Spada Clan: 3 life sentences and 14 sentences for 147 years in prison

In Ostia, the neighborhood of Rome that overlooks the sea, a mafia clan was active. This is what the Rome Assize Court ruled, which convicted 17 members and affiliates of the Spada clan, also handing down three life sentences to those who, according to the Rome Prosecutor's Office, are the undisputed leaders of the organization: Carmine Spada, known as Romoletto, Roberto Spada, already convicted for the affair involving the newspaper to a RAI journalist, and Ottavio Spada, known as Marco. In total, after more than 10 hours of deliberation, the judges handed down sentences totalling 147 years in prison and acquitted 7 defendants. The crimes charged range from mafia-style association to murder, extortion and loan sharking. Mayor Virginia Raggi and Anti-Mafia Commission President Nicola Morra were also awaiting sentencing in the Rebibbia prison bunker. "This ruling," Raggi commented immediately, "recognizes that the mafia exists on the coast of Rome. We can talk about the mafia in Rome. I thank the judiciary and law enforcement, and especially those citizens who report crime. I am here to stand by those citizens. Restore confidence in honest citizens who have been afraid for too long." Among the sentences, 16 years were given to Ottavio Spada, known as Maciste, 9 years to Nando De Silvio, known as Focanera, and 8 years to Ruben Alvez del Puerto, also involved in the attack on the RAI journalist. However, Armando Spada, Enrico Spada, Roberto Spada, known as Ziba (namesake of the man sentenced to life imprisonment), Francesco De Silvio, Sami Serour, Stefano De Dominicis and Roberto Sassi were acquitted. The trial is linked to the arrests that took place on January 25, 2018. According to investigators, the criminal gang had, in effect, "taken over" a portion of the city. A clan that, according to the prosecution, carried out a real attack on the territory: "a criminal conspiracy," the investigating judge wrote in the pre-trial detention order, "that caused profound degradation" in the Ostia area, "allowing the spread of extremely serious crimes that damaged basic goods." A mafia that bases its "power on its family-based organization and the division of responsibilities." The arrests in January last year were also made possible thanks to the contribution of four collaborators of justice. For investigators, "Romoletto," 52, can count on a first-rate criminal record with distant connections to members of the Magliana Gang. The "bosses" sentenced to life imprisonment are accused, among other things, of being the instigators of the Galleoni-Antonini double homicide that occurred in 2011. An event that for investigators represents a turning point in the criminal structures of Ostia with the "progressive erosion of the Baficchio criminal power" and the "definitive rise of the Spada clan." For "Romoletto's" defense attorney, Mario Girardi, today's sentence "is pure madness: this decision is a disgrace, unacceptable in any aspect. We will appeal."