At the conclusion of the investigations, conducted by the policemen of the Central Operational Service (SCO), the Investigative Sections of the Central Operational Service (Sisco) of Palermo and the Mobile Squads of Agrigento and Palermo, a criminal association was identified which exercised a control system capillary of the agro-pastoral sector in the Agrigento area up to the border with the province of Palermo. Five people were arrested for being responsible for extortion, often carried out with violence and threats aggravated by the mafia method, and for having facilitated Cosa Nostra.
The arrested people, top exponents of the Santa Margherita di Belice mafia district, imposed their dominion over agricultural land, pastures and livestock, making use of the intimidating force deriving from their mafia role.
The victims were forced to give up land at negligible fees, often unpaid, to suffer the illegal grazing of livestock and not to cultivate the land so as not to hinder grazing. In some cases, agricultural commodities were even stolen and marketed by the suspects without any compensation.
In this context, the absence of explicit threats was also recorded; in fact, the suspects imposed their will by resorting to silent intimidating attitudes deriving from their recognized criminal role with which they subjected the victims through multiple episodes of damage (fire, cutting of crops and livestock theft) consumed by unknown persons and suffered over the years by the owners who had instead decided to use the land for crops that would have limited the grazing of the flocks
