Catania: Grazia Santapaola has been placed under precautionary measures as part of the ROS anti-mafia investigation.

On behalf of the District Attorney's Office of Catania, the ROS Carabinieri they executed a custody order issued by the GIP at the request of District Anti-Mafia Directorate towards Grace Santapaola, investigated for the crime of 416 bis paragraphs 1, 4 and 6 of the Criminal Code

According to what emerged from the investigative compendium collected by the Catania Anti-Crime Section during various investigative activities, including the recent proceeding “Mercury”, the woman would have had a role considered significant in the mafia group “Eighty Palms”, historically inserted into the family Santapaola-Ercolano.

The alleged leadership role within the “Ottantapalmi” group

From the current acquisitions it would emerge that Grace Santapaola, cousin of the historic boss Benedict Santapaola and wife of Salvatore Amato, already indicated as the contact person for the Ottantapalmi group, would not have limited himself to a "supporting" role.

According to the ordinance, the woman allegedly: exercised mafia powers deriving from one's family membership; managed illicit business in the historic city center; contributed to the support of the association and the families of prisoners; represented a figure also recognized by external mafia associations.

According to the investigators, this would be the first reconstruction of a full mafia operation of the woman, who would have acted not only as a relative of the leaders, but as an active subject involved in the dynamics of the criminal group.

Relations with other clans and episodes attributable to internal tensions

Several circumstances reported by investigators describe Santapaola as a reference figure in managing conflicts and critical issues, including:

• a contrast with the Nardo clan, in which she would have intervened to defend the son of Francesco Santapaola, Alias “Ciccio Campetto”;

• an episode of contrast with Christian Paternò, former head of the San Giovanni Galermo mafia group, arrested in operation “Ombra”;

• internal dynamics linked to the conflict of 2023 between the Santapaola-Ercolano family (Station Group) and the clan Cap, subject of the well-known operation “Leonids” of the Provincial Command of the Carabinieri of Catania.

According to the documents, in these circumstances the woman would have moved to protect the "honor of the blood family”, an element that investigators consider relevant to outline the alleged mafia membership.

The precautionary custody order would highlight that Grace Santapaola she would have gone beyond the marginal role that had previously been attributed to her, assuming positions of direct and operational responsibility within the association.