The State Police of Parma, in execution of an order for the application of personal precautionary measures issued by the Gip at the Court of Parma at the request of the Public Prosecutor's Office, arrested two subjects, both former collaborators of justice, with precedents for crimes referable to drug trafficking and at the time contiguous to a criminal organization of the mafia type, because they were held responsible for multiple episodes of usury to the detriment of citizens and small entrepreneurs from 2011 to today.
Starting from the end of 2017, through the investigations conducted by the Parma Police Headquarters, an anomalous availability of money had emerged from a justice collaborator who had been present in the province of Parma for about 10 years; the man, in fact, appeared to lead a lifestyle well above the possibilities allowed by the salary received for his known work activity.
The first investigations carried out on his behalf and on the account of his partner, also already a collaborator of justice and attributable to the same criminal group in which the man had played a leading role in drug trafficking, made it possible to verify that the two they were the actual owners of a business in the city of Parma, formally registered in the name of a figurehead and taken over by a Parmesan woman who, after having sold it, had been hired in the same business as an employee.
On the basis of these first elements, thanks also to the statements made by the former owner of the business and by other people who, for various reasons, had interfaced with the couple, the investigators confirmed that the two actually had an important availability. economic and disbursed loans to individuals in economic difficulty, demanding repayment with exorbitant interest rates.
The subsequent investigative activity, coordinated by the Public Prosecutor of Parma, made it possible to acquire elements to support the initial investigative hypothesis, by identifying some of the victims and verifying the usurious nature of the rates applied.
From the surveys, in particular, significant elements have been collected to support
that the man - taking advantage of the credibility that was guaranteed by his status as a collaborator of justice (which he flaunted with colleagues and acquaintances) and boasting friendships, acquaintances and cover-ups - made himself available to "help" people who (having beaten the ordinary channels for obtaining legal loans) needed money to meet family or work needs, then moving on to provide loans against which, at the state of the investigations, it imposed interest rates that were between 130% and 450 %, all always with the help of his partner.
Again according to the reconstruction carried out by this Office, shared by the GIP of caution, in cases where the recipients of the loans were unable to meet the commitments undertaken, the man - alternating coaxing with veiled threats connected to his criminal past and to availability of weapons - he would have forced the aforementioned to find the "owed" money or with further loans granted by himself (thus triggering a vicious circle in which the bond with him turned into a form of dependence and interest rates increased exponentially) or by transferring ownership of shares in companies, real estate or vehicles.
In the latter case, the assets transferred, before passing through the full availability of the two suspects, passed from the victim to a figurehead to conceal their direct origin.
In conclusion, the investigation as a whole made it possible to acquire substantial circumstantial elements against the two suspects, as it can be considered that they have set up a thriving business, thanks above all to the silent attitude of the victims whose positions have been painstakingly highlighted.
On the occasion of the searches carried out at the domicile and at the premises of the commercial activity attributable to the suspects, various documentation was found that could be useful in confirming the alleged offenses (bills and bank checks attributable to the offended persons and private documents subject to investigation) .
Furthermore, n. 20 bullets cal. 45 colt seized against the sole collaborator of justice, each of which proceeds separately.