Naples, money laundering for the Contini clan, the referral to trial of all defendants requested

Naples, the first strand of the maxi trial against the 140 defendants linked to the Contini clan, accused primarily of Camorra association and money laundering, has begun and was immediately postponed.

The preliminary hearing took place before the G.U.P. Nicola Marrone. The Naples Public Prosecutor's Office has requested the acquisition of further activities carried out against Michael Tecchia, with further seizures made to confirm the investigative activity carried out. The defendant, among other things, had requested a plea bargain through his lawyer.

The defense attorneys for all the defendants unanimously opposed the acquisition of this new evidence. The prosecutor Alexandra Converse of Dda of Naplesi, in his two-hour closing speech, in addition to illustrating the new evidence collected against the defendants, concluded by requesting that all the defendants be sent for trial.

The defense asked for a new term in defense to be able to evaluate the reasons of the Court of Cassation on the appeals presented by the Defense and the Prosecutor's Office concerning the precautionary requirements.
The Gup has adjourned the hearing to the next July 15st to be able to express their opinion on the new objections and on any discussions of the defence, party speeches.

The maxi trial arises from an investigation that last January led to 82 precautionary measures and revolves around the figures of the well-known Neapolitan entrepreneur Salvatore D'Amelio (owner of the Minimal brand) and of the family party that is, the relatives of his wife Maria, for an alleged round of dirty money, according to the investigators – coming from Contini clan ofSecondigliano alliance – recycled in businesses of the Campania economic fabric and beyond.

The list includes members of the Contini clan, compliant entrepreneurs, front men, business intermediaries, for a dizzying amount of money that led the Carabinieri and the Finance Police to also carry out a series of seizures for a total of 8,4 million euros.

The crimes contested by the investigators are various: counterfeiting and marketing of watches with a counterfeit brand, fictitious registration of assets, undue compensations, fraudulent transfer of values, money laundering, self-laundering and reinvestment of large amounts of capital, issuing and use of false invoices, fraudulent declarations through other devices, false declarations, undue compensation, possession and trafficking of firearms, aggravated extortion, assault and attempted murder, all aggravated by the mafia method to favor the powerful clan of the Contini Clan of the Secondigliano Alliance (Mallardo and Licciardi).

The defense team includes lawyers Arturo Cola, Gaetano Manzi, Giovanni Cerino, Vincenzo Romano, Claudio Davino, Massimo Viscusi, Domenico Vincenzo Ferraro, Gianluca Gambogi, Leopoldo Perone.