Elderly scams, directed by the D'Errico-Mascitelli duo: the uncle and the aunt

Naples – There was a couple at the top of the organization, a tried-and-tested, almost industrial structure, capable of targeting elderly people throughout Italy with the now infamous "fake carabiniere" technique.

This is the scenario that emerges from the complex investigation coordinated by the Naples Public Prosecutor's Office, which arose from a complaint filed with the Genoa Carabinieri, which led to the registration of 23 people in the register of suspects, including eight women, aged between 22 and 43, as well as a minor.

Precautionary measures have been taken against 21 of them. All are facing charges, to varying degrees, of criminal conspiracy to commit aggravated fraud, particularly targeting elderly people, targeted precisely because of their greater vulnerability and reduced capacity for self-defense. According to investigators, the group operated with the assistance of at least ten other individuals, still unidentified, carrying out an unknown number of robberies.

At the centre of the investigation, signed by the investigating judge of Naples Federica Colucci, the figures of Alessandro D'Errico, 36 years old, known as "the uncle", and Antonietta Mascitelli, 40 years old, nicknamed "the aunt." Investigators believe they were the instigators and organizers of the gang, based in Naples.

The two are not new faces to law enforcement: they were arrested last July along with 21 other people for a series of scams targeting elderly people carried out in Genoa and Northern Italy the previous June. The Genoa Prosecutor's Office has already ordered an immediate trial for that strand of the crime.

Investigators reconstruct how D'Errico and Mascitelli were the true key figures in the organization: they issued orders, assigned roles, advanced the money needed for travel, and handled logistics. Specifically, they were responsible for obtaining telephone numbers registered fictitiously to non-EU citizens, which were used both to contact victims and to maintain contact with the so-called "travelers," through a closed-circuit system designed to prevent external interceptions.

The organization also had premises used as clandestine call centers, often located inside bed and breakfasts, where three or four operators worked permanently every day. Their task was to make as many calls as possible: up to 500 contacts a day, in areas of the country selected from time to time by the promoters. The numbers were drawn from old paper telephone directories, those used for landlines, where the likelihood of finding elderly people was higher.

The script was always the same. A voice introduced itself as a member of the police force: "Good morning, I'm the Carabinieri Marshal." Then came the shocking news: a car accident, a son or daughter involved, two pedestrians hit, one in serious condition, imminent arrest, and the risk of two to four years in prison. In the background, as revealed by audio released by investigators, overlapping voices can be heard, presumed family members crying and calling for help, in a crescendo designed to panic the victim and prevent them from contacting relatives or trusted people.

A veritable psychological assault, carried out swiftly and persistently, often resulting in the handing over of money, jewelry, and valuables, then sold on the black market. A ruthless system, designed to target those least equipped to defend themselves. Now, the justice system is tightening around that network.