Over 300 carabinieri from the provincial command of Catania are carrying out personal precautionary measures against 17 people in the provinces of Catania, Syracuse and Teramo, accused in various capacities of mafia association, association aimed at drug trafficking and dealing, disturbed freedom of auctions with the aggravating circumstances of the mafia method and corruption.
The investigation, called “Athena”, coordinated by the District Attorney’s Office of the Republic of Catania and conducted by the Carabinieri of Paternò, started from the complaint of a local entrepreneur, threatened by some mafiosi to have him withdraw a plot of land from auction.
The criminal dynamics and top elements of the “Morabito-Rapisarda” group (attributable to the Catania “Laudani” clan), operating in the Paternò area, are in the spotlight.
The mafia in judicial auctions, the pact between the clans | Video
The modus operandi is emblematic, which would have foreseen the “physical” intervention of associates during the sales procedures, to remove the participants even with violence, guaranteeing the “customers” of the clan the purchase or return to possession of the goods. The “successful” auctions would have guaranteed the consortium substantial profits, also shared with the “Assinata” group (part of the Cosa Nostra family from Catania “Santapaola-Ercolano”), proving a “cohabitation” pact.
Also involved in one of the “piloted auctions” was a lawyer from Syracuse who, as a sales representative, during a judicial enforcement procedure, allegedly favored the awarding of an apartment to the son of the man who had turned to the mafia association . Among the illicit activities of the “Morabito-Rapisarda” there is also the trafficking and retail dealing of drugs. During the investigations, a total of approximately 71 kg of narcotic substances including marijuana and cocaine were seized, arresting 8 people in flagrante delicto.
Tags: Mafia threats pollute judicial auctions arrests lawyer involved
