Political and business level acquitted, heavy sentences confirmed for the exponents of the Farao-Marincola di Cirò ‘Ndrangheta clan. Thus, the main chapter of the «Stige» trial against the Farao-Marincola gang of Cirò, which had revealed the monopolistic control of the gang over sectors such as bread, wine and waste, with ramifications in Germany, was definitively closed in the Court of Cassation.
The Supreme Court has decided on the positions of the defendants in the ordinary trial of 44 defendants. The sentence crystallizes the criminal hierarchy but reduces the accusations towards the so-called “grey zone”. According to the Court of Cassation, the hypothesis of an organic “pact” between the gang and the local economic and political fabric of the Cirotano area falls. 19 sentences become definitive, including a 24-year prison sentence for the historic boss of Cirò, Giuseppe Farao, aged 78.
The judges of Piazza Cavour rejected the appeal of the Attorney General’s Office, making the acquittals for 19 defendants definitive. The former mayors of Cirò Marina, Nicodemo Parrilla (former president of the Province of Crotone), and of Strongoli, Michele Laurenzano, leave the trial. They were acquitted because the fact does not exist. The General Prosecutor’s Office had also requested his acquittal. Their arrests caused the dissolution of the municipal councils. Full acquittal was also confirmed for the business sector involved in the investigation: among others, the not guilty of Antonio Giorgio Bevilacqua, Giuseppe Clarà, Cataldo Malena and Valentino Zito became definitive.
However, the accusatory system for the mafia association holds up. The sentences for the leaders of the Cirò and Strongoli gangs have become final: in addition to the boss Farao, final sentences for Salvatore Papaianni (14 years and 6 months), for the Strongoli boss Vincenzo Giglio (14 years and 3 months) and for the former Cirò Marina councilor Giuseppe Berardi (13 years), convicted of mafia association.
Michele Laurenzano’s statements
“A sentence that represents the end of a nightmare that began on the morning of January 9, 2018 when my family and I were woken up by the sound of sirens and the access of the police who carried out the precautionary custody measure against me in prison. The following day I resigned from the position of mayor of Strongoli. It was the beginning of the end of my political career as well as the start of the commissioner phase for my beloved Municipality and of that nightmare with which I lived in these years.
The sentence of the fifth section of the Supreme Court, first of all, restores the lost serenity to my family. My children and my wife have been my first thoughts and have been my greatest support in these years of human and professional suffering, during which I have never stopped believing in Justice. Thanks to the second degree judging panel and the legitimacy judges for having scrutinized the papers with attention and scrupulousness. Heartfelt thanks to the defense team, made up of lawyers Vincenzi Ioppoli, Pino Pitaro, Vittorio Ranieri and Giovanni Canino, who carried out a stubborn, tireless and accurate defense, indicative of undisputed professionalism, placing trust in me as a man and leaving nothing out in order to get to the truth. Today is the day of Truth, which certifies my Innocence.”