https://livesicilia.it/mafia-catania-scontro-santapaola-ndrangheta/Mafia, the boss who doesn't pay: the clash of the Santapaolas with the 'ndrangheta
CATANIA – Ten kilos of cocaine, a debt of 290 thousand euros, the threat of seizures and a military escalation : between September 2022 and August 2023 the Santapaola – Ercolano clan is in full tension with a group of the Calabrian 'ndrangheta, which supplied the drugs to the mafia in Catania and wants to be paid.
From the investigation of the “Mercurio” blitz emerges the story of a debt contracted by a regent , Francesco Napoli, who some men of the clan accuse of having a selfish management of the drug business, involving the Santapaola family in private matters such as his drug trafficking.
The history of the contrast is also that of a primacy . By now it would be the Calabrians who dominate the wholesale of cocaine trafficking, supplying the Sicilians who instead would be forced to resort to loans, usury and even propose the barter of means of transport to pay off debts.
The cocaine shipment
Shortly before his arrest in September 2022 in Operation “Sangue blu” , the regent of the Santapaola – Ercolano clan, Francesco Napoli, buys ten kilos of cocaine from a group of Calabrian suppliers. The purchase negotiation is carried out on his behalf by Giuseppe Scuto and his son Fabrizio, both involved in the investigations of Operation Mercurio.
Naples ends up in prison and leaves behind a debt of 290 thousand euros for cocaine , of which only 70 thousand have already been paid. The Calabrians want their money, and they put pressure on Giuseppe Scuto.
“Outside conversations are of no interest”
The hidden microphones of the Carabinieri meanwhile intercept Rosario Bucolo , considered a leading figure in the Castello Ursino group of the Santapaola – Ercolano clan. According to the investigators, Bucolo was one of the trusted men of Francesco Napoli, a “reserved” boss who did not come into contact with the men of the clan for fear of being arrested, except for a few loyal followers.
Among these loyalists there would have been Bucolo himself . In a wiretap he tells another member of the clan that Giuseppe Scuto involved him as an intermediary to try to resolve the issue with the Calabrians.
At first Scuto tries to have Francesco Napoli intervene directly , but from prison he lets it be known that he is staying out of the matter. “I am not interested in the discussions outside,” the regent of the Santapaola – Ercolano family is said to have said, effectively leaving the hot potato in the hands of his intermediaries.
“He didn't think of anyone”
Bucolo has much to say about Naples' behavior . On another occasion he meets with Giuseppe Scuto and the latter's brother, Andrea Alfredo Massimiliano, who tell Bucolo that the situation with the Calabrians is increasingly tense.
Bucolo says he is ready to address the matter with them but wants authorization from the clan's top brass : he says "If any of the big guys tell us to proceed with this matter and go and break things up", but then he also says that it is not prudent to go into direct conflict with the Calabrese mafia.
He then accuses Naples of having used the name of the Santapaola – Ercolano family to gain credibility with the clan and of having made the debt fall on his shoulders, even though in reality the drug business was a personal business of Naples, who for this reason never shared the profits with anyone. Bucolo tells his interlocutor “He didn’t think of anyone”.
The threat of kidnapping
Between June and August 2023, other facts emerge about Naples' behavior with the Calabrians . The one who visits Bucolo and is now being intercepted is Fabrizio Scuto, Giuseppe's son, since his father ended up in prison. Scuto is scared: the Calabrians have sent him the threat that, if he did not pay, they would kidnap one of his relatives.
Bucolo reacts by saying that the Calabrians would not go that far , because the clan would immediately retaliate. Furthermore, the Calabrians do not seem to worry Bucolo precisely because of their ability to act in Catania. "They can't do any harm, 'mbare, because they can't come with another family to do the same bad thing as this one."
The Calabrians are asking the Scutos to account because , as the investigations always show, Francesco Napoli lied to his drug suppliers. Telling them that he had paid for the cocaine and given the money to the Scutos.
Then there are other rumours about another debt of 300 thousand euros , again contracted by Francesco Napoli and again for drug-related matters, which the group from San Giovanni Galermo had to take care of.
Bucolo says he had a beef with Naples precisely because of these things , but he also tells Fabrizio Scuto that the debt must be paid to the Calabrians to protect the credibility of the Santapaola – Ercolano family.
The accounts
Fabrizio Scuto, however, says he does not have the money to pay the debt . And Bucolo suggests that he agree to pay in installments. Scuto, to close everything, says he is also available to give the Calabrians a tractor with two semi-trailers for a value of 100 thousand euros.
Fabrizio's uncle, Andrea Alfredo Massimiliano, instead reports that in order to recover 38 thousand euros, part of the advance of 75 thousand euros already delivered to the Calabrians, they had been forced to resort to a usurious loan that they were still paying for 6 thousand euros per month.
The intervention
Bucolo finally decides to intervene with his Calabrian contact to put things right. Intervening precisely for the good name of the clan. "Bucolo was consulted and involved - we read in the precautionary custody order of the GIP -. To resolve a matter of direct interest to the regent, but which could have had an impact on the entire mafia association".
In Operation Mercurio, 19 people were arrested and the Santapaola – Ercolano clan was hit .
