Police on Thursday cleared a
council flat that had been occupied for around 10 years by a
member of the Spada mafia clan in the Rome seaside district of
Ostia.
Roads in the area were sealed off to traffic for an operation
involving around 100 officers.
The home was occupied by Vincenzo 'Gnocco' Spada, the son of
clan boss 'Pele,' who died in prison in 2006.
He is thought to be the ringleader of a racket involved in
the illegal management of social housing in Ostia.
The operation comes after a homemade bomb exploded on Tuesday
night at the Ostia home of the parents of a woman who aided
investigators in a Spada case, which resulted in the arrest of
32 people.
The Spadas have been investigated on charges including drug
trafficking, loan-sharking, gambling, social housing scams, and
for clashing with a rival clan over control of the Ostia area on
the Roman coast.
One of their members, Roberto Spada, hit headlines last
November by attacking a journalistic crew.
In June he got a six-year jail term for the brutal attack on
two members of a crew working for State broadcaster RAI in the
aftermath of elections in Ostia.
The court recognized that the use of mafia methods was an
aggravating factor in the assault.
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