Ruoppolo Teleacras - "Inferis", 28 arresti

Angelo Ruoppolo's report (  / 40129859538  ) Teleacras Agrigento, January 15, 2013. Anti-mafia raid by the Flying Squad, the Caltanissetta Anti-Mafia Directorate, and the Gela Police Station. 28 arrests. A clan competing with Cosa Nostra and the Stidda was dismantled. The murder of the Flying Squad's head, Giovanni Giudice, was planned. Here is the text: In Gela, Cosa Nostra has historically clashed with the Stidda, which flourished in the city in the province of Caltanissetta, later spreading to other provinces. The exchanges of Stidda hitmen between Porto Empedocle and Gela to carry out death missions against Cosa Nostra's enemies are well-known in the pages of judicial news. Now, in Gela, there is no longer just the "perfect bicameralism of the mafia," between Cosa Nostra and the Stidda, but there is also a "Third Pole" of organized crime. This is said to be the Alfieri clan, an armed group that the Caltanissetta Flying Squad, led by Giovanni Giudice, and the Gela Police Station dismantled today. The raid resulted in 28 arrests, 24 people in prison, and four others under house arrest. It was the so-called "Inferis" operation. The alleged criminal group was founded and led by Giuseppe Alfieri, who, from 2005 onward, allegedly fought to carve out a niche for himself in the illicit business landscape. The clan is said to be escalating and emerging, challenging the excessive power of the Stidda and establishing itself as independent from Cosa Nostra, of which Giuseppe Alfieri, however, has always claimed to be an ally. The new mafia "Third Pole" was allegedly involved in extortion, followed by loan sharking, theft of money and jewelry from homes, receiving stolen goods, and the fixing of fruit prices through unfair competition and the use of violence and threats. It also engaged in the collection of ferrous materials at the expense of merchants and artisans, and the illegal occupation and subsequent sale of public housing owned by the IACP. All of this was carried out using men, weapons, and vehicles, organized into teams, ready to steal cars, vans, equipment, and industrial vehicles, only to return them using the so-called "return horse" method, that is, for the payment of a ransom. Those arrested and in prison are: Giuseppe Alfieri, 50, and his relatives, including brothers, cousins, and nephews; Carmelo Sebastiano Alfieri, 65; Sebastiano Massimo Alfieri, 40; Gaetano Davide Alfieri, 37; Nunzio Alfieri, 26; and Vincenzo Alfieri, 37. Then, Maria Azzarelli, 45, her brother Salvatore Azzarelli, 35, and her cousin Vincenzo Azzarelli, 44. Then, Giuseppe Biundo, 33, Vincenzo Burgio, 43, Giuseppe Caci, 31, Rosario Consiglio, 47, Francesco D'Amico, 51, Francesco Giovane, 27, Rosario Moscato, 22, Giovanni D'Amico, 32, Luigi Nardo, 29, Giuseppe Palmieri, 22, Angelo Pirone, 32, and his brother Orazio Pirone, 26. Then, Fabio Russello, 32, Gianfranco Turco, 38, and Paolo Vitellaro, 22. Giuseppe Alfieri's wife, Antonella Bignola, 39, Giuseppe Vinci, 39, Salvatore Fidone, 45, and Domenico Rocca, 40, are under house arrest. The Alfieri clan's agenda also reportedly included a plan to kill the head of the Caltanissetta Flying Squad, Deputy Police Commissioner Giovanni Giudice. This is according to informer Emanuele Cascino. Giudice's murder was allegedly ordered by Giuseppe Alfieri himself. In the fall of 2006, between late September and early October, Cascino and two other clan members showed up at Giovanni Giudice's home in Gela, hiding a rifle. The three rang the intercom and invited Giovanni Giudice outside to complain about how they had been treated by the police during checks. The judge, however, appeared on the balcony and scolded them, thus disorienting them and causing them to desist from their murderous intentions.