Three Arrested in Olympic Contract Scheme Involving Criminal Gang

Milan: Carabinieri police on Wednesday arrested three alleged members of a criminal gang who were allegedly seeking to muscle in on contracts for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. The suspects, allegedly part of a drug-dealing gang, had already acquired direct and indirect management of some venues in Cortina d’Ampezzo, prosecutors said.

According to Ansa News Agency, the arrest warrants, issued by prosecutors in Venice at the request of the district anti-mafia directorate (DDA), were executed in Rome, Cortina d’Ampezzo, and Belluno. The suspects are accused of extortion with the use of mafia methods as an aggravating factor.

Two of the suspects, brothers Leopoldo and Alvise Cobianchi, were members of the now-defunct ‘Irriducibili’ groups of hard-core ultra fans of Rome soccer team Lazio. This same group was headed by Fabrizio Piscitelli, a drug trafficker who was murdered in Rome in August 2019.

The arrest warrant detailed that, in one case, the Cobianchi brothers threatened the manager of a club in Cortina d’Ampezzo, asserting their control by telling him “we are in charge here.” They sought to impose the venue’s “deejays and gigs” and control cocaine sales at the location.