Carabinieri police in Palermo
on Tuesday arrested six suspected members of the local Bagheria
clan in an operation coordinated by DDA anti-mafia police.
The suspects are accused of mafia association and aggravated
extortion against local retailers and entrepreneurs.
They include Paolo Liga, nephew of Mafia boss Giuseppe
Scaduto, a leader of the Bagheria clan who was arrested on
October 30 last year and who was in contact with fugitive boss
of bosses Matteo Messina Denaro, investigators say.
Liga was allegedly in charge of his clan's relations with
other Mafia clans in Palermo and Trapani.
According to a number of 'pentiti', Mafia insiders who turned
State witnesses and aided the investigation, the Bagheria clan
is able to reorganize after every police operation by
immediately replacing its arrested members, according to
investigative sources.
Palermo Carabinieri Commander Antonio Di Stasio said the
arrests on Tuesday "targeted the process to replace the chiefs
and historic affiliates with new generations of criminals, the
sons of leaders of the most influential families of Cosa
Nostra".
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