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Six people were arrested on Friday in connection with the murder of a notorious Inter Milan fan, who was shot dead over two years ago during a power struggle among Italy’s hardcore “ultra” supporters, the public prosecutor’s office in Milan confirmed.
Vittorio Boiocchi, regarded as one of the historic leaders of Inter’s ultras and a career criminal, was gunned down near his home on the outskirts of Milan in October 2022, at the age of 69.
Authorities claim that the six individuals arrested were responsible as the “promotors, instigators, and executors” of Boiocchi’s murder, which was allegedly linked to a violent battle for control of the lucrative matchday activities managed by Inter’s ultra groups.
Two men, aged 41 and 30, are accused of carrying out the hit. They have been named as Pietro Andrea Simoncini and Daniel D’Alessandro. Simoncini was arrested in Calabria, a region in southern Italy, while D’Alessandro was apprehended in Bulgaria.
Simoncini is reportedly linked to an ‘Ndrangheta mafia family from Vibo Valentia in Calabria.
The other four individuals arrested on Friday were already incarcerated following their earlier arrest in September, when 19 ultras from both Inter and AC Milan were taken into custody for organised crime offences. One of those four, Andrea Beretta, had assumed control of the “Curva Nord” section of the San Siro after Boiocchi’s death but became a state’s witness after being jailed for the murder of another prominent ultra, Antonio Bellocco.
Bellocco, a figure tied to the ‘Ndrangheta family of the same name, was stabbed to death by Beretta in a confrontation outside a boxing gym in a Milan suburb, weeks before the mass arrests.
The prosecutor’s office revealed that Friday’s arrests were partly the result of testimony from Beretta, who, alongside Bellocco and Marco Ferdico, allegedly took over leadership of the Inter ultras. Ferdico, his father Gianfranco Ferdico, and another ultra, Cristian Ferrario, are also confirmed as the other three suspected organisers of Boiocchi’s murder.
These arrests are the latest chapter in a violent saga that has plagued Italian football, shining a light on the deep-rooted criminal activities among the ultras of Inter and Milan. Two trials are currently ongoing for alleged illegal operations around the San Siro, involving activities such as ticket touting and control over parking and concession sales.
The accused Inter ultras face charges of criminal conspiracy, aggravated by mafia methods—a serious charge typically reserved for the country’s most powerful criminal organisations.
Prosecutors believe that Beretta and Ferdico used Bellocco’s ‘Ndrangheta ties to push aside more traditional football hooligans, often associated with far-right politics, who had been vying for control among the ultras.
Boiocchi, who was killed just hours before an Inter home match against Sampdoria, had a criminal history dating back to the 1970s. He was banned from attending Inter matches but had gained notoriety in Milan’s underworld. In the 1990s, he was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for drug trafficking.
