The Carabinieri of Ragusa and the Financiers of Catania arrested 16 people, in various capacities responsible for mafia-type criminal association, external competition in mafia association, illicit competition with threat or violence, attempted murder, extortion and attempted extortion, illegal possession of weapons and carrying in public places, possession, transport and sale of narcotic substances, ideological falsehood committed by private individuals, crimes all aggravated by mafia purposes. At the center of the investigation, coordinated by the DDA of Catania, the fruit and vegetable market (photo above) of Vittoria (Ragusa), among the most important in Europe. The service on the Sicilia News link…
In the early hours of this morning the Carabinieri of Ragusa and the financiers of Catania arrested 16 people, in various capacities responsible for mafia-type criminal association, external competition in mafia association, illicit competition with threat or violence, attempted murder, extortion and attempted extortion , illegal possession of weapons and carrying them in public places, possession, transport and sale of narcotic substances, ideological falsehood committed by private individuals, crimes all aggravated by mafia purposes. The investigations started in 2016 and were conducted until 2023: the dynamics of the association attributable to Cosa Nostra operating in the territory of Vittoria and in other municipalities in the province of Ragusa, headed by a prominent exponent, and the roles assumed over time were reconstructed by the other suspects during his period of detention.
In that period of time, a convicted criminal close to him would have become the pro-tempore contact person for the criminal organization, while the clan leader, under house arrest since January 2021, would have used his home as a logistical base in which to hold confidential meetings with his acolytes, with top exponents of the groups attributable to Cosa Nostra and operating in other territorial contexts as well as with important entrepreneurs in the packaging sector, effectively resuming their role as a reference point for the mafia association and reaffirming their influence on the territory.
The investigations, also extended to his children and other individuals believed to belong to the criminal group, would have confirmed the existence of a mafia-type criminal association which would have dealt, with threats and intimidation, with the management and control of economic activities , with particular reference to the sector of production and marketing of packaging for fruit and vegetables. As evidence of his operations, links with other mafia groups emerged, including the Santapaola-Ercolano clans of Catania, Nardo di Lentini, Rinzivillo di Gela.
The sons of the prominent member of the clan would also have been responsible for managing, together with their father, the entrepreneurial affairs in the packaging sector which, through the mafia method, would have influenced and conditioned free competition. In this way they would have established themselves as intermediaries, effectively bypassing the provision for the seizure of assets and availability with a total value of 35 million euros, issued by the Court of Catania, at the request of the Etna Prosecutor’s Office, against this top person, who it had also affected various companies, including one of the family businesses.
Furthermore, the arrest of a person close to the recalled top individual, which took place in April 2021, found in possession of an illegally possessed clandestine firearm and a significant quantity of narcotics, would have made it possible to highlight how the interests of the group also included the drugs, weapons and extortion sectors. In fact, intimidating actions would have emerged towards other Vittoria-based convicted criminals to induce them to pay for quantities of narcotics supplied by other cliques, who would have turned to the Cosa Nostra Vittoria-based association recognizing their operational capabilities in the area.
Those arrested are: Giuseppe Amore, Francesco Bella, Orazio Mattia Bella, Gianluca Di Natale, Mauro Gesso, Roberto Gesso, Raffaele Giudice, Alberto Greco, Emanuele Greco, Nuccio Greco, Eugenio Gulizzi, Giuseppe Licata, Maurizio Piedigaci, Roberto Salerno, Gaetano Valenti , Filadelfo Zarbano.
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Edited by, Wednesday 12 June 2024, 2.15 pm.
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