Naples. Giuseppe Esposito 'o zio, the leader of the Capodichino-based scam gang busted yesterday by an investigation by the Northern Naples Prosecutor's Office, which resulted in 15 arrests, compared himself to Maradona in a fit of self-aggrandizement. In recent years, the gang has committed hundreds of scams targeting seniors across Italy, earning a million euros a month.
It was last September 4th when he was talking on the phone with his accomplice Giuseppe Barretta who was about to go and commit a crime. fraud to the detriment of an elderly woman from the Traiano district, not knowing he was being intercepted, he says: "You're not arguing with ignoramuses. You're talking to someone who invented this profession. I'm like Maradona."
In another passage, the gang leader Giuseppe Esposito, also known as 'o pizzaiuolo, incited his accomplice by saying: “Should we make a splash or not?”. According to the investigators, based on the documents collected, Giuseppe Barretta had already stolen 2.700 euros from the victim, who at that moment was preparing another 2.500 euros “ready to be collected”.
This is also in the approximately 100 pages of the precautionary order signed by the investigating judge Mariangela Guida of the Court of Naples North in which the telephone interceptions and evidence against the 22 members of the gang are collected.
“I don't have to look anyone in the face”
To understand who we are talking about and their criminal level, just read this conversation between Cristian Tammaro, one of those arrested, and his father: “When I go to scam old ladies, when I get on trains… I say to myself: 'but what do I care about, I care about my father who is not good, my brother who is not good, I don't have to be good either, I don't have to look anyone in the face, like they did'”.
“We scammed you”
In another wiretap, also from last September, an elderly woman from Caivano reports to the police that after being scammed she was also made fun of: "We scammed you". Explaining that she had been subjected to a real bombardment of phrases, aimed at disorienting her and taking away her lucidity, so much so that she found herself convinced of the legitimacy of the scammers' requests.
This article makes you think about how there are people who feel superior and think they are invincible, like Maradona. Elderly fraud is a serious problem and should not be underestimated, but people continue to commit these crimes.