Reggio Emilia, the “active” recycling machine in 14 regions with 10 operating cells. Packages of money hidden everywhere

“You also earn a thousand euros a day ”he said two years ago Salvatore innocenti, one of the first four arrested in the Billions operation, coordinated by Reggio Emilia Deputy Prosecutor Giacomo Forte. The thousands of euros discovered by the Guardia di Finanza and the Police have turned into hundreds of millions, the suspects have risen to 201 and for 51 of them the investigating judge Luca Ramponi has signed restrictive measures that range from detention in prison up to the obligation to sign. An organization specialized in tax crimes and tax and bank fraud, dedicated to recycling and all‘issuance of invoices by shell companies for nonexistent operations.

Impressive amount of cash found, many hidden packages of 50 and 100 euro bills even in the kitchen under the oven. The turnover is impressive (only 24 million VAT evaded), the geographical distribution (14 regions out of 20 in Italy and business also abroad), the ability to hide through uncensored nominees. With the icing on the cake of esteemed colluded companies willing to turn a blind eye and even two in exchange for false invoices to reduce tax debt. On this front you must answer for tax fraud Francesco Veroni, director of the homonymous F.lli Veroni was Angelo Spa, a recognized company in the province that processes meat and makes sausages with a turnover of 99 million (2018) and more than 170 employees. According to the documents, between 2012 and 2015 F.lli Veroni received invoices for more than 100,000 euros from IPS srl, the organization’s paper company, a total evader in 2016 and 2017, with no operational offices and filed in the firm. of an accountant in Rome. Tax fraud is also contested Gianluca Maestri, a businessman from Luzzara (Reggio Emilia) who with his construction company Gi Emme has obtained numerous public contracts in the municipalities of Reggio and Modenese between Via Emilia and Po. In the post-earthquake reconstruction works between 2013 and 2014, it received the assignment of seven works for a total amount of 1.23 million euros. His company received the false invoices from Giuseppe Aloi Gasp srl, born in Germany but residing in Cavriago (RE), already sentenced for tax fraud to 6 years and 6 months in the first degree of the ‘ndrangheta Aemilia trial.

The organization was structured in “cells”, territorially autonomous but interconnected, with a kind of common background in which they converged. money to launder or profits to share. They were 10 cells, with relative heads and autonomous hierarchical organizations that descend to the inevitable front men of fictitious companies and the equally indispensable “withdrawals”, in charge of collecting the cash that flows to bank and postal checking accounts. According to the investigation documents, one of these cells operating in Reggio Emilia responded Alessandro Fontanesi, who has been for years (since 2013) provincial secretary of the Party of Italian Communists. The investigating magistrate Ramponi says: “Although formally cleared, it is reasonable to believe that he extracts the means to support himself from the commission of crimes, taking into account his role as collector paid by the associationAccording to the interceptions, his boss was Michele Caccia, investigated together with his brother and father Luigi (born in Cutro and known in the chronicles of Aemilia), who recommended that he “move money intelligently”.

Others convicted of ‘Ndrangheta in Aemilia and now involved in Billions are Luigi brugnano (10 years and 6 months in the first instance) and Alfonso Frontera (8 years). Among the suspects is also Vincenzo Vasapollo, already convicted of the attempted murder of the collaborator of the justice Antonio Valerio and cousin of Nicola murdered on the outskirts of Reggio in 1992 in the mafia war between Grande Aracri / Ciampà / Dragone and Vasapollo / Ruggiero. “Emilia’s ‘Ndrangheta is an expert in fake billing, but not everyone who makes fake bills is’ Ndranghetisti”Commented the Reggio Emilia prosecutor, Marco Mescolini, when presenting the investigation data. For example, the heads of the two cells operating in Cremona and Quattro Castella are not ‘ndranghetists. The first is called Giorgi Bellini and over the phone he says: “Our companies make money.” The second is Reggiano doc Luca Bonacini who led the activities together with his wife Rossana Mariani, considered an organizer with high leadership capacity. The husband and wife commented by phone in September 2018 on the first four arrests requested by PM Forte at the beginning of Billions. Bonacini tells Mariani: “You know those are the first, huh? The first of ours, do you understand me? “. “Ehhh, yeah “, his wife replies a bit saddened, but Luca says boldly laughing:” Oh well, who the hell knows those over there … ” Now they may meet in jail.