https://www.corrieredellacalabria.i...eggiato-dai-bonavota-erano-sul-lastrico/drug trafficking
'Ndrangheta, Pasquino “courted” by the Bonavotas. «They were broke»
The former drug trafficker now collaborator: «I already had my business between Agresta and Guardavalle». And then «I didn't want problems with the Belloccos»
Published: 04/30/2025 – 6:52
LAMEZIA TERME I remember being introduced to «Mimmo Bonavota by Carlo Pezzo without any prior announcement, but he introduced him as a relative of his who wanted to do business with me» and «we talked about the drug trafficking activities that I was conducting from Spain. They already had open roads to Mantua , Catania through Davide from Milan and Bolzano » so «we started working on the trafficking carried out with cars: I sold them the drugs, meaning hashish and cocaine, at a certain price, and they then added the profit margin by selling it to the markets and paying on delivery». It is the former drug trafficking broker at the service of the 'ndrangheta, Vincenzo Pasquino, who speaks before the prosecutors of Turin. His collaboration with justice, in fact, opens more than one glimpse into the trafficking set up by various criminal groups linked to the 'ndrangheta.
The business with the Bonavotas
Regarding the drug trafficking set up with the Bonavotas , Pasquino says that «this thing went on for a long time, since 2014, and we worked well. Mimmo Bonavota didn't touch anything about drugs, we always just talked to negotiate». And again: «Carlo Pezzo insisted that I also develop with them the special bond I had with the Agrestas and the Alvaros. The Bonavota family put up the money for the drugs». The drug dealing in Sicily and, in particular, in the Catania area «came into play in 2016, because I had smoke that didn't sell well in Turin», Pasquino says. «Antonio, Bonavota's nephew and Carlo Pezzo told me to give the smoke to them and they would take care of it through this Davide lacone who had contacts in Librino and San Cristoforo». Then «I never saw Mimmo Bonavota again because I went to Brazil. The times I saw him were between 2014 and 2017, when I left." According to the story of the former drug broker, after Bonavota's arrest, however, the work continued and profitably, taking into account an additional "emergency", namely his maintenance in prison and "the expenses for the lawyer and the family, therefore if before only "the point" was established, now it was necessary to give "the part", since "Mimmo had fallen from grace", or rather, since he was detained", he said.
The journey to Sant'Onofrio
In the course of his story to the prosecutors, Vincenzo Pasquino also talks about a trip to Calabria. «I went down to Sant'Onofrio in 2017 because they wanted to introduce me to Stefanaconi's uncle and the one from the bar in Sant'Onofrio. Carlo Pezzo asked me to go down because he wanted to propose that I work with them and Gioia Tauro, which I didn't do, even though they seemed like very serious people, as I already had my reference families, between Agresta and Guardavalle, so it didn't seem like the right thing to do to get involved in this context too, as I already had enough problems». And he explains the details of the meeting: «We were there at a trattoria restaurant, there I met these people from the bar in Sant'Onofrio and the uncle. I should point out that Sambati only accompanied me to these meetings and was there but had nothing to do with it». This uncle, moreover, was a "high level" criminal. "Pezzo introduced him to me as a high-level figure, a boss, he was wearing a flat cap and I would recognize him. At the time he had a blue punto and he did 30 years in prison. Afterwards I asked others and it was confirmed that he was high-level," Pasquino explained. "They were told that I was going to Brazil and then they told me, both of them, that they would be happy to work with me. However, I showed myself available, but in reality the branches I was working with told me to leave them alone because they would create problems, with specific reference to the Belloccos."
«I never went to Sant'Onofrio, I preferred Guardavalle»
But, returning to the farm, Pasquino explained again: «There were 2 or 3 Bonavotas, but I don't know who the others were. The speech was always the same, they were broke and wanted to work together. Then there is another bar, I don't know if it is run by the same people, which is found when you leave the town. We went there and met other relatives of Carlo Pezzo, with whom we only had coffee, but we didn't talk "about work". Then after that we left and we passed through Gioia Tauro». That, according to the repentant, was the only time in Sant'Onofrio, « even though it is my mother's town, I never frequented it. I went more to my father's town, to Guardavalle and in the summer, but I never went to Sant'Onofrio because my father's family had also had problems in Vibo and so I was afraid of it». ( g.curcio@corrierecal.it )
