The gang of elderly scammers had made an estimated profit of around two and a half million euros by stealing money and jewelry, life savings and memories of loved ones, from the most defenseless people: the elderly of Rome, but also of Abruzzo and Puglia.
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The operational base of the paranza was at Largo Donnaregina in the heart of the Tribunali area. And it is no coincidence that the group was led by the 43-year-old Louis Julian son of William called 'o stuort and nephew of the repentant former boss Luigi Giuliano the King di Fork. And with him his brother-in-law Nuncio Maranta 37 years old and his mother-in-law Rosaria Maranta of 57 years.
Other top members of the group were Luigi Barbato, 46, and Teresa Esposito, 53, who, together with Maranta, had the task of “telephone operator”, but also of recruiting “tax collectors”. In her home, in Largo Donnaregina, some operational meetings were held and from where many of the phone calls to the victims were made.
The woman was also the custodian of most of the money and assets of the criminal organization, proceeds of the crimes and helped the bosses in the management and recruitment of associates.
The best "beaten" area was that of the Monti district in Rome where the incidents were so numerous that they became a real emergency. The Viminale Police Station, since the beginning of 2021, has been bombarded by complaints from citizens.
The most "beaten" area was that of the Monti district in Rome
The typical example was the system to deceive an 80-year-old woman living in via Panisperna. In the late morning of December 3, 2021, she was contacted on her landline by a certain “lawyer Cipriani” who informed her of a road accident caused by her daughter driving an uninsured car.
A very serious situation for which the girl risked a very serious complaint if the woman had not paid 20 thousand euros; a thousand to pay the insurance coverage and 19 thousand to compensate the woman who was hit and have her withdraw the complaint. In order to convince the old woman to pay, the fake lawyer made her hear a female voice crying and saying: "Help me mommy".
At that point the woman collected the money she had, 3.100 euros without ever hanging up the phone, assuring that she would go out to get more money. “The lawyer”, then, asked her for her cell phone number and the conversation went to the mobile line, keeping her busy on the phone until the ATM where she withdrew another 2 euros.
At that point the scammer told her that her son would come to her house and in fact, while the fake lawyer was still talking to her on the phone, a 40-year-old man knocked on the door; the old woman gave the man the money she had collected, over 4.200 euros, and went back to the bank to get it later. Only later, when her phone was free, was she able to call her daughter, discovering that she was unaware of everything.
This is the typical scam that Alessandro Minnini's men, director of the V section of the Rome Flying Squad, worked on, but also the one that started the investigation that allowed them to reconstruct the flourishing chain of the scam.ce presented by the elderly people of the area. The investigators found that the modus operandi was more or less always the same.
100 Jewels Scam to a 93-Year-Old in Ponte Milvio
Among other cases, the scam suffered by a 93-year-old in the Ponte Milvio area on November 11, 2021, from whom, with the same system, the criminals stole 4500 euros in cash and jewelry worth 100 thousand euros. This happened 66 more times until September 2022. In total, between jewelry and money, the organization robbed the elderly of a loot of about 2 and a half million euros.
Recovering a few pieces from each hit, the investigators of the police and the Rome Local Police closed the puzzle and reconstructed the entire chain that operated from Naples by making random phone calls in the area indicated by the informants. Probably dozens of phone calls before identifying the victim who fell into the trap and, after having convinced him to hand over money, the "team" of tax collectors who were in the area, knocked on the address and collected and then disappeared also destroying the cell phone used for the conversations.
(in the photo from top left all those arrested Luigi Giuliano, Nunzio Maranta, Maranta Rosaria, Luigi Barbato, Teresa Esposito and Guido Millucci. Bottom left to right Domenico Liguori, Mario Di Maio, Gennaro Buonocore, Gennaro and Fabio Buonavoglio)
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Article published on November 28, 2023 - 08:50
