Two scoops of pistachio, certainly one of corruption. For years holidaymakers have guzzled Sicilian gelato at well-known parlours in Palermo, unaware that the booming companies have been managed by organised crime.
The fraud was a textbook case for detectives skilled to smell out soiled cash, however even with three mobster classics — a suspicious chapter, a entrance man and a scheming “Godfather” — it took years for investigators to close the operation down.
The Brioscia model, made up of two ice cream parlours, was thriving on the finish of the 2010s, attracting locals and overseas guests alike with its glittering gold stars on journey web sites.
The retailers have been run by Mario Mancuso. Behind the scenes was Michele Micalizzi who had served a number of stretches in jail for Mafia affiliation.
Mancuso took care of the ice cream, Micalizzi managed the remaining.
That included taking a minimize of the income for shielding Mancuso from extortion makes an attempt by different gangsters, a judicial supply instructed AFP.
However the firm was within the identify of Mancuso’s spouse and when divorce loomed, the boys feared they might lose management.
They declared Brioscia bankrupt in 2021, blaming the 4 million euro ($4.3 million) gap within the books on the Covid lockdown, the supply mentioned.
“It was a flourishing business, very well known in Palermo. The bankruptcy was therefore unjustified,” he instructed AFP.
Suspicious investigators used wiretaps to find the 2 males — removed from being bankrupt — had grand plans to open parlours overseas.
The pair launched a brand new firm referred to as Sharbat, renaming the retailers, the supply mentioned.
“I’m not even sure the employees knew who they were working for”, a close-by store employee mentioned on situation of anonymity.
Investigators say the boys divided the windfall, with Micalizzi passing a part of it to his jailed kinfolk to pay for authorized charges or sundries.
However on August 12, the police pounced, arresting each males and 4 accomplices, and seizing 1.5 million euros.
Mancuso and Micalizzi are being prosecuted for prison affiliation of a mafia nature, extortion and fraudulent chapter.
The Mafia’s billions
Between drug trafficking, racketeering, public procurement, authorized corporations or empty shells devoted to cash laundering, Italy’s Central Financial institution estimates the annual turnover of the nation’s organised crime teams at 40 billion euros, or two % of nationwide wealth.
The mob nonetheless makes good cash from conventional crimes akin to drug trafficking. The ‘Ndrangheta in the southern region of Calabria, for example, is responsible for much of Europe’s cocaine commerce.
“It also makes direct investments in the legal economy,” in line with Rocco Sciarrone, who teaches prison psychology at Turin College.
Over two-thirds of mafia infiltrations are within the development, commerce, actual property and manufacturing sectors, in line with a 2022 report by economist Antonio Parbonetti.
The mob additionally has tentacles in agriculture, resorts and eating places, logistics, transport, and waste administration.
How a lot the crime teams “invest” in every sector varies considerably from one area to a different.
“The socio-economic fabric (in Sicily) is made up of small family businesses that lend themselves very well to money laundering,” mentioned Eliseo Davi from Palermo College.
In keeping with the Parbonetti report, one in two corporations managed by the mafia is a so-called “star” firm, which generates comfy revenue and employs folks, and due to this fact has a broad social, financial and political help.
Within the Palermo gelato affair, the corporate didn’t have the required permits for one of many two retailers, prompting requires a probe into whether or not there was collusion with public officers.
Close to the parlours lies the previous residence of Giovanni Falcone, an anti-mafia decide whose 1992 assassination by the mob triggered a crackdown by the state that completely weakened Cosa Nostra.
Identical to US legislation enforcement agent Eliot Ness, who introduced down gangster Al Capone, Falcone had a easy rule: comply with the cash.
