https://www.corrieredellacalabria.i...lita-e-i-clan-decapitati-dalle-sentenze/the analysis
Reset, Imposition, Epicenter: the weakened 'ndrangheta and the clans "decapitated" by the sentences
In total, thousands of years of prison inflicted on the Calabrian clans. In 2024, all the provinces will be affected, as well as the locals who “emigrated” to the North
Published: 12/31/2024 – 18:10
LAMEZIA TERME More repentants, more investigations, more convictions. A weakened 'ndrangheta, decapitated at the top by the mega-operations conducted by the Calabrian prosecutors, then transformed into trials that are advancing rapidly in the courtrooms. Reset, Costa Pulita, Imponimento, Epicentro are just some of the proceedings against Calabrian organised crime that have reached sentencing this year. While on the one hand there are dozens of acquittals, on the other there are thousands of years of prison in total inflicted on the main exponents of the 'ndrine. A cycle of heavy sentences that began last year, when, among other things, the first ruling of the Rinascita Scott maxi-trial arrived. In the now unusable bunker courtroom of Lamezia Terme over 207 people were convicted, to which are added the 67 of the abbreviated trial: numbers that have effectively paralysed and weakened the 'ndrangheta of Vibo Valentia.
From Costa Pulita to Imponimento
A trend that continued in 2024. New informants, including the Bonavota killer Francesco Fortuna, new sentences and new convictions. The province of Vibo Valentia is awaiting the verdict of the maxi-trial that includes Maestrale, Olimpo and Imperium with approximately 285 defendants and the Accorinti, Mancuso and La Rosa clans on trial. In the meantime, two other trials have come to a conclusion. Last March 13, at the court of Vibo Valentia, the verdict was pronounced in the Costa Pulita trial , the investigation that began way back in 2016 against the interests of organized crime along the Costa degli Dei. 25 sentences , including that of Pantaleone “Scarpuni” Mancuso to 13 years and Pasquale Quaranta to 10 years, while the former councilor of Briatico was sentenced to 9 years in prison. The Petrolmafie trial, on the other hand, shed light on the interests in the oil business of the Vibo Valentia clans , whose first degree of the ordinary trial reached a verdict in November 2023, while this year the appeal verdict arrived for those who chose the abbreviated trial. Out of 21 defendants, 14 sentences for a total of about 60 years in prison.
Imposition and sentences in the Catanzaro area
The sentence of the Imponimento trial dates back to June . The operation against the Anello-Fruci gang, which operates on the border between Filadelfia and Lamezia Terme, began on July 21, 2020, while the ruling by the judges for the ordinary trial came last June 19: 48 convictions, including 20 years for the alleged boss Rocco Anello , against 25 between prescriptions and acquittals, including the "heavy" ones for the brothers Francescantonio and Emanuele Stillitani. The appeal sentence for the abbreviated trial came in September, with 23 convictions and 20 acquittals . A total of 71 convictions with the judges who, in the recently published reasons, certify the operation of the 'ndrina Anello-Fruci from 2004 onwards. In the Catanzaro area, instead, the ruling against the “Zingari” clan arrived, with the preliminary hearing judge who condemned 42 defendants , with only 4 acquittals. For those who are considered at the top of the Catanzaro clan Bevilacqua – Passalacqua, sentences of 20 years each.
Reset: the Cosentino maxi-trial
However, it is in the Cosenza area that the heaviest and most important sentence has arrived: 82 convictions in the abbreviated rite of the Reset trial against the 'ndrangheta of the province of Bruzia. Over ten centuries of punishment inflicted, including 20 years for Francesco Patitucci, considered to be at the top of the Cosenza organized crime, and 20 for the former informer Roberto Porcaro. Among the 37 acquittals, that of the councilor of the municipality of Cosenza Francesco De Cicco stands out , welcomed with enthusiasm (with a toast) also by the mayor Franz Caruso. The same sentence also for some members of the "Zingari" clan including Antonio, Luigi and Marco Abbruzzese. Heavy sentences also in the Reggio area, with the " Epicentro " trial which brings together the "Malefix", "Metameria" and "Nuovo Corso" investigations against the De Stefano clan. There are 44 convictions on appeal in the abbreviated procedure, with a sentence arrived on July 18, while there are 10 in the ordinary procedure with the first degree ruling arrived last September 6.
The “emigrated” 'ndrangheta
Emblematic are the sentences outside the region, which certify the now consolidated presence of the 'ndrangheta beyond the borders of Calabria. Piedmont, Lombardy, Valle d'Aosta and Lazio are some of the regions where sentences have been handed down against the Calabrian criminality that emigrated to the rest of Italy. Like the local 'ndrangheta that settled in Anzio and Nettuno, the two towns in Lazio whose municipalities were dissolved due to 'ndrangheta infiltration. Last December 7, sentences of over 125 years in prison arrived, including those of the two alleged leaders Giacomo Madaffari and Davide Perronace, to 28 and 20 years respectively. A historic sentence also arrived in Umbria, with approximately 277 years of sentences for 30 defendants in the "Quarto passo" trial which certified the presence of the 'ndrine, in particular with roots in Cirò, in the region. ( ma.ru. )
