Mafia: second blitz in two days in Palermo, 8 arrests
New blow to the district of Tommaso Natale

PALERMO
July 21, 2021

The Carabinieri of the Provincial Command of Palermo carried out a precautionary order in prison (one under house arrest) issued by the investigating judge Lorenzo Jannelli against eight suspects believed to be members of the mafia district of Tommaso Natale, accused in various ways of mafia-type criminal association , aggravated extortion and damage followed by fire. The anti-mafia operation 'Bivio 2', the second in two days in Palermo, was coordinated by a pool of DDA magistrates led by the deputy prosecutor Salvatore De Luca.

The investigation revolves around the figure of the boss Giulio Caporrimo, already arrested in the past. The surveys show the continuous demand for protection money from companies operating in the area. Investigators found 11 extortions and two unsuccessful attempts, while only in two cases did the victims spontaneously report the pressure they suffered. The carabinieri have reconstructed various intimidations, often with arson attacks, carried out by the men of Giulio Caporrimo to undermine the competitors and grab some contracts. This is the case of the arson against a commercial establishment in Sferracavallo. An attack that would have been devised by Caporrimo, his son Francesco and Francesco Ventimiglia to get the management of the place. L' The attack was intended to overcome the resistance of the owner. With another fire, a construction site was struck for the construction of the sewerage system, also in Sferracavallo. To devise the intimidation would have been Antonino Vitamia and Vincenzo Taormina to obtain some subcontracted works. Even the van of a construction company was damaged by the fire while the bugs of the carabinieri recorded everything "live". Another intimidation hit a construction company that was carrying out renovations on a building, with the aim of obtaining the order for plant engineering work. Several episodes have also been ascertained to the detriment of traders in the area. The clan made profits also thanks to the so-called "return horses",

Over the years, the investigative nucleus of the carabinieri had already dealt hard blows to the district of Tommaso Natale with the operations Oscar (2011), Apocalisse (2014), Talea (2017), Cupola, 2.0 (2018/2019), Teneo (2020), and Crossroads (2021). The current blitz that revolves around the figure of Giulio Caporrimo is linked to this last operation last January. The latter, returned to freedom in May 2019, by the will of the boss Calogero Lo Piccolo found a new boss, Francesco Palumeri, at the top of the district. Caporrimo first moved to Florence to distance himself from the new structure that he did not share and then, after forcing his rival to take a step back, he returned to Palermo as regent by regrouping the district. With this new investigation, the carabinieri would have shed light on a series of serious crimes committed by the arrested, starting with Giulio Caporrimo himself and his son Francesco who had invested in online betting, one of the sectors most at risk for mafia infiltration. One of the arrested, Giuseppe Vassallo, from Palermo who moved to Florence, thanks to the agreements with Giulio Caporrimo and Antonino Vitamia, marketed his sites for online betting right in the territory of the Tommaso Natale district, recognizing part of the profits to the mafia family