The members of the criminal syndicate dismantled by the Caserta Carabinieri on the orders of the investigating judge of the Santa Maria Capua Vetere Court specialized in scams targeting elderly people, who often lived alone. All of the suspects were Neapolitans, five of whom were jailed, the other three under house arrest. The charges include criminal conspiracy to defraud the elderly.
The investigation, coordinated by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Santa Maria Capua Vetere, has uncovered at least 86 scams carried out throughout the Campania provinces using a tried-and-tested modus operandi, already revealed in operations conducted last year, when the Carabinieri arrested twenty alleged scammers, some of them in flagrante delicto, as in the case of the January 2017 scam against the 79-year-old widow of former mayor of Pagani (Salerno), Marcello Torre, who was killed by the Camorra in December 1980. Among those arrested were 48-year-old Vincenzo Tipaldi and 26-year-old Francesco Palladini, the man responsible for the scam against Torre's widow. It emerged that the victims were followed by members of the group, who studied their habits and relationships with relatives and neighbors; the next step was to contact the intended victim. The ringleaders, 45-year-old Gennaro Altamura and his sons Raffaele, 21, and Edgardo, 23, called the victims and kept them on the line, preventing them from calling their real relatives. The scammer posed as the elder's nephew, asking them to prepare some money because a courier would soon arrive to deliver a product to be paid for. The accomplices assigned to the executive roles then took action, those who introduced themselves to the victims by impersonating the couriers. The fake couriers often called the intended victim to obtain their address. The courier-swindler then showed up at the victim's home and delivered a package, usually containing shower gel, socks, or computer products such as a mouse. In exchange, he demanded sums of money ranging from €1000 to €3000. A particularly telling example is a phone call intercepted by Carabinieri officers led by Captain Andrea Cinus during a similar investigation that led to 15 arrests last June. "Grandma," the scammer said, "give me 1500 euros, fifteen times 100," the man specified since the elderly woman hadn't heard him clearly. "You don't have them? Then take all the gold items, they'll come and take them; then I'll come by today, give you the money, and take back the jewelry," he added. Victims showed little cooperation, often failing to report the crime out of shame.
Article published on April 10, 2018 - 14:33 PM - News Desk
