A staunch supporter of AC Milan and Inter Milan they were arrested on Monday for allegedly committing organized crime as part of a probe into the illegal profits made around the match and the infiltration of the so-called mafia gangs “Ultras“district group
ItalyFinance police said the leading figures among the “ultra” groups were arrested for “criminal conspiracy aggravated by mafia methods, extortion, assault and other serious crimes”.
“The suspects are almost all members of the ultras group of the Milan team, while the crime is linked to the profits made around it. football“said the financial police in a statement.
A total of 19 people were arrested, including the two heads of the Inter and Milan ultras, Renato Bosetti and Luca Lucci, after a long investigation that included two years of wiretaps.
The alleged crimes include activities around the San Siro stadium on match days, from ticket touting to parking control, sales from concession stands and taking payments from people without tickets and letting them into the stadium.
Bosetti’s predecessors are the leaders of the Inter ultras, Marco Ferdico and Andrea Beretta, accused of allowing the Bellocco clan of the powerful Ndrangheta mafia “to be represented on the stand by people who have been convicted of crimes related to the mafia”, prosecutor Milan Marcello. said Viola.
That deputy was Antonio Bellocco, who magistrate Domenico Santoro said was the only serious mafioso among those investigated and killed by Beretta earlier this month.
Beretta, who has a long criminal record, stabbed Bellocco to death during an altercation outside a boxing gym in the suburbs of Milan reportedly after he realized his life was in danger.
Bellocco’s death came as a shock given his status in the ‘Ndrangheta, which led to the Beretta family being placed under special surveillance by the police for fear of violent reprisals.
Beretta took a leading role in the Curva Nord section of the San Siro, where Inter’s die-hard fans stood, after career criminal Vittorio Boiocchi was shot dead outside his home in October 2022.
Italian media widely reported at the time of his killing at the age of 69 that Boiocchi had boasted in wiretapped conversations about earning 80,000 euros ($88,000) a month through his position as ultra leader.
Extortion and violence
However, Viola did not specify the amount of money the ultras of the two teams received from their activities.
Asked by AFP at a press conference on Monday, Viola singled out one unnamed businessman who opened a car park and was extorted 4,000 euros a month.
The ultras of Milan are not accused of mafia-related offenses, Viola added, “although there was a series of trials, which never resulted in any agreement, with people close to organized crime”.
Police said there were no drug offenses in the charging documents, although some of those arrested, including Lucci, had prior narcotics convictions.
However, Milan’s main ultras, who have also worked as bodyguards, are also accused of looting nightclubs in Sardinia.
Viola told reporters that neither Inter nor Milan, nor anyone from the management of the two clubs, are being investigated by the authorities who consider the two clubs to have been damaged by the criminal acts they have arrested.
“It is wrong to say that all ultras are criminals, but it is clear that everyone can see that an important part of the ultras scene is involved in criminal activities,” said Giovanni Melillo, Italy’s head of anti-mafia and anti-terrorism. authority.
Inter face Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League at the San Siro on Tuesday night, a match in which fans of the Serbian club have been banned from attending due to fears of violence.
Coach Simone Inzaghi told reporters at Monday’s pre-match press conference that “the club is not saying anything because the investigation is ongoing”.
Santoro said Inzaghi had been contacted by Ferdico, with wiretaps circulating saying the latter put pressure on the former Italy forward to ask the club for more tickets for the 2023 Champions League final, which Inter lost to Manchester City.
Clashes between fans have marred several matches involving clubs in Italy’s top division Series Awith serious disturbances between Genoa and Sampdoria fans before and after the local derby in the Coppa Italia last week.
Genoa were forced to face Juventus behind closed doors on Saturday after local derby violence left dozens of fans and police injured, while Samp fans were banned from traveling to their 3-1 Serie B win in Modena.
