San Giorgio a Cremano – The judicial curtain has fallen on the investigation that for years has exposed a slew of usury and illicit trafficking in the heart of San Giorgio a Cremano. Preliminary Investigating Judge Lucia de Micco of the Court of Naples, following a summary trial, sentenced Mario Caruso, 56, to 5 years and 4 months in prison, and his mother, Anna Ottico, 80, to 3 years. The charges: usury, unlawful conduct of financial activities, and use of illicitly obtained funds.
The two defendants, represented by lawyer Francesco Annunziata, have already announced they will appeal their sentences. The ruling comes eight years after the investigation began in November 2017, following the complaint filed by Vincenzo Troia, born in 95, who claimed he had approached Mario Caruso for a loan and was subsequently threatened by his sister, Maria. According to the complainant, Maria openly invoked the "people of San Giovanni," alluding to the Mazzarella clan, to intimidate the debtor.
Telephone interceptions also revealed an alleged cigarette smuggling ring, which was apparently intertwined with loan sharking.
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Emanuele, killed at 14, has been overturned 12 years later. The prosecutor requests an acquittal on the grounds of self-defense.
The prosecutor had requested a six-year prison sentence for Maria Caruso, accused of having played an active role in the loan sharking ring and acting as a mediator within a criminal organization dedicated to the illicit trafficking of foreign manufactured tobacco. However, the judge, accepting the defense arguments of lawyer Immacolata Romano, acquitted her of all six charges, excluding any involvement in the alleged acts.
The same fate befell Pietro Silvestrino, assisted by the lawyer Giuseppe Milazzo, who investigators believe was the supplier of the retail outlets selling the contraband tobacco, and his alleged courier, Alessandro Di Napoli, defended by Guglielmo Ventrone: both were acquitted "because the fact did not exist."
This ruling brings to a close, at least in the first instance, a case that had shaken the Vesuvian town, once again highlighting the connection between petty economic crime and organized crime networks. The case now passes to the Court of Appeal, where the defense is preparing to seek a review of the sentences.
Comments (1)
The ruling appears to bring a long process to a close, but many questions remain unanswered. It's unclear whether the appeal will change matters. We hope justice is served fairly.