An operation by the Economic and Financial Police Unit of the Guardia di Finanza of Milan led to the house arrest of Stefania Nobile, daughter of the well-known television hustler Wanna Marchi, and Davide Lacerenza, her ex-partner and owner of Gintoneria, a VIP club in Milan.
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Together with them, Davide Ariganello, the club's factotum, was also placed under house arrest. The three are accused, to varying degrees, of self-laundering, aiding and abetting prostitution, possession and dealing of narcotics.
The investigation, coordinated by the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office, also led to the seizure of the Gintoneria, located in via Napo Torriani, in the heart of the city.
The exclusive “package”: drugs, alcohol and escorts
According to the investigation, the trio offered the club's customers an "all-inclusive" service that included not only high-quality alcoholic beverages, such as champagne and fine wines, but also narcotics and sexual services from escorts.
A real luxury “delivery”, which would have guaranteed huge illicit profits, then laundered through the commercial activity of the place. Among the seized substances are cocaine, hashish, marijuana and the so-called “pink cocaine” (a mixture of ketamine and MDMA), used by both customers and escorts.
Wiretaps and VIP clients
The investigation started from some reports of suspicious transactions on a current account, which between 2020 and September 2023 moved over 641 thousand euros to pay for escorts, alcohol and drugs.
The investigations revealed that she was one of the many wealthy clients of the ring, including well-known figures such as the “rich mayor” and the “people of Dubai”, as emerged from the wiretaps. Stefania Nobile, although not directly organizing the recruitment of the girls, would have shared with Lacerenza the profits deriving from the sale of the “all-inclusive” packages.
Wanna Marchi: “He knew but distanced himself”
The wiretaps also reveal that Wanna Marchi, although not under investigation, was aware of the illicit activities taking place in the Gintoneria. In a telephone conversation with her son Maurizio, the former queen of teleshopping criticized her former son-in-law's lifestyle, calling it "scurrilous" and predicting "serious trouble with the law".
However, she did not hide a certain satisfaction for the huge profits generated by the club, which would have allowed her to travel to Albania, the United States and Türkiye.
Stefania Nobile's judicial past
Today is not the first time that Stefania Nobile has ended up in the crosshairs of justice. Already in 2001, together with her mother Wanna Marchi, she had been sentenced to over 9 years in prison for criminal association and fraud in the famous teleshopping case, which involved thousands of victims.
After serving her sentence, Nobile reinvented herself as an entrepreneur in the restaurant and nightclub sector, while Lacerenza, a former greengrocer turned manager of VIP clubs, made himself known as a “champagne sabre-rat” and influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers.
La Gintoneria: a place between VIPs and trash
La Gintoneria, located near Milan's Central Station, had become a point of reference for a certain jet set, known for its frequent visits by both VIPs and trash. With its expensive champagne, gourmet dinners and exclusive atmosphere, the place had attracted the attention of a wealthy public. Now, however, it ends up at the center of an investigation that sheds light on its dark side, linked to drugs and prostitution.
The charges and the future trial
Stefania Nobile, Davide Lacerenza and Davide Ariganello will have to face trial on charges of self-laundering, aiding and abetting prostitution and drug dealing. In the meantime, the Gintoneria remains seized, while the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office continues to investigate to reconstruct the entire network of this illicit ring, which involved well-known figures and wealthy clients. For Stefania Nobile, this new judicial blow risks reopening a dark chapter in her past, which seemed to be over.
Article published on March 4, 2025 - 15pm
Reading about the Guardia di Finanza operation makes me think that justice issues always come back to the surface. Of course, places like Gintoneria have a certain appeal, but certain things cannot be ignored. The idea of an 'all-inclusive' package sounds worrying and makes people think about their choices.