Naples – It was not a casual gesture, much less a prank by kids. The throwing of firecrackers and explosive objects against the journalist's home Dominic Rubio, in the night between 2018 and 2019, was a planned act of intimidation.
According to investigators, it was the top brass of the Camorra who ordered it. district 167 of Arzano, peripheral area north of Naples.
Now, after many years, the Judge Antonino Santoro of the Court of Naples has ordered the indictment for Joseph Monfregolo and Antonio Alterio, both already detained and considered leading members of the clan. The charge is threats aggravated by mafia purposesThe first hearing will be held on 7st May at the Court of Naples North, with Rubio as a civil party.
The attack on the journalist: an escalation of violence
The facts date back to 2018, when the house of the journalist, director of Arzano News, was targeted on several occasions. The 27 and 28 July, and then again the August 29th, explosions and firecrackers shattered the night's quiet. During the last episode, a device even damaged the balcony shutters.
According to the investigations, the perpetrators were three minors, but it was the clan that would have moved them. The threats were a response to Rubio's investigations, who had been denouncing for years Camorra infiltration in contracts and administrative procedures in Arzano.
The revelations of the repentants and the escort
The statements of the Camorra would also confirm the Camorra origin justice collaborator Pasquale Cristiano, known as “Pikstick”. His words, together with the journalistic pieces of Rubio acquired in the case file, helped to reconstruct the motive: silence an uncomfortable voice.
The intimidations were so serious that the prefect arrange for Rubio the buffer stock, still necessary today. Not only that: the journalist, responsible for the legality of the Joint Union of Journalists of Campania (SUGC), has also suffered economic repercussions, with the loss of a source of income linked to retaliation.
Union solidarity: “Keep your attention high”
La National Federation of the Italian Press (FNSI) and SUGC have expressed strong concern. In a joint note, the secretaries Alessandra Costante (FNSI) e Geppina Landolfo (SUGC) they stressed:
“Rubio continues to suffer severe retaliation for his work, the latest of which involved the termination of a business that was his primary source of income. This is why we need to keep his safety top of mind.”
The May trial could shed light on a system of intimidation that aims to stifle investigative journalism, especially when he challenges the power of organized crime. A test of endurance for Rubio and for those who, like him, do not bow their heads.
(in the photo a frame extracted from the video of the attack and from the left the bosses Giuseppe Monfregolo and Antonio Alterio with the threatened journalist Domenico Rubio)
The attack on journalist Domenico Rubio is truly worrying and makes us reflect on how crime can affect the work of those who provide information. It is important that there is more protection for journalists.