The State Police, following a complex investigative activity coordinated by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Rome, dismantled a criminal association aimed at committing usury crimes, abusive use of credit and extortion: a precautionary custody order was carried out against eight people, two of them in Spain.
Today morning the "Crimes against Heritage" Section of the Flying Squad, following a complex investigative activity coordinated by the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office, carried out a precautionary custody order, issued by the Judge for Preliminary Investigations, against of eight people, seriously suspected, for various reasons, of the commission of the crimes of extortion, abusive exercise of credit and usury, as well as having formed a criminal association aimed at committing the aforementioned crimes mainly in the San Paolo area of the Capital.
In particular, the investigations, conducted in the period between June 2020 and March 2021, with the support of technical activities, arose from the complaint of a small Garbatella operator who, having found himself in obvious economic difficulties, had turned to the main suspect. . The latter had initially granted him money on loan with a rather low interest rate (but still higher than the allowed global effective rate), in order to co-opt a wide range of additional customers persuaded by the goodness and convenience of the loans he disbursed. , but subsequently continued the financing relationship with increasingly expensive disbursements, multiplying the interests, even with various other people.
The investigative investigations developed on debtor relationships made it possible to ascertain, in the large south-eastern quadrant of the capital, the existence of a "family-run" criminal association, with a 38-year-old Roman at the top, acting with the collaboration of a 70-year-old as well as a 66-year-old subject of Bari origins, in the role of supporter, a Roman woman, employed at the Ministry of Justice and the latter's companion.
In fact, the investigations made it possible to ascertain how the associative bond, in addition to being permanent, was characterized precisely by the family relationship that linked the various associates and aimed at achieving the set criminal objectives, such as the granting of money loans with increased interest that fluctuated between 10% and 70% on a quarterly basis, to small retailers in various areas of Rome, namely Piramide, Garbatella, Marconi and Trullo.
Hence the name of the “Family affairs” operation.
The roles of each single associate within the criminal organization have been clearly delineated, in particular it has been ascertained that the promoter of the association made use of the contribution provided by a close collaborator in the Roman territory, who went to Spain, to Tenerife , in order to deliver the money from the illegal activities carried out in Rome and thus act as a "bridge" between Italy and the Canary Islands.
In the course of the investigations, usurious conduct and abusive exercise of credit were ascertained to the detriment of several subjects in the province of Rome, some of whom are entrepreneurs.
The execution of the restrictive measures, carried out with the coordination of the Central Anti-Crime Directorate - Central Operational Service and the collaboration of the International Police Cooperation Service and the Spanish Police made it possible to trace the top management of the organization in the Island of Tenerife where it was notified a European Arrest Warrant issued by the Judicial Authority of Rome.
During the investigation, the judicial police also carried out substantial drug seizures, for a total of about 90 kg of marijuana and hashish.
All the suspects are presumed innocent, in consideration of the current phase of the procedure, or that of the preliminary investigations, up to a definitive ascertainment of guilt with an irrevocable sentence.