Convictions of over three centuries in prison were inflicted by the Bologna magistrate, Andrea Salvatore Romito, following the shortened part of the trial resulting from the anti-drug operation called “Emilian Aspromonte”. The magistrate essentially accepted the requests formulated by the deputy prosecutor of the Bologna anti-mafia prosecutor’s office, Roberto Ceroni, imposing sentences for a total of 338 years and 10 months of imprisonment for 35 defendants (for all, except two, the measure of probation was ordered for three years once the sentence has been served). Furthermore, ten defendants were acquitted of some of the charges against them for not having committed the crime.
Among the sentences, the 20-year prison sentence stands out against Giuseppe Romeo (born 1986), known as “Maluferru”, a former super fugitive arrested in Spain in 2021 and considered by the Emilian prosecutor’s office to be the “undisputed summit of the group” and considered a “subject of very significant importance.” To the 38 year old Romeo, as noted by his defender, lawyer. Leone Fonte, in the trial the aggravating mafia charge contested by the prosecution was excluded, which indicated him as an alleged member of the Romeo di San Luca family, as had already happened in the “European ‘ndrangheta connection – Pollino” trial which ended in the Supreme Court with Romeo being sentenced to 10 years in prison for two episodes linked to drug trafficking, aggravated by the large quantity, but acquitted of the charge of being part of a drug association.
The names
The Bologna preliminary hearing judge, who reserved the 90-day deadline for filing the motivation, ordered the following sentences in detail: Teresa Alfi 5 years; Francesco Barbera 12 years old; Simone Bumbaca 6 years old; Giuseppe Cardaciotto 14 years old; Giuseppe Cistaro 14 years old; Giuseppe Condello 18 years old; Niko Costanzo 6 years old; Pietro Costanzo 20 years old; Rosario Costanzo 8 years old; Alessio Drago 12 years old; Claudio Fava 10 years old; Vincenzo Ferrinda 10 years old; Luca Frustillo 3 years; Giovanni Generoso 7 years old; Fortunato Giorgi 16 years old; Giuseppe Giorgi (born 1996) 10 years; Giuseppe Giorgi (born 2000) 10 years; Nertil Hoxhaj 12 years old; Gennaro Lonetti 15 years old; Massimiliano Masi 10 years old; Domenico Napoli 9 years and 4 months; Daniele Pezzella 6 years old; Emiliano Ponticelli 1 year; Francesco Procopio 12 years old; Ervin Proshka 9 years and 4 months; Giuseppe Romeo (born 1986) 20 years old; Costanzo Sanna 6 years and 8 months; Francesca Santoriello 3 years; Michele Saracino 12 years old; Francesco Silipo 18 years old; Francesco Sirto 3 years; Ottavio Sirto 3 years; Ankeloid Tuci 12 years old; Francesco Ventura 4 years and 6 months); Chunxiong Ye 1 year. Finally, Judge Romito ordered the confiscation of all the assets subject to seizure.
The investigation
The “Aspromonte Emiliano” investigation, taken in May 2023, mainly concerned the trafficking of cocaine, hashish and marijuana, and was conducted by the economic-financial police unit of the Guardia di Finanza of Bologna which, after 2 years of investigations, considered to have identified the existence of a criminal association which would have been composed of people belonging to or close to the ‘Ndrangheta of Reggio, in particular of San Luca, and of the Crotone. According to investigators, some of the defendants who operated in Italy had direct contact with Colombian drug cartels, including the Gulf Cartel, to which, for the sale of drugs, they allocated cash money which was provided by Chinese criminals who received the money in bank accounts in China and Hong Kong.