Wiretap reveals Rome businessman's link to 'Ndrangheta

(ANSA) - Rome, October 27 - A Calabrian businessman arrested by Italian police on Tuesday in an operation against the 'Ndrangheta criminal organisation told a friend by phone "you are there in Calabria, we are in Rome, but we are the same thing, all one family", according to a police wiretap.
    Ferruccio Bevilacqua, a businessman viewed as a top "white collar" member of the Calabria-based 'Ndrangheta, was among several people arrested on Tuesday, accused of money laundering and usury.
    According to investigators, Bevilacqua replicated his previous illegal business dealings in Calabria in Rome after being ordered to stay in the capital in 2009 due to his links with the powerful Mancuso clan.
    He bought up several bars around Piazza Bologna to help carry out illegal activities. When lending, his criminal gang would apply interest rates of between 160 and 600 percent.
    Rome prosecutor Michele Prestipino said that mafia clans working in Rome do not just invest and lend illegal money, but they are also involved in criminal sectors such as usury, drugs and extortion.