The new Gomorrah of waste and the shocking wiretaps: "The stuff is coming out of the water..."

Naples – Campania continues to be a hotly contested region in the investigative efforts to monitor and combat illicit waste flows nationwide. This is what emerges from the latest action coordinated by the Naples District Anti-Mafia Directorate (DDA), which led to the application of precautionary measures against Stanislao Corvino (placed under house arrest) and his brother Francesco Corvino (regardless of his residence in the region), de facto and formal directors, respectively, of "New Ecology Srl" in Castel Volturno.

The investigation, conducted in the field by specialists from the Ecological Operations Unit (NOE) of Naples and Caserta, led by Colonel Pasquale Starace, paints a complex picture in which business operations are intertwined with the financial interests of criminal organizations in the Casale area.

The order targets a total of eleven suspects, charged with various counts of criminal conspiracy, trafficking and illegal management of hazardous waste, money laundering, and external complicity.

The content of wiretaps: management on the field

The technical evidence gathered by the Carabinieri during telephone and environmental wiretaps represents one of the pillars of the prosecution's case. The conversations provide clear indications regarding the logistical management of the hazardous waste shipments, provisionally quantified by the investigations at over 25 tons in total, consisting primarily of industrial sewage sludge and building demolition waste.

In a passage in the documents, Francesco Ianuese addresses Stanislao Corvino highlighting the logistical difficulties of the site:
“Stanu, here when you go into the water the stuff comes out.”
The administrator's response indicates the need to continue storage by moving the action within the area:
“Go ahead further.”

The conversations also document the daily planning of flows and the identification of unloading areas. In another conversation, Stanislao Corvino informs Carmine Diana of the next day's activities:
“Tomorrow morning we'll unload some more, but over the tub.”
The problem of saturation of corporate space emerges clearly in the discussion between Corvino and Giovanni Gesmundo. The former highlights the structure's limited capacity:
“He has to throw the stuff away, but we're full at the company.”
Gesmundo responds by proposing the use of an alternative property:
“And throw it into my land.”
A hypothesis that Corvino himself discards so as not to compromise existing crops, exchanging a joke with his interlocutor:
“No, no, you are a Christian who has sown, it doesn't exist there.”

The declassification of codes and its impact on the territory

The investigation, launched in April 2023, uncovered the alleged methodology used to circumvent document controls. According to investigators' hypothesis, the hazardous waste streams—including industrial tomato processing residues from the Agro Nocerino-Sarnese area—were systematically recorded in the Identification Forms (FIR) with codes that did not match the true nature of the cargo, often classified as simple "sand" or demolition aggregates already treated.

This bureaucratic scheme would have allowed road haulers to move the loads without arousing suspicion, then direct them to a series of agricultural lands located between the municipalities of Capua, Mondragone and Castel Volturno.

According to the NOE's findings, the disposal would have also affected two natural water basins adjacent to the New Ecology headquarters, causing a significant alteration of the state of the area with strong odorous fumes reported on several occasions by the local population.

The investigations also extended to the province of Naples: in Boscofangone di Nola, the military identified an area of ​​over 83 square meters designated for an industrial settlement, which was seized in collaboration with the Nola Public Prosecutor's Office due to the presence of large quantities of construction waste dumped without authorization.

The collaborator's minutes and the role of professionals

The real turning point in the DDA investigation, coordinated by Deputy Michele Del Prete and deputies Vincenzo Ranieri and Vincenzo Toscano, coincides with the statements made in May 2023 by Vincenzo D'Angelo, a leading member of the Bidognetti clan and now a cooperating witness. His statements describe the clan's economic infiltration mechanisms in the waste management sector through the transfer of capital in cash.

D'Angelo detailed to the magistrates the origins of the financial relationship with the corporate group under investigation:

"Corvino told me he was going through a difficult time. He asked me to find him work. In exchange, he would pay me 50 percent of the profits from the work, as a member of the Bidognetti clan."

According to the collaborator, the flow of capital would have guaranteed constant profitability over time through significant contracts in the Domitian area:
“In 2016, I hired Corvino to help with the waste disposal and earthmoving work at the Pineta Grande clinic, guaranteeing him an income of 80 euros a month.”
The evolution of the relationship would then be formalized with the covert entry into New Ecology srl in exchange for an initial investment:
"Since 2021, I've been the hidden partner. I've received a steady income from the company, equal to 50 percent of the profits from construction and 20 percent from plant management profits."

To ensure the stability of this economic network and allow liquidity to flow to the organization, New Ecology allegedly relied on the support of specialized technical professionals. Among those under investigation are accountant Mario Camasso and tax consultant Danilo D'Angelo (formerly a Casagiove city councilor). According to the Prosecutor's Office's hypothesis, the professionals allegedly set up an invoicing system for non-existent transactions through associated companies, which served to account for cash withdrawals destined for the gang's top brass.

The framework of measures and the protection of the parties

Despite preliminary investigations judge Chiara Bardi's rejection of requests for pre-trial detention, the Court of Naples ordered the precautionary seizure of New Ecology's entire business complex, including its construction equipment, movable and immovable property, and six agricultural plots identified as illegal dumping sites. At the same time, an equivalent seizure of approximately €1,6 million was carried out, representing the alleged illicit profits generated by trafficking in hazardous waste.

The financial penalty has been applied to almost all of the suspects, excluding professional Danilo D'Angelo and the cooperating witness himself. The investigating authorities emphasize that the proceedings are currently in the preliminary investigation phase: all those registered as suspects and subject to the measures are to be presumed innocent until a final conviction is issued.

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