Italian police seize assets worth 80 mln euros to mafia-linked entrepreneurs in Rome

Italian police carried out a major anti-mafia operation in Rome on Thursday, seizing assets worth 80 million euros (91 million U.S. dollars) to four entrepreneurs allegedly linked to the mafia, local media reported.

All the assets seized belonged to brothers Luigi, Antonio and Salvatore Righi, who are allegedly linked to the powerful Contini clan belonging to the Naples-based Camorra syndicate, Ansa news agency said.

A fourth entrepreneur involved, Alfredo Mariotti, was believed to be an old accolade of the clan who allegedly helped them to extend their interests to the capital since the 1990s.

All four of them would be "permanent money launderers for the Naples Camorra at the service of the Contini clan," according to prosecutors of the Anti-Mafia District Directorate (DDA) in Rome who ordered the raid.

The three Righi brothers were arrested on mafia association charges in the initial phase of the probe in January 2014, and submitted to a first seizure of some 25 properties and well-known restaurants and cafes in the heart of Rome only a few months later.

Italian military police force Carabinieri carried out the follow-up operation on Thursday.

The assets seized included 28 stores and cafes, 41 properties, and 77 firms, plus some 300,000 euros (343,000 dollars) in cash found during the raid, according to a police statement. Endi