Rapper Niko Pandetta has been released from prison. The Catania Court of Review, overturning the reservation made at the June 30 hearing, granted the appeal by Cagliari lawyer Riccardo Floris and annulled the order against the artist.
The Sardinian lawyer—Pandetta's longtime defense attorney—had requested that the pretrial detention order be overturned, citing both the seriousness of the evidence and the lack of precautionary measures, which the lawyer also found to be completely nonexistent. The reasons accepted by the Court of Appeal are not yet known, and the Court will submit its reasons for the decision within 45 days.
Neapolitan singer Vincenzo Pandetta, known as Niko , thirty-five and nephew of Catania mafia boss Salvatore "Turi" Cappello , was recently among fifteen individuals subject to a precautionary detention order issued by the Catania investigating judge. This measure was part of Operation "Abisso," conducted by the Guardia di Finanza and coordinated by the Catania District Anti-Mafia Directorate.
The investigation concerns alleged drug trafficking , aggravated by the fact that he facilitated two separate mafia organizations : the Cappello-Bonaccorsi clan of Catania and the Santa Panagia clan of Syracuse. According to the Catania Anti-Mafia Directorate, Pandetta continued to manage illicit businesses while already in detention, acting as an intermediary with the Syracuse group through the collaboration of another inmate.
This reconstruction was completely contested by Sardinian lawyer Riccardo Floris, who requested the annulment of the precautionary order, which was upheld today by the review judges.
