>>84658
>>84662

“Married to the Mob: The diamond boer and the honeytrap” – Louis Lieberman - Part 3

https://mg.co.za/article/2015-04-16-married-to-the-mob-the-diamond-boer-and-the-honeytrap/
16 Apr 2015

Political ties

--Over the years, Palazzolo’s cultivation of the likes of then defence minister Pik Botha and MP Peet de Pontes has been revealed, and allegations raised that Palazzolo helped, or attempted to help, the then South Africa Defence Force turn diamonds into military hardware. Palazzolo’s property has been raided, stories about him published and many hours spent in courts as he fought off attempts at prosecution. There is a veritable mountain of paperwork on Palazzolo’s connections with South Africa.--

The paper trail on Messicati Vitale is smaller and it begins with a single photograph.

--In 2011 the Italian Carabinieri noted that Messicati Vitale, who holds the Mafia throne of the Villabate borough of Palermo, had travelled to South Africa. He had met, they learned, the Ferrante family, which had been settled in South Africa since the late 1950s, and which turned out to be related to Messicati Vitale.--

Investigating the Ferrantes took Italian police as far as a company named African Dune. Looking into it, in turn, brought up a business venture named the Zimbabwe Diamond Opportunity.