Mafia Extortion Scheme Unraveled in Agerola and Pimonte

The Carabinieri of the Pianillo Station in Agerola have executed a prison order issued by the Court of Torre Annunziata against 51-year-old Vincenzo Gentile. He will have to serve eight years in prison as he was convicted for participating in continuous and aggravated extortion using mafia methods, a crime committed in the towns of Agerola and Pimonte between 2018 and 2019. The measure is attributable to an investigation conducted by the Carabinieri of the operational section of Castellammare di Stabia, under the coordination of the Anti-Mafia District Directorate of Naples. The investigations began on the evening of May 3, 2018, when in the locality of Gesinella, in the municipality of Pimonte, Filippo Sabatino, a member of the Afeltra Di Martino clan, was killed by gunfire. The investigations that followed documented a system of extortions carried out by individuals close to the 'Gentile' clan. According to the findings, the accused - among them Vincenzo Gentile - forced several merchants and entrepreneurs in the Monti Lattari area to purchase gadgets of negligible value at exorbitant prices. Already subject to precautionary detention in prison, Gentile will now face an 8-year sentence.