Vincenzo Saetta's clan had transformed the historic Spaccanapoli Pizzeria of Viareggio into a real drug hub.
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In the pizzeria, large quantities of cocaine and hashish were packaged and purchased from other clans in Naples. The drugs were distributed to middlemen who then distributed them extensively to street pushers operating in the western part of Tuscany. This morning, the DDA cracked down on a Camorra hub for the trafficking and wholesale distribution of drugs in Tuscany, on the western coast on the Pisa-Viareggio-Versilia axis, in an operation with dozens of searches and 14 precautionary measures carried out by the DDA of Florence with the Carabinieri and the Fiamme gialla of Lucca.
The measures concern subjects reached in Viareggio, Napoli and Pisa. Four go to prison, five are under house arrest, and the other nine are under house arrest. The charge is criminal association for drug trafficking, but the carabinieri clearly refer to a “criminal group of Camorra origin”.
The presence of the mafia in Versilia is a redundant phenomenon since the 70s with the first installations caused by what was the forced stay. In this investigation, on a line parallel to that of drugs, the banking and patrimonial investigations carried out by the Guardia di Finanza have highlighted that the headquarters of the suspects, where, according to the DDA, they organized meetings to plan illicit business, was in the historic Balena bathing establishment, one of the oldest in Italy, the first state concession in Viareggio.
The current management, investigative sources emphasize, is new, it has been there for a few months and is totally unrelated to the investigations, the Balena beach club has no longer been available to the suspects for some time. But, according to the DDA, after individuals close to the suspects took over its management from the historically owning family - the drug investigations began in March 2021 - the Balena has become a meeting place for criminal business. Meetings that investigators believe are managed by Vincenzo Saetta, today among the 14 recipients of the measures carried out.
Saetta was subjected to the precautionary measure of prison and is a well-known figure in the criminal panorama of Tuscany, always in the western area of the region, since he had already been definitively sentenced for the crime of usury aggravated by the mafia method but, once released, he continued his activities.
As for the trafficking of cocaine, hashish and marijuana brought to light by this investigation, large loads were purchased by established clans Napoli, transported in 'clean' cars and drivers to Viareggio and managed there in the back of a pizzeria, the Spaccanapoli, now closed, which acted as an undercover logistics base for distribution to intermediaries active in Versilia, who then entrusted the retail sale to pushers active in the streets and pine forests.
The dirty money would have been reinvested in Tuscany but the investigations coordinated by the PM Luca Tescaroli are in full swing. 100 carabinieri and 30 soldiers from the Lucca financial police have been engaged in this operation since dawn. About ten Rolex watches and other drugs with a significant weight were seized during the day.
Recycling through the Il Balena bathing establishment in Viareggio
Instead, on the subject of money laundering in Tuscany, the Guardia di Finanza carried out banking and asset investigations which revealed that criminals, among other assets, had purchased a historic beach resort in Viareggio, one of the oldest in Italy, the Balena.
The bathroom, it is specified, is no longer available to the suspects since the Lucca court in recent weeks, after the summer season, assigned it to a new owner who is completely unrelated to these events. In recent years, the Balena had become a meeting place for the criminal affairs of the Camorra on Tuscan coast.
The investigations, coordinated by District Anti-Mafia Directorate of Florence, were launched in March 2021 by the Investigative Unit of the Carabinieri of Lucca, to shed light on the alleged drug trafficking in the Versilia area.
The investigators' attention has focused on a group of people originally from Campania but long rooted in the province of Lucca, considered close to structured environments of organised crime of Camorra origin, operating between the provinces of Naples and Lucca.
Drugs purchased in Naples and sold in Versilia
The criminal association, managed in an "entrepreneurial" way, purchased large quantities of cocaine and hashish in bulk from members of the Camorra clan of Naples, to then package it inside a pizzeria in Viareggio and distribute it to the mediators of Versilia, who in turn gave it to the pushers for retail sale to countless customers.
The investigation revealed the particular cunning of the suspects who, to stock up on the huge quantities of narcotics, used different cars and unsuspecting people as well as the premises of a pizzeria during closing hours to package and divide the quantities. to be distributed to local pushers for subsequent retail sale.
During the investigation it was possible to ascertain how the criminal association, in just a few months, managed to sell numerous kilos of narcotic substances such as cocaine and hashish.
Jointly, always under the guidance of the DDA of Florence, have been delegated to the FYellow flames banking and financial investigations, aimed at corroborating the possible laundering of illicit capital by criminals in the acquisition, among other things, of a historic beach resort in Viareggio.
The Carabinieri and the Financial Police have ascertained that the historic Viareggio bath, one of the oldest in Italy (now no longer available to the suspects), was a meeting place for illicit business, which was managed by the main suspect, namely the founder of a well-known family from Campania who had been operating in Versilia for several years.
Vincenzo Saetta had already been convicted of usury
The head of the association, today subjected to a precautionary measure in prison, had already been definitively convicted for the crime of usury, aggravated by the mafia method.
The fruit of this important investigative activity was made possible thanks to the constant monitoring carried out by the DDA of Florence, which coordinated the investigative departments of the Carabinieri and the Guardia di Finanza.
Article published on 18 October 2022 - 21:09
