The return of the old bosses released from prison, 19 arrests for mafia in Palermo

PALERMO (ITALPRESS) – A severe blow to the Uditore-Passo di Rigano mafia mandamento in Palermo. Agents of the State Police Flying Squad and the Sisco, on behalf of the District Anti-Mafia Directorate of the Prosecutor's Office, have executed a precautionary custody order against 19 suspects, 17 of whom are in prison and 2 under house arrest, held responsible in various capacities for mafia-style association, aggravated extortion, fictitious registration of assets and other related crimes. The operation is part of a broader investigative context initiated with the coordination of the Palermo DDA on the Uditore-Passo di Rigano mandamento and has seen the involvement, among the recipients of the precautionary measure, of top figures of the mafia gang who have already emerged in past investigations as men of honor belonging to the Corleone wing of Cosa Nostra. In particular, during the course of this investigation, the will of some of the suspects, after having served a period of detention, to consolidate their positions of power within the gang also emerged through the control and management, within the district, of productive activities linked in particular to the construction sector. In this business logic, the return to the current criminal structures of a mafia exponent, a leading figure in the historical dynamics of Cosa Nostra, was recorded, who was particularly active in the reorganization of a qualified relational network with the aim of reaffirming his own strength and interference, but also with the aim of sharing the economic benefits of the aforementioned entrepreneurial initiatives. In fact, from the investigative acquisitions, sporadic meetings at hospitality venues were documented with the aim of establishing and consolidating relationships with Sicilian exponents of political and business life. In this regard, periodic meetings have also been documented between some of the recipients of this precautionary measure, which took place inside an agricultural estate in the Passo di Rigano area, in a highly confidential manner aimed at comparing the state of the mafia association. On this occasion, the investigators learned that there is a guarantee agreement between the suspects for a large debt accrued in the past in favor of another historic mafioso who served a life sentence and committed massacres in the same area, now in a harsh prison regime. In the investigative line traced among the various extortion hypotheses attributable to the investigated mafia organization, reference is made to the pressure exerted by the association in order to guarantee control of the production activities in the construction sector, favoring the companies connected to entrepreneurs who are associates of the current precautionary measure. In the same investigative context, circumstantial evidence has also been acquired against some new members, associates of the same mafia group, active in extortion practices,as well as key figures in some particularly profitable business initiatives for the aforementioned criminal group. Among these, the company, AC Milano, which managed the Notre Club nightclub, where, since its inauguration, several episodes of violence have occurred, culminating also, on December 21, 2023, with the murder of a 22-year-old, Rosolino Celesia. During the operation, the investigators also proceeded with the preventive seizure of real estate and businesses, including company shares, as well as bank accounts attributable, in various capacities, to the suspects for an estimated value of approximately 10 million euros.