New Mala del Brenta in Veneto, 39 arrests and 80 warranties
Papillon investigation, the historic bosses of the gang return to prison. The clan's goal: to manage the great routes of the tourist flow of the lagoon. Zaia: "Victory of legality

Venice, 30 November 2021 - Some "historical" elements of the Banda Maniero , of that Mala del Brenta that raged in Venice and Veneto 40 years ago, then dismantled by the repentance of its boss, return to prison at the age of 70 . Released from prison after serving their sentences in the 90s, they tried to return to the old "job", that of drug dealing , extortion from tour operators and intimidation . But this time there were investigators waiting for them, who have followed them for the past six years and in the end they put an end to their attempt to revive the gang.

The blitz of the Carabinieri del Ros went on target overnight with the execution, in Venice and Veneto, of 39 arrests and warranties for about eighty people . The "menstrin i" group of Mala was targeted , the one that had contracted drug trafficking together with extortion in the city and mainland, and which was also responsible for one of the most brutal executions within the gang, that of the Rizzi brothers and Franco Padoan , killed on 10 March 1990 on the bank of the Brenta river in Galta di Vigonovo , in the Padua area.

The “historical” names are those of Gilberto Boatto known as “Lolli”, Paolo Pattarello , Gino Causin , plus other lieutenants such as Loris Trabujo , suspected of extortion from Venetian motorboats . But Antonio "Mario" Pandolfo , right arm and armed man of Felice Maniero, also appears among the suspects .

They lived with the other Venetian mafias
Around them, starting from 2015, a group that has slipped into a space left free by the other mafias that have been operating in Veneto for some time: the ' Ndrangheta , the Camorra, the Nigerian mafia. A coexistence that the anti-mafia prosecutor of Venice, Bruno Cherchi , defined as “peaceful”, where everyone carves out their own market without disturbing the others.

"They have aged a little, it is true - commented the magistrate - but it is also true that they are always very dangerous , with a great capacity for aggregation, and once released from prison, to
resume relationships, especially dealing and supply. of narcotic substance from South American countries , and the criminal activity against the Venetian environment ".