Mr Rappa then contacted his son, Vito, and urged him to intervene, Professor Sergi said, adding that the elder Rappa is very well known to authorities in both the US and Italy and was once arrested in the 1970s for heroin trafficking. His influence – and “charisma” – are strong enough in both the US and Italy that he is able to facilitate debt collection through extortion and ensure that his friends are being treated well, she told BBC News.
