Three “discounts” of sentences and two confirmations in the new appeal process after the Court of Cassation’s postponement for the “Return Horse” operation, i.e. the payment of a ransom for the return of the vehicle, which was discovered in 2021 in the Giostra district of Messina with an investigation conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office and the Financial Police. In October 2025 the Supreme Court annulled the entire appeal sentence with postponement. And yesterday the panel of the criminal appeal section chaired by judge Carmelo Blatti reshaped three sentences and confirmed two others. This is an excerpt from the proceedings concerning the five defendants who chose the summary procedure.
The first appeal sentence took place in December 2023. Yesterday’s second appeal sentence had this outcome: Alessio Nostro, acquittal on all charges and “continuation” with a previous sentence, final sentence of 4 years; Alfonso Gabriele Fratacci, acquittal on one charge, final sentence of one year, 9 months and 10 days; Nunzio Buscemi, acquittal on one charge, final sentence of one year, 3 months and 10 days (conditional suspension of sentence confirmed); Gaetano Batessa, confirmation of responsibility, final sentence 3 years, 6 months and 20 days; Pietro Micali, confirmation of responsibility, final sentence 3 years, 5 months and 10 days. The defendants were accused in various capacities of criminal conspiracy aimed at theft – the four suspects held most responsible -, and then of receiving stolen goods, money laundering and extortion. At the top of the organization was, according to the investigators, Alessio Nostro, who would have been the “promoter” of the group and would have participated “in the vast majority of fine crimes”.
The lawyers Luigi Gangemi, Salvatore Silvestro, Alessandro Billè, Alessandro Trovato, Cinzia Panebianco and Daniela Garufi assisted the defendants.