Gifts of cars, horses for mafia boss

P(ANSA) – Bari, April 14 – Mafia kingpin Savino Parisi was greeted with horses, cars and other gifts after his release from prison, a former mobster turned prosecution witness said in court Monday.BRGifts came from across the Japigia district of Bari to welcome Parisi home, recalled Vito Tritta during the trial of Parisi who is accused with 46 others of various mafia activities as well as international drug trafficking, fraud and bid rigging.BRIn December 2009, police arrested some 82 people including Parisi as part of a major anti-mafia investigation, and seized property ranging from sports cars to race horses.BRCourt heard that Parisi, a member of Puglia-based Sacra Corona Unita, had been released from prison in April 2007 after about 13 years in detention for masterminding a public healthcare scam.BROn his release, neighbours in the southeastern city of Bari brought meat and cheese as well as the larger gifts of cars and horses, said Tritta.BRWhile he was free, Parisi was escorted by mob members riding scooters and carrying weapons, with others riding ahead to ensure he could avoid police officers, said Tritta, who also described for the court the network of drug dealers who worked for the mafia clan. Parisi, whose clan started out in the local drug trade, later expanded into building contracts.BRInvestigators have said the 2009 operation showed the extent to which the Parisi clan had stretched its influence, corrupting dozens of lawyers, businessmen and city administrators to secure lucrative public building contracts.BRIts conquests included a 30-million-euro deal to build a new university student center, which it allegedly won with the help from its contacts in city administration.BRCity officials, attorneys and a number of entrepreneurs from Bari’s “high society” were among those arrested in the December 2009 sweep.BRThe Sacra Corona Unita is Italy’s fourth mafia after Cosa Nostra, the Camorra and ‘Ndrangheta.BR/P
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