Ruoppolo Teleacras - Licata, “Halycon” e “Assedio”: due condanne e sei assoluzioni

The Court of Agrigento convicted two defendants and acquitted six in the "Halycon" and "Assedio" investigations involving Licata. Report by Angelo Ruoppolo. On June 24, 2025, Public Prosecutor Claudio Camilleri addressed the Court at the Palace of Justice in Agrigento. He urged the Court to secure four convictions and four acquittals in the "Halycon" and "Assedio" investigations involving Licata and involving alleged connections and dealings between the Mafia, politics, and deviant Freemasonry. Specifically, the Palermo District Anti-Mafia Directorate recommended to the judges of the First Criminal Section of the Agrigento Court, presided over by Alfonso Malato, 12 years in prison each for three defendants: Vincenzo Bellavia, 41, accused of mafia association as the "treasurer" of the Licata family and a close associate of clan leader Angelo Occhipinti. And then there are brothers Gabriele Spiteri, 52, and Vincenzo Spiteri, 58, also alleged Occhipinti acolytes as debt collectors, charged with collecting the proceeds of their thievery. And then there's Antonino Cusumano, 49, a restaurateur, who is charged with aggravated aiding and abetting because his restaurant allegedly hosted Occhipinti clan summits. Then, acquittal: Angelo Bellavia, 71, an alleged member; Antonino Massaro, 67, an auto electrician, an alleged facilitator for allegedly removing bugs from a member's car; Salvatore Patriarca, 48, a businessman from Ragusa who held the contract for the demolition of illegal buildings in Licata and who allegedly suffered mafia pressure to carry out the work; and finally, Alberto Riccobene, 59, from Palma, an alleged facilitator for allegedly denying extortion for the sale of a moped. Now, the Court has handed down 12-year prison sentences each to brothers Gabriele and Vincenzo Spiteri. It also acquitted Antonino Cusumano, Alberto Riccobene, Angelo Bellavia, his son Vincenzo Bellavia, and Salvatore Patriarca. The statute of limitations for Antonino Massaro expired when the aggravating circumstance of aiding and abetting mafia association was not recognized. As part of the same investigation, regional official Lucio Lutri, a member of a Masonic lodge, and former Licata city councilor Giuseppe Scozzari have already been convicted.