https://www.corrieredellacalabria.i...di-milano-in-mano-al-nipote-dei-mancuso/THE INVESTIGATION
'Ndrangheta, the distributor and car wash on the outskirts of Milan in the hands of the Mancuso nephew
The DDA has reconstructed the story with Orazio Desiderato and his most "faithful" associates as protagonists. The front man, the debts and the disappointing deal
Published: 05/03/2025 – 6:48
MILAN Apartments, company shares. And a gas station. In the empire attributable to Francesco Orazio Desiderato (born in 1974), investigators from the Milan Anti-Mafia District have also identified this economic activity, particularly advantageous for the suspects, because it would have allowed them to launder large sums of cash, at least on paper, deriving from the performance of services such as refueling and, above all, car washing. This is one of the details that emerged from the investigation that, in recent days, led to the arrest of 12 people on the orders of the investigating judge. Among them is Orazio Desiderato himself – who ended up in handcuffs – who, according to investigators, is linked to the Mancuso clan of Limbadi because he is the nephew of Zi 'Ntoni Mancuso.
The distributor in viale Fulvio Testi
The investigators are convinced that they have reconstructed all the phases that accompanied the approach to the commercial activity, thanks to the interceptions that took place in the office of the car wrecker in via Girardengo, the place where Desiderato himself would have managed all the operations in person, but also through his right-hand man, Massimiliano Crocco, from Cosenza born in '77, considered by the investigators to be "Desiderato's contact both for the control of commercial activities and for the sale and custody of significant quantities of narcotics". It is January 5, 2022 and it is he who, intercepted, contacts a certain Bruno to ask him about legal developments for a fuel distributor, then informing him that he is interested in the acquisition. From the interceptions of the pg, it is understood that the distributor in question was, in fact, disputed with another potential buyer. And, once they learned the news, the reactions are vehement: "Where does that b**ch live, I'll burn down his house!".
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The project and the front man
10 days have passed since the first contact between Bruno and Crocco, and Desiderato takes charge of the situation, with a phone call in which he once again lets Bruno know their intentions to acquire the distributor, promising to "make him work", even by building a new car wash at their expense. With the "hope" of convincing the other party, once the phone call ended, Desiderato, turning to his accomplices in the office, replied that he would acquire the petrol station in any way, threatening, otherwise, repercussions for the contact person . "If he doesn't give me this f**king thing, I'll put him in trouble". In short, after the initial and timid approaches, Desiderato accelerates and takes the matter head on. On January 19, 2022, he reaches the distributor and makes contact with the outgoing manager, with whom they will meet again a few days later in his office while in the meantime the contacts with the contact person of the oil company were already well underway. All that was needed was a mass of documentation and, above all, a “clean” front man that Desiderato identified as a young 21-year-old, daughter of his partner. “She is perfect, she enters a clean company, perfect” also because he could not appear “due to his criminal record”, already known to the intermediary. The latter, for his part, would have assured the group that he had put in a good word with the company, advising them to add some false information to the girl’s CV.
All Desiderato members
Orazio Desiderato would have thought of everything, as reconstructed by the investigators, even the initial capital needed to start the business: he would have used his precious watches as a pledge for an initial loan (giving them as collateral) and would have personally taken care of everything, including an initial transfer to the specially opened current account. The business is very close to starting. In fact, it is March 2022 when Orazio Desiderato would have worked to "organize the opening of the VAT number in favor of the front man" and would have started the first talks to hire trusted personnel in his distributor, such as Pietro Valente (class of '87) known as the "dwarf", also among those arrested and, of course, Massimiliano Crocco for the car wash. However, Saverio Lo Mastro, class of '63, who ended up under house arrest, had more than one doubt, particularly worried that this new operation would have had negative consequences, also on a judicial level. In particular, discussing with Desiderato's all-rounder, the Russian Maria Savelieva known as "Masha", also under house arrest, he said that, having already a pile of debts quantified at 500,000 euros in tax bills, they would surely face some hypothesis of crime, then pointing the finger at the choice of the young woman, just 21 years old, who would surely end up under the control of the investigators. «(...) they are following her, she doesn't have the money to eat a hamburger and she becomes the owner of the column...».
The risks after arguments with your partner
The situation worsens in May, when the first problems arise with the front girl. At the base, it will be discovered later, there were some arguments between Desiderato and his partner - mother of the 21-year-old - with the suspect who at a certain point feared that the two women could tell the police uncomfortable details about his illicit activities. To take cover, Marco Roberto De Gaetano, born in Vibo Valentia in 1977, partner of the Russian Savelieva and also placed under house arrest, comes forward, ready to open a VAT number and take over the contract with the oil company. Despite the concerns, however, everything remained as before according to what emerged from the investigations. After opening the account in the name of the young woman, in July they proceeded to purchase new equipment for the fuel distributor while, in the background, there were disagreements between Francesco Orazio Desiderato and the former managers of the plant, who "had promised the former earnings far higher than the actual ones". In fact, Desiderato would have felt cheated because he was convinced to invest 100 thousand euros to buy a new tunnel for the car wash. «Now… you both have pissed me off, I tell him… you and the gas station attendant, go fuck yourself…». ( g.curcio@corrierecal.it )
