'Ndrangheta op sparked by Vassallo lead

(see related)(ANSA) - Cosenza, July 19 - A major operation against the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta mafia that led to the arrest of 58 suspects Tuesday began from a lead in the 2010 assassination of Angelo Vassallo, the so-called 'fisherman-mayor' of the seaside village of Pollica in southern Campania.
    Vassallo openly fought organized crime and building speculators who have marred coasts and countryside all over the Mezzogiorno, and was gunned down in a suspected Camorra mafia hit outside his home on September 5, 2010. Among his many battles to protect environmental and cultural heritage along Italy's lovely Cilento coast, Vassallo had denounced a drug trafficking ring operating around Pollica that as it turns out, was run by the Muto clan from the Cosenza area.
    "We believe we have touched upon the highest 'Ndrangheta powers operating on the Cosenza-area Tyrrhenian coast," said Catanzaro anti-mafia prosecutor Nicola Gratteri.
    "Therefore, if people want to now they can rebel against fishermen being oppressed with even more extortion requests".
    "The Mutos are an ancient 'Ndrangheta clan, but they are also modern because they have diversified their criminal activities, just like a multinational," he added, describing them as monopolizing economic resources along the tourist-rich coast from Cilento to Cosenza for 30 years, from the fish industry to hotel laundry services to nightclub security. "The turned the sea into a feud to ensure the economic satisfaction of a very few," said fellow anti-mafia prosecutor Vincenzo Luberto, who pointed out that a branch of Conad retail chain was attacked after management refused to let the clan take over management of the fish stand inside the supermarket.