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It was a popular mafia-run gelato business in Sicily. How did Italian police take it down?

Sweet justice was served ice-cold when Italian police brought down a thriving mafia-run ice cream empire in Sicily. How did they do it?

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Sweet justice was served ice-cold when Italian police brought down a thriving mafia-run business selling gelato in Sicily. Photo: Shutterstock

Two scoops of pistachio, one of corruption.

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For years, holidaymakers have enjoyed Sicilian gelato at famous parlours in Palermo, Italy, unaware that the booming businesses were controlled by organised crime.

The fraud was a textbook case for detectives trained to sniff out dirty money, but even with three mobster classics – a suspicious bankruptcy, a frontman and a scheming “Godfather” – it took years for investigators to shut the operation down.

The Brioscia brand, which operated two ice cream parlours, was thriving at the end of the 2010s, attracting residents and foreign visitors alike with its glittering gold stars on travel websites.

The shops were run by Mario Mancuso. Behind the scenes was Michele Micalizzi, who had served several stretches in jail for mafia association.

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Mancuso took care of the ice cream, Micalizzi managed the rest.

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