Ischia, businessman arrested: "I'm in charge here, I'm the king of waste"

Ischia – “In Ischia I am in charge, I am the king of waste”. This is what was said to an entrepreneur Angelo Marrazzo, 76 years old, an entrepreneur active in the waste transport sector between the islands of the Gulf and the mainland, arrested by the Police as part of an investigation coordinated by the District Anti-Mafia Directorate of Naples.

He is charged with extortion aggravated by mafia methods and unfair competition with threats and violence.

According to the reconstruction of the investigators of the Investigative Section of the Central Operations Service and the Ischia Police Station, Marrazzo would have presented himself as the contact of the Moccia Camorra clan on the island, exercising a real monopoly on the transport of special waste through the shipping company Tra.Spe.Mar., formally registered in the name of a daughter-in-law.

The threats: “Either you turn to us or you won’t work anymore”

Marrazzo allegedly forced environmental operators to use his ships exclusively, threatening retaliation such as truck seizures, administrative sanctions, or forced checks by the authorities. One of the victims told the police that for eight years he would be forced to pay 250 euros per transport – 170 euros for the outward journey and 80 for the return journey, even without using it – in order to avoid problems.

In 2019, when one of the entrepreneurs refused to submit to the system, he was subjected to a barrage of checks: his license was suspended, his truck was seized, and he was given a fine. A reaction that, according to the investigation, was anything but random.

The “dossier” to maintain control

From the testimonies collected, it emerges that at least ten entrepreneurs were forced to comply with Marrazzo's requests. Some reported to the police that they had been photographed and filmed during embarkations and disembarks, used to report alleged irregularities to port or municipal authorities. A strategy of systematic intimidation that, according to investigators, allowed him to consolidate an illicit monopoly.

The wiretaps confirmed the climate of intimidation. In one of these, Marrazzo states bluntly: “Waste management is of the Moccia, either you turn to us or you don't work."

Motor vessels seized

The precautionary measure also included the preventive seizure of two motor vessels of Tra.Spe.Mar., considered the operational instrument of the system of threats and unfair competition. According to the Prosecutor's Office, they were used for the transport of special waste, flammable goods and scrap between Ischia, Naples, Pozzuoli and Procida.

The prosecutor of Naples Nicola Gratteri and the deputy prosecutor Sergio Ferrigno underline that Marrazzo would have "leveraged the power of intimidation deriving from the evoked membership in a Camorra association" to ensure his domination in the sector.

The investigations continue: the Prosecutor's Office intends to verify the extent of the intimidation system and ascertain any complicity or cover-ups.