“I earn 10,000 euros a week”
VENICE – Dinners in starred restaurants, luxury cars, monthly income as a footballer. The good life of drug traffickers in the Venetian hinterland documented by the investigations of the carabinieri of the lagoon investigative nucleus and put in black and white in the order of the review court. Everything revolved around Joseph Hope42 years old noalese originally from Naples, who over the years has become, according to the investigators, a local gentleman of the cocaine. In recent days, after the green light of the Court of Cassation, the carabinieri carried out a precautionary custody order against eight of the suspects, who ended up under house arrest. The Public Prosecutor’s Office had asked for 14 people to be jailed but, in the spring of last year, the judge for preliminary investigations Luca Marini had completely rejected the public prosecution’s request. Prosecutor Petroni then turned to the Venice review court which had partially assisted his appeal by ordering house arrest for eight people: Francesca Asciano, 42 years old from Noale, Davide Baldan, 48 years old from Campagna Lupia, Flamur Kreshpaj , 58 years old from Noale, Ciro Pinto, 40 years old from Mestre, Idriz Peza, 26 years old from Tribano, Nicola Artistico, 43 years old from Favaro, Ervin Ibra, 27 years old from Borgoricco and Moncef Mosbah, 58 years old from Pianiga. No precautionary measure for Speranza as he ended up in handcuffs in flagrante delicto in the past and already convicted in relation to the kilo and 200 grams of cocaine he was found in possession at the time of his arrest.
THE RECONSTRUCTION
The Court of Review in its order traces the activities of the group, associated “for the purpose of committing multiple crimes relating to drugs and in particular to ensure a constant introduction of batches of cocaine sold both retail and in larger batches”. Speranza was the “promoter and organizer of the association” and coordinated “relationships with suppliers and organized deliveries”, helped by his partner and cohabitant Francesca Asciano. Simion was, like Kreshpaj, custodian (not only of drugs in his case, but also of a real arsenal to be made available to the association) and courier, while Ciro Pinto (also called “Don Ciro”) had the task to find new supply channels. The most tested was the supply from the Albanians (Peza and Ibra) who imported cocaine from Holland. Among the suspects also a retired policeman who had taken out the loan for an apartment and had to take on a second one for the purchase of a tobacconist’s, assets which, however, in fact would have been Speranza’s to all intents and purposes.
«EVERYONE COMES TO ME»
The thickness of Speranza’s partners is well understood in the interceptions. In an environmental, during an agreement on the management of supplies, “Don Ciro” clearly says it to Artistico (an old acquaintance of the police forces with a history of crimes against the person and the family, mistreatment, fraud, receiving stolen goods): «I Moroccans come to buy from me». And drug dealers were no different. Speranza is the first to sing the praises of one of his purebred horses like Mosbah (at the time under house arrest but still an excellent seller): «This really makes him a lot…he’s under house arrest with the bracelet…fortunately this one holds the bracelet…».
THE GOOD LIFE
The lion’s share, however, was that of Speranza. The earnings?
High, so much so that talking to a friend he almost complains of too much work. «I have no more life like this, now I’m taking over the big ones. I earn 8/10 thousand euros a month, that’s enough for me». «40,000 euros a month?!», the astonished interlocutor asks. «Eh, I only earn 150 with the little ones, but I don’t want to expand even much, so much for what I need». And leaving a restaurant, talking to his partner after a 300-euro dinner, he increases the dose: «But yes, I earned 700 euros risking 10 years in prison. I came here and ate 300 of them, fuck I don’t give a damn…».