Strax wrote: ↑Fri Nov 03, 2023 3:12 am
Apparently on top of 'super mafia' was Alfonso Giardino, he spoke ten languages and had close relationships with the authorities of the West African countries.Wiretaps from phone reveal he was close to General Aziz, former prime minister in Saddam Hussein's government. He also got tons of steel and iron to Russia with his own ships. I have no idea who this guy was, first time i hear about him.
https://www.corriere.it/cronache/23_nov ... acdd.shtml
Strax great find! Here is a translation of the article
ISOLA CAPO RIZZUTO (Crotone) You wouldn't know it if you saw it in the picture. Yet the Lombard mafia system, which emerged with Operation Hydra (154 arrest requests, but only 11 ordered by the investigating magistrate), revolved around the figure of Alfonso Giardino, an elderly fixer with a cap, originally from Isola Capo Rizzuto, in the Crotone area. A "new" character in the Lombardy-Calabrian criminal scene, who has managed to line up a series of illegal activities from Mauritania, based mainly on the import of fuel, steel and iron.
Giardino, who died long before the operation began, spoke ten languages and had close relations with the authorities of the West African country. Everyone respected him, from the commander of the local police to the customs officials and, as the Sicilian Gioacchino Amico said, one of the arrested, intercepted on the phone, could also "call General Aziz", former prime minister in Saddam Hussein's government, who would "guarantee" him anonymity, laissez-passer and authorizations for their trafficking. His knowledge of languages would have helped Giardino to weave relationships with foreign criminals and, in particular, with Africans. The friendships served above all to obtain dual citizenship for various exponents of the Lombard mafia system which was composed of the Sicilians Gioacchino Amico, Antonio Galioto, Raimondo Orlando and Pietro Mannino; by the 'Ndranghetists Antonio Romeo, Massimo Rosi and Nicodemo Rispoli, "referents" of the Legnano and Lonate Pozzolo club, an expression of the Cirò clan.
Thanks to his connections with the gendarmerie of Mauritania, Alfonso Giardino had made it clear to Amico and Mannino that it would be possible to obtain residence and passport from that country which would be needed in case of escape for possible arrests, since in Mauritania, there is no extradition. The fee to be paid to obtain the documents was 30,760 ouguiyas, about <> euros. Same amount to rent a house. Alfonsino, as everyone called him, had a gentle manner and was able to reassure and make everyone agree. In one of the last intercepted summits, the man had reassured the members of the Ndrangheta clubs and the Sicilians that he would even manage to get tons of steel and iron to Russia, starting from Mauritania, with his own ship. He had also set up a company in Nouakchott, the country's capital, that dealt with fresh and frozen fish products. And he thought of hiring Raimondo Orlando as commercial director, to cover up a possible fugitive, escaping arrest by the Milan prosecutor's office.
Here is another article from the same thread
A maxi investigation that lasted more than three years and the hypothesis of a sort of consortium of the mafias in Lombardy with the 'Ndrangheta, Cosa Nostra and Camorra sitting at the same table to manage business and power. A thesis that, however, is shattered against the judgment of the judge for preliminary investigations who rejects 142 requests for precautionary measures out of 153, ordering only 11 arrests. And above all, by rejecting not only the theory of the "super mafia" but also the existence of individual associations, at least as they have been reconstructed by investigators and the prosecutor. The judge speaks of a serious lack of evidence and of "excessively meagre elements regarding the association". In essence, the reconstruction of the magistrates, i.e. the existence of a confederal mafia body active in Milan, has not been proven.
'Ndrangheta, Cosa Nostra and Camorra
The Hydra investigation, named after the multi-headed mythological monster, was instructed by the DDA prosecutor Alessandra Cerreti under the coordination of the deputy prosecutor Alessandra Dolci and the prosecutor Marcello Viola. The carabinieri of the Investigative Unit of Milan and Varese have first reconstructed the phases of the reorganization of the 'Ndrangheta club in Lonate Pozzolo (Va) following the 2019 Krimisa blitz, also thanks to the collaboration of Emanuele and Salvatore De Castro, father and son. But the investigation immediately expanded to a "confederative" system with the participation of Calabrian and Sicilian clans and the Camorra, Roman in particular, in a single control, coordination and command body. A theorem that the prosecutor, however, despite the heavy rejection arrived by the investigating judge Tommaso Perna, tries to relaunch with an appeal to the Review already presented in recent days to ask for the arrest of the 143 suspects who remained at large (they were served with notices of guarantee today). In fact, already last spring, after the capture of Matteo Messina Denaro, the investigators were ready to urgently carry out 153 arrests. These measures were then stopped, after long discussions in the prosecutor's office and at the National Anti-Mafia Directorate, with the decision to proceed with the pre-trial detention orders. According to the anti-mafia prosecutor's office, the "consortium of Milanese mafias" – a term that had already appeared with different nuances in the <>s with the Autoparco investigation, which was then largely aborted – is made up of various clans. Among others, those linked to the Lonate Pozzolo club, the Desio club (Iamonte clan) and the Romeo family (called Staccu, from the nickname of the progenitor Sebastiano) of San Luca, for the 'ndrangheta.
For Cosa Nostra, on the other hand, there are the "historic" Fidanzati cosca dell'Acquasanta of Palermo, partly migrated to Milan, and above all the Castelvetrano, with the loyalists of the former fugitive Matteo Messina Denaro. During the investigation, the carabinieri came very close to the fugitive's hideout a few weeks before his capture. On this front there is the "Milanese" rib represented by Paolo Errante Parrino, known as Uncle Paolo, a 77-year-old from Abbiategrasso, well connected in local politics (there are meetings with the mayor Cesare Nai in his slot room on record). However, the measure was also rejected for him. Also on the Sicilian front there are the "carcagnusi" from Catania, close to the boss Santo Mazzei known as 'u carcagnusu, and the stiddari of Gela active in the area of Busto Arsizio (two members of the Nicastro family are in prison). On the Camorra front, on the other hand, there are the alleged emissaries of the Sienese clan, rooted above all in Rome.
During the investigation, the investigators photographed and reconstructed several meetings and contacts with local and national politicians. On file there is a meeting with the then deputy and now undersecretary of education Paola Frassinetti and with Senator Carmela Bucalo, both of Fratelli d'Italia. The meeting took place in Rome during a lunch. According to the investigations, Gioacchino Amico was present, arrested on Wednesday, considered by the prosecutor to be one of the top points of the mafia consortium, although the thesis was rejected by the judge. In the investigation, there are contacts that some people close to the suspects would have had with the current Minister of Tourism Daniela Santanchè, in particular for a party headquarters in Corso Buenos Aires in Milan. The group said it also had contacts with former regional councillor Monica Rizzi, with former city councillor Pietro Tatarella, who was recently acquitted of all charges in the Soup Kitchen investigation, and with former regional councillor Mario Mantovani. At the local level, links have emerged with the former deputy mayor of Vigevano Antonello Galiani, with the mayor of Abbiategrasso and other political exponents of the town. In all cases, these are contacts that are not considered criminally relevant, none of the politicians are under investigation.
The various groups, according to the prosecutor's thesis not accepted by the investigating magistrate, would have created a single body with the participation of the various emissaries to found a stable and structured organization, with systems of self-help and sustenance of the detainees. All this by creating a series of companies to take advantage of the 110 building bonuses, for Covid funds to businesses, to commit extortion, to traffic weapons and drugs, to import oil from Africa, to manage hospital parking lots and car supplies in a common way and thanks to "white collars". A case of white wolf also emerged in the investigations: the disappearance of Gaetano Cantarella known as Tano 'u curt. The assessment of the investigating judge Perna also dismissed most of the fine crimes, rejecting the precautionary measures for the too much time that has elapsed since the facts or for lack of evidence. On the other hand, seizures of more than 225 million euros have been ordered.
And another
"There is no confederation system of the mafias in Lombardy." There is no evidence that the 'Ndrangheta, Cosa Nostra and Camorra sit at the same table sharing "contacts with representatives of the political, institutional, business, banking worlds, in order to obtain favors, confidential information, disbursements of loans (such as the 110 bonus), network of relationships."
Judge Tommaso Perna rejects the DDA's argument that "for the first time" it hypothesized the existence of a single top body among the different mafias present in Lombardy. And for this reason it rejects 142 of the 153 requests for precautionary measures of the Hydra investigation of the carabinieri of Milan and Varese under the coordination of the prosecutor Alessandra Cerreti, the head of the DDA Alessandra Dolci and the prosecutor Marcello Viola. Eleven arrests, only for "minor" crimes (weapons, drugs, etc.) without mafia association. Even if the judge orders seizures for 225 million. A portion of the companies' alleged revenues.
The prosecutor's office has already appealed to the Review, convinced of the goodness of its work and that of the carabinieri (read the prosecutors' comment: "So the fight against the clans takes a step back 30 years").
According to the Hydra investigation, the three mafias were represented by different groups: the 'Ndrangheta linked to the Lonate Pozzolo club, to that of Desio (Iamonte clan) and to the Romeo Staccu family (from the nickname of the progenitor Sebastiano) of San Luca. For Cosa Nostra, on the other hand, there are the "historic" Fidanzati (Stefano and Giuseppe), a clan of the Acquasanta of Palermo that partly migrated to Milan, and above all the people of Castelvetrano, with the loyalists of the former fugitive Matteo Messina Denaro. During the investigation, the carabinieri came close to the fugitive's hideout a few weeks before his capture. On this front there is the "Milanese" rib represented by Paolo Errante Parrino, known as Uncle Paolo, 77 years old from Abbiategrasso, well integrated in local politics (there are meetings with the mayor Cesare Nai, who is not under investigation). The measure was also rejected for him.
Then there are the "Carcagnusi" from Catania, close to the boss Santo Mazzei, and the stiddari of Gela active in the area of Busto Arsizio (two belonging to the Nicastro family are in prison). The Camorra, on the other hand, is represented by the alleged emissaries of the Sienese clan, rooted in Rome.
Already last spring, after the capture of Matteo Messina Denaro, investigators were ready to urgently carry out 153 arrests. These measures were then stopped, after long discussions in the prosecutor's office and at the National Anti-Mafia Directorate, with the decision to proceed with the pre-trial detention orders. During the investigation, the investigators photographed and reconstructed meetings and contacts with local and national politicians, all of whom were not investigated. Like the then deputy and now undersecretary of education Paola Frassinetti and Senator Carmela Bucalo, both of Fratelli d'Italia. The meeting took place in Rome during a lunch. According to the investigations, Gioacchino Amico was present, who ended up in handcuffs and considered by the prosecutor (but not by the investigating magistrate) to be one of the top points of the mafia consortium.
In the papers there is talk of a phone call like the current Minister of Tourism Daniela Santanchè, in particular for a headquarters of the FdI party in Corso Buenos Aires. The group also claimed to be close to former regional councillor Monica Rizzi, former city councillor Pietro Tatarella, former regional councillor Mario Mantovani and former deputy mayor of Vigevano Antonello Galiani. All these events are not considered criminally relevant.
