Two pistachios and one rotten. For years, vacationers have munched on Sicilian gelato in Palermo’s famous parlors, unaware that the booming economy was controlled by organized crime.
The fraud case was a textbook case for detectives trained to sniff out dirty money, even with a classic case of three gangsters: a suspicious bankrupt, a frontman, and a scheming “Godfather.” , it took years for investigators to break the case.
Comprised of two ice cream parlors, the Briosia brand flourished in the late 2010s, attracting locals and foreign tourists alike with a shining gold star on travel websites.
These stores were run by Mario Mancuso. Behind the scenes was Michele Michalizzi, who had served multiple prison terms for mafia associations.
Mancuso was in charge of the ice cream, and Micalizzi was in charge of the rest.
A judicial source told AFP that this included taking a cut of the profits to protect Mancuso from extortion attempts by other gangs.
However, the company was in Mancuso’s wife’s name, and the men feared they would lose control if the divorce loomed.
Briosia has declared bankruptcy in 2021 after the coronavirus lockdown left a 4 million euro ($4.3 million) hole in its books, people said.
“It was a thriving business and very well known in Palermo. Therefore, the bankruptcy was unwarranted,” he told AFP.
Suspicious detectives use wiretaps to discover two men who, not only are they bankrupt, but also have grandiose plans to open a parlor overseas.
According to sources, the two have changed the store’s name and launched a new company called Sharbat.
“The employees didn’t even know who they were working for,” said an employee at a nearby store, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Investigators said the men divided up the assets they had accumulated, and Micalizzi gave some of the money to his incarcerated relatives for legal fees and living expenses.
But on August 12, police swooped in and arrested the men and their four accomplices, seizing 1.5 million euros.
Mancuso and Micalizzi are charged with mafia-like criminal association, extortion and fraudulent bankruptcy.
mafia billions of dollars
Italy’s central bank estimates that Italy’s organized crime groups have an annual turnover of 40 billion euros, or 2% of the country’s wealth, including drug trafficking, extortion, public procurement, law firms and shells specializing in money laundering. .
The mob still makes a lot of money from traditional crimes such as drug trafficking. For example, the ‘Ndrangheta in southern Calabria is responsible for much of Europe’s cocaine trade.
“We will also make direct investments in the legal economy,” said Rocco Sciarone, a professor of criminal psychology at the University of Turin.
More than two-thirds of mafia infiltrations are in the construction, trade, real estate and manufacturing sectors, according to a 2022 report by economist Antonio Parbonetti.
The insurgents have also expanded their reach into agriculture, hotels and restaurants, logistics, transportation and waste management.
The amount that criminal groups “invest” in each area varies widely by region.
“(Sicily’s) socio-economic structure is made up of small, family-run businesses, which is very suitable for money laundering,” said Eliseo Davi from the University of Palermo.
According to the Parbonetti report, one out of every two companies controlled by the mafia is a so-called “star” company, generating comfortable incomes and employing people, thereby contributing to social, economic and political It has received wide support.
In the Palermo gelato scandal, the company failed to obtain the necessary permits for one of its two stores, prompting calls for an investigation into whether there was collusion with public officials.
Near the parlor is the former home of anti-Mafia judge Giovanni Falcone. Falcone’s assassination by a mob in 1992 sparked a state crackdown that permanently weakened Cosa Nostra.
Like Elliot Ness, the American law enforcement officer who brought down gangster Al Capone, Falcone had a simple rule: “Follow the money.”
