In the early hours of 12 June 2024, the soldiers of the Carabinieri Provincial Command of Ragusa and of the Provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza of Catania executed a Precautionary Custody Order in Prison, issued by the GIP Office at the Court of Catania, upon request of the District Anti-Mafia Prosecutor’s Office. The provision concerns 16 suspects accused of various crimes including mafia-type criminal association, extortion, attempted murder and drug trafficking, all aggravated by mafia purposes.
The investigations
The investigations, which began in 2016 and concluded in 2023, made it possible to reconstruct the dynamics of the criminal organization affiliated with Cosa Nostra, operating in Vittoria and other municipalities in the province of Ragusa, led by Emanuele Greco, known as “Elio”. During Greco’s detention, Gaetano Valenti, known as “Tano u’ barbiere”, temporarily assumed the role of contact person for the organization. Once under house arrest in January 2021, Greco would have used his home as a logistical base for confidential meetings, reaffirming his influence on the territory.
The investigative activity highlighted that Greco and his sons, Nuccio and Alberto, managed businesses in the fruit and vegetable packaging sector using mafia methods to influence the competition. Despite the seizure of assets worth 35 million euros, the organization continued to operate in the local market, also collaborating with other mafia groups such as the “Santapaola-Ercolano”, “Nardo” and “Rinzivillo” clans.
The investigations also revealed collusion with companies in the petroleum products sector, which obtained their supplies of illicit fuel thanks to Greco’s relationships, increasing their turnover and contributing to the criminal program of the mafia association. The arrest of Gaetano Valenti in 2021, in possession of weapons and drugs, further demonstrated the group’s interests in drug trafficking, weapons and extortion.
The GIP of Catania ordered the precautionary custody in prison for the 16 suspects, of which 12 were arrested by the Carabinieri of Ragusa and 4 by the Financiers of Catania. This operation is part of the actions of the Catania Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Ragusa Carabinieri and the Catania Financial Police to combat mafia associations and protect the business fabric from corruption and unfair competition.
The names of the sixteen people subjected to the precautionary measure in prison are:
- LOVE Joseph;
- BELLA Francesco;
- BEAUTIFUL Orazio Mattia;
- AT CHRISTMAS Gianluca;
- PLASTER Mauro;
- PLASTER Roberto;
- JUDGE Raffaele;
- GRECO Alberto;
- GRECO Emanuele;
- GRECO Nuccio;
- GULIZZI Eugenio;
- LICATA Giuseppe;
- PIEDIGACI Maurizio;
- SALERNO Roberto;
- VALENTI Gaetano;
- ZARBANO Philadelphus.
