'Ndrangheta assets found in Switzerland

(ANSA) - Genoa, April 19 - 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".