A 'Ndrangheta-linked family
invested in artwork from the Caravaggio school in an attempt to
launder money made from cocaine trafficking, La Spezia
Carabinieri have found.
A painting was found in Switzerland, along with bank accounts
and a safety box with watches and jewels worth over 700,000
euros.
The family members of Santo Abodissa, a skipper living in La
Spezia who was killed in 2012 in Calabria which he was holding
his small son in his arms, seem to engaged in money laundering
of the proceeds from cocaine trafficking.
Abodissa was believed to have been close to the
Farao-Marincola clan of Cirò Marina, near Crotone.
The painting held in Switzerland is the "second Bacchus", the
"twin" of a version held in Florence's Uffizi gallery and is
thought to have been made by the famous painter with the help of
an assistant after the first one proved so popular.
Genoa chief prosecutor Francesco Cozzi said that the
operation "confirms that organized crime groups seek to launder
and reinvest illicit revenue through purchasing art and cultural
artifacts".
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