his car. The man, however, is stopped shortly thereafter in Sant'Onofrio. The car is searched and the officers manage to locate the secret compartment inside which they find a 7.65 cal. pistol with the serial number erased and 20 bullets, with the subsequent arrest of Conidi. ( g.curcio@corrierecal.it )
