Carabinieri police have
served 22 arrest warrants on alleged Cosa Nostra mobsters on
charges of running a massive extortion racket against
businessmen in the Bagheria area of Palermo who have rebelled
against the Mafia after decades of intimidation.
Of the 22 warrants served all but five were for people
already in custody but as many as 36 businessmen admitted having
paid the pizzo (protection money) and identified the local
underworld kingpins responsible, Carabinieri Colonel Salvatore
Altavilla, head of the Palermo operational department, said.
"Some of them had been subject to harassment for years,"
he said, "the breakthrough has opened the way to strike a new
blow at Cosa nostra, a sign that the times have changed and that
businessmen and shopkeepers finally are rebelling".
The extortion racket extended to all local businesses in
the smart seaside resort suburb of Palermo from building to
furniture and clothes stores, wholesale fruit and fish sales,
bars, video games arcades and betting shops, police said.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
