Derided, insulted and blatantly hated on social media. But also the “target” of disturbing intimidating messages. Mayors and local administrators are increasingly exposed, some even systematically targeted.
In a province where warnings – to entrepreneurs, employees, journalists, artisans, pensioners and even housewives – are increasingly frequent and often indecipherable, administrators also receive bullets, letters of insults and threats, handkerchiefs stained with blood or suffer various types of damage. The last one, in chronological order, was last night with the victim is the mayor of Palma di Montechiaro: Stefano Castellino.
Intimidating acts that end up on the table of the prefecture: a committee for public order and safety is convened and, as a rule, if a risk condition is detected, a decision is made to activate generic radio-controlled surveillance, i.e. a form of ” sweet” of protection compared to the escort.
Threats to administrators: Agrigento is in second place
The province of Agrigento – according to a study conducted by “Notice Public”, is in second place in Italy for the number of cases of intimidating acts, threats, acts of violence against mayors, councillors, city councilors and public administration employees. The province of Agrigento, with its 18 cases registered in 2022, represents 36 percent of the intimidating acts recorded throughout the Sicilian territory.
It seems to be a phenomenon tending to become chronic, in the general indifference, if not even in the complicit approval of some citizens, induced to hold the mayors responsible for all the ills of their community
The mayors of Agrigento
“SOS” launched as early as 2022
In November 2022, it was the same local administrators, led by the mayor of Naro: Maria Grazia Brandara, who wrote to the Minister of the Interior asking to “defuse the potential consequent danger”. Brandara then moved after the intimidation of which had been the victim is the mayor of Canicattì, Vincenzo Corbo. “We express to you – wrote the mayors of the Agrigento area – our deepest concern for the increasingly assiduous frequency with which we are forced to record vile attacks which target the mayors, that is, women and men of the State engaged among 12 and 15 hours a day in an attempt to untie the complicated knots that envelop all the realities of the country and in particular those of the South”.
“It would seem to be a phenomenon tending to become chronic, in the general indifference, if not even in the complicit approval of some citizens, induced to hold the mayors responsible for all the ills of their community – continued the letter sent to the minister -. To the lack of resources economically, the disastrous pair is the lack of human resources deriving from the fact that the last massive hirings in the municipalities of the island date back to the now very distant 1989. Since then the workforce has always and only gradually become thinner without causing gaps in the workforce cannot be filled”. “This widespread condition, in our opinion – continued the letter – together with the worsening of the economic and social crisis which is exasperating our communities, is at the basis of social discontent and which, among the sick part of the citizens, thanks to anonymity, leads to in actions of hatred or incitement to it through social media, requires in the opinion of the writer a careful and urgent reflection so that the necessary and suitable countermeasures are taken to prevent this sick minority of civil society from gaining the upper hand over the hard-working and honest but not intolerant of the same difficulties”. The crime and the expected penalties
In the case of intimidation, the type of threat is configured which is aggravated by the use of symbolic methods, i.e. when it is expressed through images, signs, objects or actions which have within themselves not only the ability to evoke what was intended to threaten, but also an intimidating “surplus” deriving precisely from the method used. The aggravated threat can be prosecuted ex officio and is punishable by up to one year in prison
An endless list
However, the list of intimidated administrators continued to grow. Here are all the previous ones:
January 13th – 8 olive trees cut down by the municipal councilor of Burgio Calogero Piazza;
December 22, 2023 – Letter of threats and vulgar insults for the mayor of Santa Elisabetta, Domenico Gueli, and his family. The letter was delivered by post to the Town Hall. Gueli, already inApril 2016 had been the “target” of a similar letter. But at the time, the threat and the drawing of a smoking gun were engraved on some posters already pasted on the classic notice board for advertisements, in Piazza San Carlo, a few meters away from the mayor’s home. In March of the previous year, i.e. in 2015, five cartridge cases, wrapped in a handkerchief, were found in front of the Town Hall of Santa Elisabetta, of which Domenico Gueli was also mayor. Two more bullets, shortly afterwards, were found in front of the house of a municipal manager.
October 2023 – Two insulting and defamatory letters were delivered, within a few days, to the mayor of Montevago, regional deputy and member of the anti-mafia commission, Margherita La Rocca Ruvolo who already in February 2022 he had received, again at the Montevago Town Hall, an envelope with 2 bullets inside, a holy picture of the Madonna of Tears and a photo of Pope Francis with a little girl in his arms.
Bullets with photos of Madonna and Pope, intimidated deputy-mayor
October 6, 2023 – A letter of insults and death threats and, inside the envelope, a 12 gauge cartridge of those used for hunting were delivered to the mayor of Calamonaci, Pino Spinelli, already the recipient of a letter in July 2022.
December 9, 2022 – A bag with a dead and decomposing dog was found in front of the country house of the president of the city council, national secretary of the Italy of Values party, Ignazio Messina, former mayor of Sciacca and former national deputy.
November 9, 2022 – The dog of a Bivona municipal councilor was poisoned: someone spread a powerful pesticide on the woman’s land.
November 5, 2022 – Letter of insults and death threats delivered to the Municipality for the mayor of Canicattì Vincenzo Corbo. The demand “Resign!” it was followed by words “boom, boom, boom”.
October 9, 2022 – 12 olive trees belonging to the mayor Francesco Matinella, a veterinary doctor by profession, were damaged and 15 plants located on adjacent land owned by a family member of the administrator were also cut.
October 7, 2022 – 8 olive trees belonging to the mayor of Aragon Giuseppe Pendolino, recently candidate for the Ars, were damaged.
August 26, 2022 – “Tell Giuseppe Zscopio to get an escort”: words spoken on the phone by an anonymous interlocutor. The mayor of Siculiana, as well as the school director, was threatened.
August 25, 2022 – The windshield of the car of the deputy mayor of Bivona Salvatore Cutró was destroyed by stone blows.
July 21, 2022 – Letter with threats to Pino Spinelli, mayor of Calamonaci and nurse at the Ribera hospital. The package (unstamped) was found by a municipal messenger at the entrance to the municipal building.
May 27, 2022 – Car tires punctured for Attilio Lucia, head of the Lampedusa League and candidate for the city council.
April 30, 2022 – A letter of insults and threats, but also a handkerchief soaked in blood for the mayor of Naro Maria Grazia Brandara. The former regional deputy has received, over the years, various messages, letters, bullets and even photos of a coffin. In 2017, after intimidation, she was assigned the protection of a police patrol. He was extraordinary commissioner of the Municipality of Licata. ”You risk touching our homes and you’re dead, we’ll cut your throat, do just one thing against us and we’ll slaughter you”: this is the beginning of the intimidating message, which ended with a photo of an empty coffin, which arrived at commissioner Brandara, who was appointed after the resignation of the anti-illegal mayor Angelo Cambiano, rejected by the Council. In July 2016, however, it was delivered to her – while he was extraordinary commissioner of IRSAP – in the ASI offices of Agrigento, an envelope with threatsee offenses and 2 rifle bullets. Until a few days earlier, Brandara had led the Consortium for Legality and Development which deals with the management of assets confiscated from the mafia. In the November 2013 when Brandara received another intimidating letter.
February 22, 2022 – A boar’s head left in front of the gate of the country house of the municipal councilor of Licata Calogero Scrimali.
AgrigentoNotizie is also on Whatsapp. Follow us on our channel.
Tags: Administrators fire SOS launched early list continued grow
