https://www.corrieredellacalabria.i...-la-minaccia-vi-sequestriamo-un-parente/OPERATION MERCURY
High tension between Cosa Nostra and 'Ndrangheta, the debt for 10 kilos of cocaine and the threat: we will kidnap a relative of yours
Some arrests complicate the plans of the members of the Santapaola-Ercolano family, unable to recover the necessary money
Published: 25/02/2025 – 7:01
LAMEZIA TERME A large debt for a drug shipment has increased tension between some members of the Santapaola-Ercolano family of Cosa Nostra and some Calabrian individuals, linked to the 'ndrangheta. It is one of the episodes reconstructed by investigators during the "Mercurio" investigation, whose blitz led to the arrest of 19 individuals in the Catania area on the orders of the Etna investigating judge and at the request of the Catania District Anti-Mafia Commission, accused of various crimes such as extortion, drug trafficking and dealing, fraudulent transfer of assets and mafia-related political electoral exchange.
10 Kg of cocaine from Calabria
The investigation by the Carabinieri del Ros, however, would have allowed them to reveal more than a few contacts with Calabrian subjects for a drug deal between 2022 and 2023 and what was reconstructed in the investigative phase is a picture made up of accusations and threats, even serious ones, that could have led to even worse consequences. The deal in question is a 10 kg load of cocaine, divided into 10 sealed blocks and marked with the symbol "the racket". A drug purchase from Calabrians that - according to what emerged from the investigation by the Carabinieri Ros - was the matter of Antonino Della Vita "la Volpe" (class of '66) and Rosario Bucolo "U'mbazzutu" (class of '74), both arrested. The latter, in particular, would have had a management role not only within the Castello Ursino group , but also within the Santapaola-Ercolano mafia association itself . It will be up to him to try to unravel a complicated situation.
The arrests
The negotiation would have taken place in September 2022, shortly before the execution of the “Sangue blu” operation. A problem of no small importance because the one who contracted the huge debt with the Calabrians was Francesco Napoli (already detained), one of the individuals arrested in that blitz. And, once he ended up in prison, the Calabrians would have started to demand money from the other associates. The first on the list was Giuseppe Scuto (class of '63) – already detained – who, on behalf of Napoli, would have taken care of the transportation of the drugs. He too, however, will be arrested: it is January 2023 and the Calabrian creditors do not take it so well. To the point that they will even threaten Scuto's son, Fabrizio (class of '90) who, in fact, together with his father had conducted the negotiation for the purchase of the drugs on behalf of Francesco Napoli.
The threat of the Calabrians: we will kidnap a relative of yours
The interception activity – especially in the period between June and August 2023 – has allowed us to add further details to the intricate story. Francesco Napoli, for starters, is said to have lied to the Calabrians, telling them that he had delivered the sum owed to Giuseppe Scuto when they had received the drug load. Then, Fabrizio Scuto involves Orazio Salvatore Scuto “u vitraru”, considered a member of the family, «ready to intercede with the Calabrians». An attempt, however, that failed: the Calabrians, in fact, refused any alternative agreement and, even, threatened Fabrizio Scuto to «kidnap one of his relatives, as a guarantee and until the debt was repaid». The latter then decides to involve Rosario Bucolo who does not take it well for two reasons: the involvement of too many individuals in the story and, above all, the threat from the Calabrians considered «unacceptable» , saying he was even ready to «confront them militarily». A risky move even if in any case the authorization of the top of the family would have been necessary. Opposing the Calabrian 'ndrangheta would have been a very imprudent move.
The huge debt and the usurious loan
It is June 6, 2023 when the pg records a first meeting between Rosario Bucolo and Fabrizio Scuto. "The Calabrians have bad intentions", this is the message brought by Orazio Scuto "u vitraru". "They want to take someone over there, they'll keep him with them until they get the money". An issue that had to be resolved quickly according to Bucolo, although he did not consider the threat concrete, but in any case the matter with the Calabrians "we have to sort it out". On the table, in addition to the profitable business with the Calabrians, there was also the credibility of the Santapaola-Ercolano family, so they also agreed on a possible monthly payment of an installment until the entire debt was satisfied, also putting on the table a tractor, complete with two semi-trailers, worth 100,000 euros. However, they would hardly have accepted such a proposal, the group was aware of this, just as it was aware of the enormous problem they would have had to face. Because in order to recover 38 thousand euros, part of the advance of the 75 thousand already delivered to the Calabrians, they had been forced to resort to a usurious loan that they were still paying with a monthly installment of 6 thousand euros.
The Milanese friend and the Calabrian one
It will then be Fabrizio Scuto who will recognize his own mistake and that of his father. At the time of the negotiation, in fact, the Calabrians wanted to give the Sicilians only 5 kg of drugs instead of the 10 requested but, strong in the support of Francesco Napoli, «they had insisted on buying 10 kilos, only to discover later that Napoli had not paid the sums necessary to pay for the supply», effectively putting them in trouble. At this point it is Bucolo who plays the ace up his sleeve given the looming threat of a kidnapping: contact a «subject resident in the Milan area who, due to his criminal caliber, could have intervened both against the Calabrians and against Orazio Scuto», then he would have contacted a “friend” of his in Calabria, in order to arrange an appointment with the suppliers and close the matter. ( g.curcio@corrierecal.it )
