CN24 | VARESE | Decimata la cosca Farao-Marincola di Cirò Marina. Maxioperazione in Lombardia

Thursday, April 23, 2009 | In this edition of Report24: VARESE | Major operation in Lombardy. 39 arrests Farao-Marincola clan from Cirò Marina decimated More arrests for the Ndrangheta. Today it was the turn of the Carabinieri of the Varese Provincial Command to carry out yet another blow against the Calabrian clans. In just four days, approximately 100 members of the clans from the provinces of Reggio Calabria and Crotone ended up in handcuffs. During the operation called "Bad Boys," in Lombardy, at dawn, the Carabinieri arrested 39 members of the Farao-Marincola clan from Cirò Marina, which operated in the provinces of Varese and Milan, particularly in the areas of Lonate Pozzolo, Busto Arsizio, Gallarate, Malpensa, and Legnano. The arrests were made throughout the country. According to the investigation, the criminal group "had carried out a veritable conquest of the territory in order to maximize its economic potential." The investigation began in 2005 following the murders of three members of the same organization: Cataldo Murano, Giuseppe Russo, and Alfonso Murano. The organization exploited a pyramid structure that had allowed it to build a network of individuals affiliated with the 'Ndrangheta and independent contractors in Lombardy, despite the organization's strong mafia roots. The Lombard group was headed by Vincenzo Rispoli, 47, from Ciro', in the province of Crotone. Alongside the more strictly mafia-related organization, there was another, purely criminal organization led by Antonio Esposito. The group engaged in extortion against merchants, who were punished if they disobeyed orders. The investigation also revealed a case of attempted murder, as well as exploitation of prostitution, extortion of public places and businesses in Varese and Legnano, robbery, loan sharking, arson, arms and explosives trafficking, and money laundering, all aimed at the meticulous accumulation of capital destined for laundering in Italy and abroad.