The Reggio preliminary hearing judge ordered the indictment of 16 suspects as part of one of the lines of the “Millennium” investigation, accepting the request made by the DDA led by Giuseppe Borrelli, with the deputies Lombardo, Campagnaro and Fava. The trial takes place before the Collegiate Court of Locri, presided over by Ada Vitale, with the first hearing set for September 10th.
Those indicted for trial are: Antonio Barbaro (born 1990), Rosario Barbaro (born 1940), Leonardo Capogreco, Domenico Caruso, Pietro D’Aguì, Vincenzo Demasi, Francesco Ietto, Salvatore Mangiaruga, Santo Modaffari, Maria Romeo, Francesco Sansalone, Antonio Sciarrone, Bruno Sergi, Michele Sergi, Domenico Zappia (born 1974) and Domenico Zucco.
The investigation, started in 2018, has explored the entire territory of the three districts of the province of Reggio and involves a total of 64 suspects in this section. The charges, for various reasons, include mafia association, drug trafficking, aiding and abetting, drug dealing, attempted extortion and other crimes.
Among the offended parties identified in this section include the Ministry of the Interior, the Region and various private individuals and companies.
The operation was conducted by the investigative units of the Carabinieri of the Provincial Command of Reggio and of the Locri Group, together with the Operational Section of the Locri Company, under the coordination of the DDA.
At the center of the investigation emerges the alleged operation of the Barbaro-Castani gang, historically rooted in Platì and with ramifications as far as Northern Italy. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the group exercised its intimidating force through extortion, damage with weapons and explosives, laundering and reinvestment of illicit capital, as well as a complex drug trafficking with transnational projections.
The investigations also brought to light what investigators define as the “Castani System”, a mechanism for controlling public procurement which, starting from Platì, extended to Lombardy. The aim was to «directly and indirectly acquire the management and/or control of economic activities, in particular in the construction sector», as well as to obtain «directly (through the stipulation of various subcontracting contracts) and indirectly (through collusive agreements, violations of subcontracting, violation of “cold” rental contracts, hoarding of supplies and abusive guardianship), the management or in any case the control of concessions, authorizations, public contracts (total hoarding or in any case under the monopoly regime of the various tenders announced by various local authorities for construction works)”. Wiretaps carried out in Ardore would confirm the interest of the alleged criminal association in these economic sectors. A specific report from the investigative unit of the Carabinieri of Reggio highlighted how the system of taxation of supplies extended from Platì to Lombardy”, outlining a model of structured and persistent economic control. All investigative hypotheses will now be examined in the trial which will take place according to the ordinary procedure.
A substantial part of the suspects in this line have chosen the abbreviated trial, currently being defined before the district magistrate Cristina Foti.
