https://www.corrieredellacalabria.i...-al-rapporto-con-il-numero-uno-di-plati/the investigation
'Ndrangheta, the former penitent Romeo and the Barbaro: from retractions to the relationship with «the number one of Platì»
In the “Ndrangheta Stragista” trial he denied a 1996 report. Years later, in Milan, they found themselves collaborating for a mediation
Published: 03/26/2025 – 6:46
LAMEZIA TERME «A lifetime has passed, I have had a lot of problems in life. Try to imagine if I can remember Morabito». And again: «You die once in life, not a hundred times. If someone decides that I have to die, it's not a problem, I'm not afraid of anything or anyone, Mr. Prosecutor» . A surreal deposition, a sensational episode during the “Ndrangheta Stragista” trial. It is June 2, 2022 when in the bunker courtroom of Reggio Calabria the now ex-repentant Annunziatino Romeo denies everything in response to the prosecutor Lombardo and, above all, of having been a man of the 'ndrangheta and a member of the criminal organization led by his cousin, Saverio Morabito, and the Sergi brothers of Platì. Above all, he denies any content of the report filed on 16 May 1996 containing specific declarations on the criminal groups operating in Platì and their top officials, military capabilities, support from representatives of the institutions, freemasonry, politics, interests considered, at the time, by the witness to be crucial for the consolidation of criminal power itself and the existence of what was defined as "The Chamber", a criminal area of ??the highest level.
The arrest
Some time has passed but Annunziatino Romeo is once again the protagonist of the judicial news. The former pentito born in 1964 in Platì was arrested by the Carabinieri Ros for private violence and investigated for attempted extortion with the aggravating circumstance of the mafia method. He was apparently chosen, according to what has emerged, by the former super-policeman Carmine Gallo (who died in recent weeks) for a "mediation" between two entrepreneurs, hoping to be able to count on the criminal "weight" of Romeo, but also that of two members of the Barbaro family: Pasquale and Francesco.
READ ALSO: Former 'ndrangheta informer Romeo chosen by Gallo for a "mediation". "He's from Calabria, from Platì"
The 'ndrine of Milan and Platì
Annunziatino Romeo himself, during his time as a collaborator of justice, had allowed the identification of some individuals affiliated with the 'ndrangheta and active in Buccinasco and Corsico, in the Milan area, and Platì, linked to the 'ndrangheta families of Barbaro, Papalia, Sergi and Trimboli. Except to retract everything on June 2, 2022. "I don't know. I don't know if they participated, or if they participated, I don't know. I couldn't tell you, I didn't participate in any meetings, I never did any of these things". Romeo, then, changes his version in the courtroom also with respect to the alleged participation of the De Stefano, Papalia and Barbaro families in the meetings in Reggio Calabria. Those Barbaros, in short, ended up at the center of the new investigation by the Milan DDA.
Pasquale "number one of Platì"
According to the investigation, the Roman entrepreneur Lorenzo Sbraccia (under investigation), in his role as CEO of a general contractor specialized in the management of complex construction projects, Fenice Spa, between May and October 2023, turned to the Equalize group "for support in mediating with a subcontractor for construction work on several construction sites managed by Fenice", with a clear request: to find a mediator with "sufficient intimidating ability" to convince the other party to sit down at the negotiating table and grant "a sum far lower than that requested, just over 8 million euros, compared to the 35 requested". During the "negotiations" that investigators divide into three phases, through another individual under investigation, Umberto Buccarelli, the two Barbaros enter the scene, including Pasquale himself, who Gallo, in an intercepted conversation, defines as "Platì's number one". And again: «… this Pasquale told Nunzio “you and I talk to those people over there who will guarantee that the thing will end well”». At a certain point in the negotiation, in fact, the former penitent Romeo answers to a higher authority that can be identified precisely in the Barbaro family. (g.curcio@corrierecal.it)
