An alleged sect within which a criminal association was allegedly set up aimed at committing an “indeterminate series” of crimes such as fraud, extortion and sexual violence, against its members, has been identified by the Perugia police and the Department’s central operational service. Three men (the founder is Alfredo Mangone from Rossano) and a woman (Mangone’s partner) were arrested and under investigation for various reasons (three were executed while one will be extradited from abroad). Two other people are at large involved. The investigation, coordinated by the Prosecutor’s Office of the Umbrian capital, was started following a report received from the father of a member of the group.
The man reported that his son, in mid-2023, had started attending some alchemy courses with an elusive “master” and subsequently – the investigators explain in a note from the Prosecutor’s Office – he had moved within a structure of the group and had made monthly payments in favor of the same. He also said that he had left his job to follow the association, first in the province of Pesaro Urbino and then in Umbria, completely interrupting any relationship with friends and family. The police thus identified the alleged association in which subjects operated with well-defined names, “master”, “maestra”, “shaman”, “healer”, who allegedly participated in the activity of the sect. It also emerged that the association was organised, with different roles for each member, such as guide, recruitment officer, with solicitation tasks using techniques aimed at gaining the trust of potential followers, threats of consequences in case of abandoning the path, responsible for carrying out the rites within the sect and, finally, responsible for the alleged healing practices.
Furthermore, checks on bank accounts made it possible to ascertain that monthly payments and donations were made to the association over time by members for a total value of over 500,000 euros. Money – investigators believe – was then partly used by the suspects for the purchase of cars (some luxury), payment for jewellery, restaurants and more. To obtain payments and induce them not to abandon the association, the suspects allegedly resorted to manipulation techniques, threats of spiritual repercussions, illness or bad luck and promises of salvation. Further investigative investigations led to the conclusion that a 56-year-old man, through abuse of authority, would have taken advantage of his role as “teacher” and of the particularly vulnerable emotional situation of a member, to force her to undergo several sexual relations, leading the latter to believe that it was a necessary practice for the purification of the soul. For two other suspects, with “marginal” roles within the association, the investigators are walking free for criminal association, fraud and extortion. Three of those arrested were locked up in the prisons of Perugia and Poggioreale. However, one of them, found to be living abroad, will proceed with extradition.