Italian police have dealt a significant blow to one of southern Italy’s most entrenched mafia organizations, arresting three suspected members of the notorious Pesce-Pistillo clan in Andria. The arrests, the result of a year-long investigation, shed new light on the enduring influence of mafia-style extortion rackets that continue to plague small business owners in parts of the country.

Authorities allege that the three men-whose names have not yet been released publicly-operated a violent protection racket that terrorized local shopkeepers through threats, physical assaults, and bomb attacks. The operation, coordinated by Bari’s Anti-Mafia Directorate and carried out with assistance from the Central Operational Service and the Barletta-Andria-Trani police, marks another chapter in Italy’s decades-long battle against organized crime syndicates that use fear to dominate communities.

According to investigators, the suspects used a combination of extortion and intimidation to establish control over small businesses in Andria, a city in the northern part of the Bari province. Their alleged methods were brutal and systematic. Victims were approached and pressured to pay so-called “protection money,” a classic hallmark of mafia control, under the pretext of ensuring their safety or business continuity.

When business owners refused to comply, the suspects reportedly escalated their campaign of terror. Police said the intimidation culminated in a homemade bomb explosion outside one victim’s residence in March 2023-a stark warning to others about the consequences of defiance.

Despite the violence, investigators noted that none of the victims initially reported the extortion. Fear of retaliation, coupled with a deep-rooted mistrust of law........

© Blitz