The Agrigento area is also spoken of – in the Dia’s first half 2023 report – in relation to the structures and the influential criminal depth of the Lazio and Roman panorama in particular. “The well-known Casamonica clan certainly emerges, whose presence probably dates back to the Sixties and, at present, now rooted in the areas included in the South-East quadrant of Rome, which extend up to the municipalities of the Castelli Romani and, through the kinship with the Spadas, also on the coast of Ostia – writes the District Anti-Mafia Directorate – Among the most profitable illicit activities stand out extortion, usury, crimes against property, drug trafficking, fictitious registration of assets and money laundering, as well as opportunistic infiltration attempts by some. public apparatus. Furthermore, threats, personal injuries and not infrequently the use of weapons in the resolution of disputes are part of the modus operandi and the typical subculture of this criminal context”.
In addition to the main illicit activities, this association does not ignore attempts to infiltrate institutional apparatuses. “On the Roman coast, the modus operandi of the traditional mafia associations has long been emulated by the Fasciani and Spada associations, whose influence on the territory has emerged in important and complex judicial police operations. The illicit conduct – continues the reconstruction – was deemed attributable to contexts of true mafia-type association, resulting from a strategic division of business and interests lasting over twenty years between the two hegemonic groups in that area, the Fasciani and the Triassi (the latter established itself in Lazio as a projection of the Cuntrera family from Agrigento -Caruana).
Drugs, public works and protection money: Cosa Nostra and Stiddra go hand in hand to share criminal activities
“The Triassi, originating from the province of Agrigento and in connection with the Cuntrera-Caruana and Fragalà group, are historically more active on the Roman coast – it is specified in the Dia report for the first half of 2023 -. In particular, in the Pomezia area , Ardea and Torvajanica, up to the areas north of Latina such as Cisterna, Aprilia, the interests of this last association are concentrated which boasts links with the Santapaola, but also contacts with the Cappello di Catania, with well-known formations of Campania origin, with the Fasciani of Ostia and the Casamonica”.
The Sicilian Cosa Nostra continues to search for its leader
The countless law enforcement activities carried out over the years, including the capture of important fugitives, and the State’s apprehension of the illicit assets accumulated over decades of criminal activity have significantly reduced the power of Cosa Nostra, breaking its traditional top-down structure. Cosa Nostra continues to be looking for leadership which, after the death of Salvatore Riina in 2017, appears to have never been reconstituted. The reconstruction of the Dia is clear: “Engaged in cyclical changes and attempts at stabilization between the new and old generations, Cosa Nostra has adopted a coordination model based on the sharing of guidelines and on collegial and ‘intermandatory’ operational management. In the Sicilian regional context, Cosa Nostra is flanked by other organized associations of mafia origin. Particular importance should be attributed to the Stidda, historically born in opposition to Cosa Nostra, currently rather inclined towards non-belligerent strategies, preferring agreements on sharing and dividing up the resources. illicit business.
Eastern Sicily continues to be characterized by a more varied plurality of cliques, constituting real articulations of Cosa Nostra and other criminal organizations, with the same mafia connotation, but distinct from Cosa Nostra. Considering the complex relationships between the Cosa Nostra families and the other clans present in eastern Sicily, the current criminal balances are characterized by “variable geometry” structures, due to the fluidity of the criminal leaderships and the illegal businesses that are the subject of dispute or the reason for alliances and truces between the different clans. The judicial activities highlight the preference of Cosa Nostra and other Sicilian mafia organizations to infiltrate business and entrepreneurial environments where they can use the huge illicit capital at their disposal. Law enforcement activities have also confirmed “traditional” illicit interests in drug trafficking, extortion, online gaming and betting. Drugs remain one of the safest sources of income for the Sicilian mafias, guaranteeing cooperative relationships.
