The Provincial Command of the Financial Police of Reggio Calabria has implemented a provision of the Court of Appeal. which ordered the definitive confiscation of individual businesses, companies, real estate assets, cars, banking and financial relationships and luxury watches, for a total value of over 20 million euros.
This ablative measure was applied at the conclusion of a patrimonial investigation, developed by the GICO of the PEF Unit of Reggio Calabria, following the investigations conducted as part of the “Araba Fenice” operation, directed by the local District Anti-Mafia Directorate.
The criminal cartel involved
Investigative context in which the involvement of a “criminal cartel” emerged made up of prominent exponents of the ‘Ndrangheta gangs Chirico, Musolino, Ficara-Latella, Rosmini, Fontana-Saraceno, Ficareddi, Condello and Nicolò-Serraino engaged in the completion works of numerous buildings constructed in the southern area of Reggio Calabria.
The agreement on the division of the work
The purpose of the aforementioned “criminal agreement” was to achieve an “equitable” division of the completion works of the relevant real estate complex in question, allowing the territorial ‘Ndrangheta branches to illicitly realize profits and advantages in favor of “mafia companies”, also through the “liquidation” of the clean companies that were already participating in the construction works.
The “boss” entrepreneur turned justice collaborator
In particular, an entrepreneur from Reggio (later to become a collaborator of justice) was elevated as a key figure of the illicit system who, also participating and supervising summits in which the “mafia division” was decided and agreed upon, was responsible for distributing and assigning the aforementioned completion works of the buildings built by a company of which he was a “hidden partner” (i.e. earthworks, flooring, plastering, installation of electrical systems, plumbing and air conditioning) to various companies attributable to the aforementioned ‘Ndrangheta families.
And this, also through a whole series of fictitious registrations of companies and real estate and by protecting the accounting system of his “de facto corporate group” through the issuing and receiving of an indeterminate series of invoices for non-existent operations, which allowed the aforementioned to obtain the “balance” of the accounting of the firms and companies attributable to him, in such a way that they continued to be operational on the market and capable of generating unfair profits and advantages.
Assets subjected to confiscation
As a result of the various levels of judgement, the entire company assets of 2 individual companies, 3 partnerships, as well as the shares of a joint-stock company, 6 properties, a car, cash amounting to 53,650.00 euros, 8 precious watches, for a total value estimated at over 20 million euros were definitively confiscated.
The names
The definitive confiscation order was issued by the Court of Appeal against Giuseppe Stefano Tito Liuzzo, 58 years old, Serena Assumma, 42 years old, and the entrepreneurs Antonio Pavone, 65 years old, and Salvatore Saraceno, 69 years old.