Naples, "Few people die here, we lose a lot of money": shocking interceptions of the certificates gang

A macabre price list and a system oiled by corruption: 50 euros for a natural death certificate, 70 for a DNA test necessary for cremation.

This is the price of shame that emerged from the investigation that yesterday led the NAS Carabinieri to dismantle a criminal organization rooted in the ASL Napoli 1 Centro, with 69 arrests and 96 suspects. The investigating judge Fabio Provvisier ordered prison for 18 people and house arrest for another 51, accused to varying degrees of criminal organization, ideological and material forgery, corruption and aggravated fraud against the National Health Service.

Among the protagonists, five doctors, some of whom signed certificates without any verification, blindly relying on the information provided by delegates of complicit funeral agencies, pocketing money without batting an eyelid.

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In a conversation on May 31, 2023, Dr. Margherita Tartaglia, one of the key figures in the investigation, a well-known cosmetic surgery professional with a very busy private practice on the Riviera di Chiaia, complained to her colleague Luigi Rinaldi (another key figure in the organization) of the scarcity of deaths: “Gigi, few people are dying,” he said, and his colleague responded: “They aren't killing anyone, we've lost a lot of money!”.

“They don’t kill anyone, we’ve lost a lot of money!”

In another wiretap, the two doctors spoke about the exchange of money between undertakers, doctors and municipal employees. “On Saturday I only did a death certificate,” said Luigi Rinaldi, “and Dominech told me 'the doctor asked for 70 euros, because everyone pays me 70 and not 50 euros'”. Tartaglia, at that point, explained that some undertakers repaid their debts with gifts: “They bring me coffee, tuna and other things, they fill me up with lots of things…”.

In another wiretap, Doctor Luigi Rinaldi speaks with the funeral director instead Maurizio Petriccione  and explains: "we did it you and Enzo who didn't give us anything at all, (money ed.), he said I already agree with Margherita... I told him look that normally you have to pay 10.00 euros normal and then we are all the same I
Margherita and Federico if it's about cards there are 70 with cremation, without cremation 50, obviously I said dear".

At that point the entrepreneur asks: “Have you increased?”, and Rinaldi replies: “of course, we have increased cremation to 70 because rightly so almost none of us do it because if you
go to some other colleague, even…omissis…, he won't do it to you because he's scared, the idiots that they are".

One of the doctors who ended up in prison even handed out genetic testing kits to the undertakers.

Incredibly, the undertakers were the ones who performed the DNA tests and classified the deaths as “natural” that are now raising disturbing questions. One of the doctors who ended up in prison even delivered the kits for the genetic tests, while numerous tests were seized by the NAS in the offices of the funeral homes involved.

The investigation, which started from a case of absenteeism reported by the ASL itself - a doctor who ran a private beauty center instead of working - opened a Pandora's box. The Carabinieri reconstructed a criminal network that involved intermediaries linked to the world of civil disability, patronages, CAF, private agencies and municipal employees of the cemetery offices and the Registry Office.

The “business of the dearly departed” did not stop there. To get hold of the funerals, there were those who altered the street numbers of the deceased's homes, making them fall within the health district 24, corresponding to the Chiaia neighborhood of Naples.

 The role of Salvatore Alajo already arrested in the investigation into the fraud of fake invalids

All 300 documented cases are concentrated in this area, already known in the past for an investigation into false invalids. Among those arrested is also the former councilor of a center-right municipality, Salvatore Alajo old acquaintance of the police, believed to be the mastermind of that scam and now accused of acting as an intermediary in this new scandal.

In 2017 he was also arrested for beating and trying to set fire to his wife.

For months, cameras and wiretaps have immortalized the money transfers, movements and conversations of the suspects. The videos, on file, nail those responsible, leaving little room for doubt. But the investigation goes further: the NAS carabinieri have also documented episodes of medical absenteeism and another round of bribes, with disabled badges granted to fake handicapped people for 300 euros.

The role of the corrupt municipal employees was fundamental, as they authorized transports and cremations on the basis of false certificates, without verifying the signatures of the relatives of the deceased, often affixed in their absence.

The dramatic turn of events came when some public employees, having noticed the investigations, warned the funeral directors, attempting to tamper with the evidence. A rotten system, which profited from death and vulnerability, now dismantled thanks to the operation of the NAS and the Naples Prosecutor's Office.

Chats and videos

When the arrested began to suspect that they were being spied on, they tried to communicate via encrypted chats, such as Whatsapp and Telegram. However, these conversations were also intercepted by the Carabinieri. In addition, videos were acquired that document the transfer of money from the hands of funeral directors to doctors.

The role of municipal employees

Rogue municipal employees played a crucial role in the corruption system, issuing irregular permits for the transportation and cremation of bodies on the basis of false medical certificates. One of the arrested doctors managed to sign up to four permits in a single day, taking advantage of the offices being closed on Sunday.

The investigation led to the arrest of four doctors, dozens of funeral home owners and municipal employees. Investigations are still ongoing to ascertain the extent of the illicit business and identify any other responsible parties.

 A total of 95 thousand euros were seized

"For now we have carried out a seizure for the equivalent of 35 thousand euros that the Prosecutor's Office has quantified. Obviously sums of money have also been seized, of which we must ascertain the origin and whether they are documented", explained Alessandro Cisternino, commander of Nas Naples, yesterday regarding the operation.

During yesterday morning's execution, 50 thousand euros were also found and seized in the possession of the ASL doctors and approximately 10 thousand euros in the possession of the employees of the Naples Cemetery Office, as well as necropsy certificates and DNA sampling kits in the possession of the employees of the funeral homes.