She was aware that she had ended up in the investigators' crosshairs after the preliminary interrogation and for this reason she had left Naples, trying to disappear.
But her escape was in vain: she was tracked down and stopped in Livorno by State Police officers just as she was about to carry out yet another scam against an elderly woman.
This is one of the findings emerging from the detailed investigation conducted by the Naples Flying Squad, coordinated by the Naples Public Prosecutor's Office, which led to the dismantling of a criminal organization specializing in elderly scams, capable of striking across half of Italy with loot amounting to tens of thousands of euros.
Seven people were jailed, four were ordered to remain in Naples. Eleven people are under investigation in total, including a minor, who is being investigated separately by the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office.
The victims: elderly, lonely women, often widows
The group's target was primarily elderly, single women, and in some cases widows. A coldly chosen target, as evidenced by wiretaps: people to be "made to cry," to be put under emotional pressure, forcing them to hand over everything they owned at home.
Cash, jewels, gold ornaments, but also objects of extremely high symbolic value: in fact, in more than one episode, even medals of merit awarded to deceased husbands, members of the police or armed forces, were stolen.
The script was always the same. A phone call to the victim's home, with a caller introducing himself as a lawyer, a Carabinieri marshal, or a member of the police force. The caller would describe a serious car accident, an imminent arrest, a dramatic situation involving children or grandchildren. The only way out: pay immediately, in cash or valuables, to avoid jail time for the family member.
The "little horses" and psychological pressure
The actual sting was put into action by the so-called "cavallini," men and women—in some cases even minors—who were tasked with reaching the victims' homes to collect the loot. After the heist, the scam didn't end there: the victims were promptly called back several times to prevent them from contacting family or friends and thus delay the alert to the police.
The wiretaps reveal the unscrupulousness of the telephone operators, who urged their accomplices to "take everything they could." In some cases, the loot exceeded tens of thousands of euros.
The organization and roles
According to the reconstruction by investigators from the "Property Crimes" section of the Flying Squad, coordinated by Deputy Commissioner Iannotta, the organization's leaders were Luigi Sades, 25, from Pallonetto di Santa Lucia, and Francesco Mangiacapra, 25, from Ponticelli. They were believed to be the group's initiators and organizers. Specifically, Sades allegedly contacted Mangiacapra to structure the organization while he was under house arrest.
The base of operations was in Naples, but with a very specific strategy: to avoid striking in the city as much as possible. By operating far from home, in Piedmont, Tuscany, Marche, and Puglia, the group hoped to reduce the risk of being recognized and apprehended.
Alongside the promoters, women worked in coordination and action roles: Stefania Romano, Lucia Esposito, Immacolata D'Alessandro, Anna Canneva, Mariarca Caprio, and Maria Ricciardi. Also providing logistical support were drivers, including Enrico Forte, Salvatore Lanza, and Nicola Cristiano, who were responsible for the trips, often hundreds of kilometers long.
For missions outside Naples, the organization provided everything: rental cars, fuel, hotels, and even phone cards, procured through non-EU citizens to make it more difficult to identify the operators.
Nine episodes reconstructed
Investigators documented nine scams, which occurred starting in December 2024. The victims resided in the provinces of Alessandria, Verbania, Pistoia, Lucca, Pesaro Urbino, Ancona, and Lecce. The investigation began in September 2024 with the arrest of Luigi Gallozzi, who was caught in Matera.
Particularly significant were the incidents in the Marche region. Four scams, all using the technique of a fake Carabinieri marshal, involved elderly women in Fano, Falconara Marittima, Amandola, and Fossombrone.
On December 11, 2024, in Fano, a 72-year-old woman was contacted by phone and convinced that her husband had been involved in a serious accident. To avoid arrest, she handed over 110 grams of gold. On December 27, in Falconara, a 77-year-old woman sold gold and jewelry after believing her son was facing prison. On December 30, a woman from Amandola was defrauded by false reports of her sister's accident. Finally, on January 4, 2025, an attempted scam against an 84-year-old woman in Fossombrone failed.
Investigations still ongoing
The investigation is not concluded. The Naples Flying Squad fears the true number of victims is much higher. Many elderly people, after realizing they had been scammed, apparently chose not to report it out of shame, leaving numerous incidents unreported.
As required by law, all those under investigation are presumed innocent until a final verdict is reached. However, the investigation paints a picture of a well-organized criminal enterprise, capable of exploiting vulnerability and loneliness to turn them into a lucrative business.
(pictured from left: Francesco Mangacapra, Luigi Sades, Enrico Forte, Lucia Esposito, Anna Canneva, and Immacolata D'Alessandro)
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
Reading the article, I learned that scams targeting the elderly are a serious and unpleasant problem, especially for vulnerable individuals. It would be interesting to know if there are better measures to protect these people from similar situations in the future.