Piantedosi in Palermo: “The assets confiscated from the mafia should be used to improve the judicial and policing system.”

Last Updated: July 24, 2023

Piantedosi a Palermo: «Con i beni confiscati alle mafie vanno migliorati il sistema giudiziario e di polizia»

#Palermo
A more effective policy for the valorization of assets confiscated from the mafia in Sicily, considering that over a third of these assets are located on the island, and a better identification of possible reuse and recovery methods that can also involve new law enforcement and forestry corps. Villa Whitaker, the headquarters of the prefecture of Palermo, is the stage for the institutional agreement between the Sicilian Region and the national agency for the administration and destination of assets seized and confiscated from organized crime, to which six agreements for the direct allocation of certain assets to third sector entities and the delivery of the Pietro Piazza hotel school building to the Municipality of Palermo have been added.

In the presence of the hostess, Prefect Maria Teresa Cucinotta, and the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi, the President of the Region Renato Schifani and the President of Anbsc, Bruno Corda, sign a new protocol that sees an increasingly close collaboration, which Schifani has defined as “operational and dynamic,” among the institutional actors. The objective is to give a boost to an economy that is currently sluggish, which aims at the redevelopment of properties seized from Mafia members: “Sicily is an important supplier of raw material in terms of confiscated assets, accounting for approximately 40% of the national heritage,” emphasized the minister. “We intend to occupy a significant space, especially with regard to the allocation of assets to law enforcement agencies: using the assets of the mafias creates the conditions for the judicial and policing systems to function better. Through initiatives like this, we aim to do better,” continues the head of the Ministry of the Interior. “We have created the conditions to further re-launch the issue of confiscated assets. The main problem in this sector is reconciling supply and demand.”

Piantedosi especially commends the work carried out by the Region, also emphasized by Bruno Corda: “Sicily has always been engaged with EU and national funds in the restructuring of buildings, but also in demolitions, which bring the territories back to normality.” At present, Sicily has approximately 1700 assets, including 122 in the province of Trapani from the possessions of Matteo Messina Denaro: “For smaller municipalities, these are a godsend. They have great significance,” Corda continues. Associations that have received some spaces also attended the signing: Rosaria Nuccio of the Liberarmonia association will carry out a project that involves the activation of vocational-occupational workers. Michele Buscemi of the Walden Institute association will create a shelter for women victims of violence, while Davide Di Pasquale of Uniamoci will carry out a multifunctional social center project. Maurizio Artale of the Padre nostro center will carry out the initiative of welcoming people in extreme poverty, while Mario Lupo of the Samot association will create a listening center. Finally, Giuseppe Scalzo of the Onmic association plans to create a multifunctional support service for the community to counter situations of discomfort. “We confirm our commitment to make confiscated assets available to society,” Schifani emphasizes, “a sort of compensation for the damages caused by organized crime activities. Managing these assets is not a bet that can be lost.”

On the sidelines of the meeting, the Minister of the Interior also commented on the situation in Lampedusa, “an island that should receive the Nobel Peace Prize,” he underlines. “We are managing a difficult problem with the support of local territories. We are strengthening the reception network to stem the problem of arrivals, but always with the aim of stopping the flows. So far, we have received and distributed 25,000 people in reasonable time frames. The magnitude of the phenomenon is enormous, and the government is working well.”