The Flying Squad of the Pistoia Police Headquarters and the Economic and Financial Police Unit of the Pistoia Financial Police today executed n. 12 personal precautionary measures (9 in prison and 3 under house arrest) and seizures of illicit assets and business complexes, for a total value of approximately €2 million, in execution of the provisions issued by the investigating judge of the Court of Pistoia, at the request of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Pistoia, which also ordered searches against subjects held responsible, without prejudice to the presumption of innocence until the final sentence, of having organized and managed, in the provinces of Pistoia and Prato, multiple illicit activities, interconnected, such as extortion against entrepreneurs, the management of rooms used for clandestine betting, the issuing of invoices for non-existent operations
The investigations were triggered, at the beginning of 2022, by the complaint filed by a couple of entrepreneurs who managed two restaurant/entertainment venues in Montecatini Terme and in Pieve a Nievole (PT), who, after having initially complied with some extortionate requests , exasperated and worried about the continuous threats and further demands for money, had decided to contact the PS police station in Montecatini Terme, reporting that they were victims of extortion by a person of Chinese origin, supported by two Italian criminals, who thus intended to force them to cede their commercial activities to him.
The Public Prosecutor's Office of Pistoia, after an initial phase delegated to the Flying Squad of the Pistoia Police Headquarters, during which the criminal caliber of two Italian criminals and a person of Chinese origin (encumbered by numerous precedents for tax fraud) immediately emerged, as well as the extent of their illegal interests, deemed it appropriate to make use of the specialized investigative contribution of the economic-financial police of the Guardia di Finanza, to reconstruct the position of the latter and its illicit business turnover, while the State Police continued in parallel and coordinated investigations into the extortion episodes and further crimes (management of illegal betting halls in the province of Prato and drug dealing in the province of Pistoia) in which the former were implicated.
The activities conducted by the Flying Squad, a complex investigative activity, lasting over a year and also carried out through technical activities (interception, telephone, environmental and telematics) as well as investigative findings in the area, made it possible to reconstruct the existence of a stubborn extortion phenomenon and of a real "system" of illegal and clandestine betting. These bets, it has been ascertained, take place both online on special cloned sites and in physical locations consisting of slot halls located in the municipality of Prato, nominally attributable to Chinese citizens but in fact in the hands of two of the subjects subjected to precautionary measures, who have full access to it as real owners, making use of various collaborators.
The measurements were carried out with the operational assistance of the Mobile Teams of Prato, Rome, Latina, Lucca and Massa Carrara. Approximately 90 police officers were employed to carry out the measure, with the operational assistance of the Crime Prevention Departments, the Florence dog unit, the Central Unit of the Gaming and Betting Police of the Central Operational Service (SCO) of the Central Anti-Crime Directorate as well as specialists of the Scientific Police Service of Rome, experts in the use of high-tech equipment such as ground penetrating radar, a sophisticated device that scans every wall, looking for hidden spaces or hidden cavities.
The investigations developed by the Judicial Police Section - Guardia di Finanza branch and by the Pistoia Economic and Financial Police Unit - also based on the effective combination of technical activities and investigative findings on the territory, which were accompanied by the analysis and cross-referencing of results deduced from the wealth of information present in the numerous databases in use by the Corps - as well as collecting important elements of feedback useful for the investigations conducted by the State Police (given that the extortion requests were formally "justified" by contracts for the provision of services at uneconomic conditions and, in part, by requests for settlement of invoices for non-existent transactions, so much so that the extortionist, in one case, had even managed to mislead a Court, obtaining the issuance of an injunction, which later turned out to be affected by ideological falsity ), made it possible to reveal how one of the suspects, a 43-year-old of Chinese origin, was a sort of "red pimpernel" dedicated, for over twenty years, to the secret acquisition of economic activities, which he then managed in defiance of tax legislation, often through a third party, stripping them of their assets and without honoring tens of millions of euros of tax debts.
The same, after having established its center of interests in Prato, began to acquire companies from different economic sectors, not only in the Prato area, but also in the Florentine area, and then infiltrated, through the aforementioned extortion practices, in the area of Valdinievole.
At the state of the proceedings and without prejudice to the subsequent assessments regarding the actual and definitive assessment of responsibility, on the basis of the evidence collected so far, and according to the hypothesis examined by the Judge in the provision, it has therefore emerged that, starting from 2017 , the aforementioned would have thus secretly managed, without ever appearing directly and registering the ownership to relatives and relatives of Sinic origin, n. 6 companies, of which n. 5 still active, continuing to defraud the tax authorities with false cross-invoicing (for a total taxable amount of €460.780 and VAT equal to €92.077), partly prepared by a conniving accountant from Prato, subtracting from possible tax claims more than 544.000 euros, transferred to China thanks to fictitious documentation, and demonstrating a high standard of living, which allowed him to use luxury cars, leased in the name of controlled companies, and to frequent exclusive tourist locations.
The Fiamme Gialle of Pistoia therefore took steps to implement the measures issued by the Judicial Authority, tracing and arresting the Chinese citizen in Prato, at his undeclared home, and carrying out n. 12 local searches, in the provinces of Pistoia, Florence, Prato and Lodi, against the same and no. others. 3 subjects under investigation (including a chartered accountant), with simultaneous notification of the relevant guarantee information.
At the same time, operations were carried out to seize financial assets, registered immovable and movable assets, for over €544.000, in which, among other things, at 2 homes, over €30.000 in cash was found and seized.
Furthermore, the n. 5 companies effectively managed by the aforementioned Chinese citizen with a current estimated value of €797.682. In particular, it concerns an LLC based in Florence, which manages two hotels (two and four stars) and a B&B in the center of Florence, three LLCs, with headquarters in Prato and Poggio a Caiano (FI), which manage catering establishments in Prato and Florence, and of another LLC which carries out the clothing manufacturing business in Campi Bisenzio (FI).
The Pistoia Economic and Financial Police Unit, in this executive phase also conducted in operational coordination with the Pistoia Police Headquarters, which involved around 40 soldiers from the Corps, made use of the precious help of personnel from the Pistoia Group, the 2nd Metropolitan Operational Unit of Florence and of the Casalpusterlengo Tenenza, as well as of the Technical Means Group of the Central Organized Crime Investigation Service (SCICO) of Rome, equipped with cutting-edge instrumentation for the search for any sums of money and/or valuables hidden in walls or cavities, and of a canine unit trained in the search for currency ("cash dog") of the 1st Florence Metropolitan Operations Unit.
In reporting that, as the Public Prosecutor's Office specifies, the investigative hypotheses summarized above have been formulated in compliance with the principle of the presumption of innocence of the persons subjected to investigations and that their responsibility will be definitively ascertained only where an irrevocable sentence of conviction occurs, it is highlighted that today's operation constitutes a clear example of how the synergistic action of the Police Forces, under the constant coordination of the Judicial Authority and within the consolidated collaborative relationships, which take into account the respective different competences attributed by the Laws, is able to provide a timely and concrete response to requests for legality coming from the territory.
On this occasion, the police force recalls the importance of reporting illicit facts and circumstances of which one is a victim or of which one has become aware. In this specific case, the initial complaint by the two entrepreneurs proved to be fundamental, shining a light on a serious phenomenon that is difficult to perceive from the outside and thus allowing the Judicial Police to promptly become aware of it and the Judiciary to immediately start the proceedings. necessary investigations, which developed effectively and rapidly, thanks to the wise and coordinated use of the different roles, experiences and professionalism possessed by the men and women of the State Police and the Financial Police.
The activity is part of the general strategies of the State Police, aimed at guaranteeing a safe safeguard of legality for the population and at increasing the level of security, real and perceived, in support of regular and peaceful civil coexistence, and of the Guardia di Finanza, aimed at protecting honest entrepreneurs and citizens by combating as a priority the most serious and pernicious economic-financial crimes, such as tax fraud and extortion, which attempt to pollute the healthy entrepreneurial fabric, distorting free competition and taking away precious financial resources from the State and to the community.
