The “Epicentro” maxi-trial will begin on 25 October in the bunker courtroom in Reggio Calabria concluded with the abbreviated procedure, in July 2022, with 54 convictions and 5 acquittals. I am A total of 56 defendants for whom the Court of Appeal has set the first hearing of the second degree trial and among these there are alleged bosses and followers of the city’s mafia families who ended up at the center of the investigations coordinated by the prosecutor Giovanni Bombardieri, by the deputy Stefano Musolino and by the deputies of the Dda Walter Ignazitto, Nicola De Caria and Giovanni Calamita. Mafia association, extortion and damage are the main allegations against members of the gangs De Stefano-Tegano-Molinetti, Libri, Condello, Barreca, Rugolino, Ficara, Latella and Zito-Bertuca.
In the first instance, the heaviest sentence, 23 years in prison, was imposed on Domenico Calabrò, believed to be the boss’s main adviser on life imprisonment Philip Barrecasentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment as well as Demetrio Condello, Carmine De Stefano, Orazio De Stefano, Antonio Libri and Luigi Molinetti known as “the Beast”.
In the first trial they had also been convicted Donatello Canzonieri (19 years and 8 months), Giandomenico Condello (18 years and 10 months), Giorgino De Stefano known as «Malefix» (12 years and 8 months), Paolo Rosario De Stefano (14 years), Edoardo Mangiola (18 years) , Alfonso Molinetti aged 65 (12 years and 2 months), Antonino Monorchio (16 years and 8 months), Carmine Polimeni (16 years) and Domenico Tegano (18 years).
In the reasons for the first sentence, the investigating judge Francesco Campagna had underlined that “the trial findings document the existence of a large confederation of gangs in the Reggio area”. Born from the investigations, «Malefix», “Metameria» and «Nuovo corso», the «Epicentro» maxi-trial is the continuation of the «Olimpia» and «Meta» trials. demonstrated that the control of extortion activities in the center of Reggio Calabria was the prerogative of the four gangs of the ‘Ndrangheta with greater specific criminal weight, specifically De Stefano, Tegano and Condello di Archi and the Libri di Cannavò clan».