Cassazione Penale - Sentenza n. 07675/2026

Key Facts

Issues

• The defense argued that art. 629 cod. pen. could not apply to internal disputes among associates of an alleged criminal organization, as the profit and damage were not unjust, and the victim could exit the partnership.
• The court evaluated whether the victim, Antonio Grillo, who was a co-offender in contraband, could be deemed credible and whether his wife's testimony (with whom he had a marital relationship) met legal standards for admissibility under art. 441 cod. proc. pen.
• The court considered whether the sentencing for Giuseppe Troncone failed to account for his minimal role, lack of prior convictions, and the applicability of attenuating circumstances under arts. 62-bis and 133 cod. pen.
• The court assessed whether Giuseppe Troncone's isolated threat to demand payment from Grillo constituted a meaningful contribution to the extortion scheme under art. 114 cod. pen., given its spontaneity and limited scope.
• The defense contested the application of the aggravating circumstance under art. 416-bis.1 cod. pen. (mafia methods), claiming no evidence of mafia-style behavior or subjective perception of such methods by the victim.
• The defense challenged the admissibility of interception records, citing violations of arts. 270 and 454 cod. proc. pen., including the non-deposit of brogliacci and excessive omissis in authorization decrees, which allegedly compromised the right to a fair trial.
• The court addressed whether the alleged threat by Benito Divano to collect payment for contraband cigarettes constituted an unjust threat under art. 629 cod. pen., as the defense argued it lacked coercive intent and was merely a business demand.

Holdings

• The court declared all appeals inadmissible, finding the arguments manifestly unfounded and generic, as they failed to meet the specificity required by law. The appeals sought an impossible re-evaluation of evidence and legal reasoning already addressed in lower courts.
• The court upheld the credibility of the victim's testimony and the inadmissibility of contradictory witness statements, emphasizing that the victim's account was corroborated by multiple evidence sources including interrogations and intercepted dialogues.
• The court confirmed that the defendants' conduct met the legal criteria for extortion (art. 629) under both objective and subjective elements, including the unjust profit and coercive threats. The defense's alternative interpretations were deemed legally invalid.
• The court affirmed the admissibility and use of intercepted communications, noting that procedural requirements for their utilization were met. The defense's claims of procedural violations were rejected as baseless.
• The aggravating circumstance of the mafioso method (art. 416-bis.1) was affirmed as applicable to the defendants' conduct, given the coercive and organized nature of the crimes. The defense's objections to this aggravation were dismissed.
• The court dismissed appeals challenging the sentencing, finding no legal basis for reducing penalties given the defendants' roles and the severity of their actions. The applied penalties were deemed proportionate to the crimes.

Remedies

• The appellants are condemned to pay the court costs and a sum of €3,000 to the Cassa delle ammende as a pecuniary sanction, in accordance with the legal provisions governing procedural expenses and penalties for frivolous appeals.
• The appellants are further condemned to reimburse the civil party (Antonio Grillo) for the legal fees incurred in this judicial proceeding, amounting to €1,844.00 plus statutory accessories, to be distributed to the lawyer (Avv. D'Eugenio Gianpaolo) who provided assistance in the case.
• The court declares inadmissible all the appeals and dismisses them, as they were deemed manifestly unfounded and generic, failing to meet the legal requirements for admissibility.

Legal Principles

• The defense's failure to meet the burden of proof by providing specific, non-generic arguments led to the inadmissibility of their appeals. The court required precise censures under art. 581 cod. proc. pen.
• The court addressed the admissibility of intercepted evidence and testimonies, noting that omissions in decrees did not render the evidence inutilizzabile, and the victim's statements were properly admitted despite their prior involvement in the crime.
• The court emphasized that arguments reiterating previous points without new evidence are inadmissible, as the appellate court's decision and the trial court's reasoning were already aligned (doppia conforme).
• The trial court's evaluation of the victim's credibility was deemed sufficient, as the defense failed to demonstrate manifest illogicality or a reasonable doubt under the Standard of Proof requirements.
• The court interpreted the mafia method (metodo mafioso) under art. 416-bis.1 cod. pen. purposively, focusing on the objective criteria of the crime's characteristics rather than subjective perceptions of the victim.

Precedent Name

• S.
• Annunziata
• Magni
• Berni
• Tordo
• Fulco
• Carloni Modesti
• Ventimiglia

Cited Statute

• Codice Penale
• Codice di Procedura Penale

Judge Name

• Alessandro Leopizzi
• Marzia Minutillo Turtur
• Lucia Aielli
• Antonio Saraco
• Andrea Pellegrino

Passage Text

• 6.1. L'obiettività giuridica della fattispecie di estorsione, infatti, è quella di tutelare il patrimonio, attraverso la repressione di condotte dirette a coartare la libertà di autodeterminazione del soggetto negli atti di disposizione patrimoniale...
• 9.2. Secondo i giudici del merito, le modalità di commissione del fatto (imposizione di acquisti sul presupposto che la bancarella di Giglio insisteva su «un territorio che i Troncone consideravano sotto la loro influenza e controllo»; minacce volontariamente eclatanti...
• 6.3. L'imputazione di cui al capo 1 concerne, con ogni evidenza, una vicenda estorsiva, in presenza di tutti gli elementi del fatto tipico: - la condotta brutalmente intimidatoria, anche con esplicite minacce di morte e ostentazione dell'uso di armi; - la richiesta di rifornirsi, per i propri illeciti traffici, solo presso i Troncone...