Hydra Trial: Informant Describes Nicastro Control Over Busto Arsizio
A 'ndrangheta turncoat describes how Busto Arsizio's civil society was bent to the Mafia family, paying bills and remaining silent in the face of violence.
Hydra Trial: Informant Describes Nicastro Control Over Busto Arsizio
During proceedings in the Consortium of Mafias trial, informant Francesco Bellusci – a former member of the 'ndrangheta from Lonate Pozzolo – provided disturbing details about the power exercised by the Nicastro family in Busto Arsizio, in the province of Varese. According to statements made to investigators, Dario Nicastro and his close associate Rosario Bonvissuto enjoyed an extensive network of complicity in the Busto Arsizio territory.
Bellusci reported that when the two entered a local establishment, those present would make themselves available as a sign of respect. These were not affiliates or persons connected to the clan, but ordinary citizens who, aware of the criminal weight of the pair, preferred not to create problems. The informant described scenes in which customers at a bar would spontaneously pay for the two Mafia figures' consumption.
A particularly striking episode concerns a violent assault that occurred in a local establishment in the city. Bonvissuto allegedly struck a man with a slap who had an outstanding dispute with a group of Sicilians close to the Nicastro family. The blow caused bleeding wounds to the unfortunate victim, but none of those present – including the bar owner – intervened to help him. Bellusci commented that even if they had pointed a gun at the victim's head, no one would have spoken.
The turncoat's account adds to a series of threats documented against Francesco Picone, manager of a local bar. Picone had been subjected to intimidation after removing Dario Nicastro's son from the establishment, who was found helping himself to beers from behind the counter for his friends without paying. The threatening messages included phrases such as "I'll strangle you with my own hands", "as soon as I come I'll cut his head off" and "you must not speak and say nothing to the cops otherwise I'll come back and burn down your place". Picone's wife confirmed to investigators that Nicastro had directed death threats at her, mimicking the gesture of cutting a throat.
Nicastro and Bonvissuto are among the defendants in the Hydra trial as representatives of a Union of Mafias linked to Cosa nostra, the Gela branch, Rinzivillo clan, with an area of control in Busto Arsizio. Currently both are at liberty with a duty to sign in and a ban on residence, despite the grave accusations weighing upon them.
Source: Il Fatto Quotidiano
Source: Il Fatto Quotidiano - Cronaca