Ilario Trojer released from prison for fraudulent invoices on behalf of the Sarno clan.

Naples – The evidence against Ilario Trojer, implicated in the major investigation that, in May 2025, uncovered an alleged criminal network dedicated to money laundering and tax fraud between Campania and Tuscany, is unfounded.

The Florence Review Court ordered the man's immediate release from prison, revoking the precautionary measure of house arrest he had been under for approximately eight months.

The Court of Appeals fully accepted the defense arguments of attorney Vincenzo Esposito of the Nola Bar Association, ruling that the evidence lacked weight. This decision follows a complex legal process: the Court of Cassation, ruling on the June 2025 order, had already annulled the precautionary measure, noting significant gaps in the evidence presented by the prosecution to support the restrictive measure.

The investigation and the paper mill "system"

Trojer had been targeted by the Florence District Anti-Mafia Office on charges of participating in a criminal conspiracy aimed at issuing invoices for non-existent transactions and self-laundering.

A network that, according to the Guardia di Finanza, revolved around the figure of Ciro Sermone and involved prominent figures linked to the historic Sarno clan of Ponticelli.

The investigation uncovered a sophisticated mechanism: a network of "shell" companies used to launder dirty money and transfer cash between Prato and Naples, ensuring an estimated illicit profit of over 30%. Last spring's raid also arrested Sermone (also accused of mafia association), the brothers Ciro, Pasquale and Vincenzo Sarno, and, most importantly, Antonio Sarno, son of the clan's founder and repentant former boss Ciro, known as "'o sindaco."

The disputed roles

According to the investigators' reconstruction, now weakened by Trojer's position but still standing for the other suspects, the organization had well-defined tasks. Sermone and Sarno allegedly managed the recruitment of the shell companies; Franco Artrui allegedly acted as a broker in Tuscany, while Prato-based entrepreneur Giuseppe Della Corte, alias "Lupo," allegedly exploited the network to generate slush funds. A multi-million euro affair, culminating in the preventive seizure of assets worth approximately one million.

With the preliminary hearing's ruling, Trojer is released without bond. The criminal proceedings continue, but the double-barrelled review of the case's legitimacy and merits scores a point in favor of the defense, downplaying, at least from their perspective, the scope of the charges brought by the DDA.