Noose tightens around Mykonos mafia
Suspect arrested over murder of engineer, special prosecutor for organized crime appointed
In the wake of last week’s murder of 54-year-old engineer/surveyor Panagiotis Stathis in Athens, police authorities are coming down heavily on rival gangs vying for dominance in areas such as entertainment, catering and property sales on the island of Mykonos.
A 44-year-old with links to organized crime on Mykonos was arrested on Wednesday for the murder of Stathis, who was professionally active on the island for decades.
Meanwhile, also on Wednesday, Supreme Court prosecutor Georgia Adeilini called for crimes by local mafias in Mykonos, other Cycladic islands, Attica and Thessaloniki to be fully scrutinized, assigning the investigation to a special prosecutor.
According to the case file against the 44-year-old, he had been part of a racket involved in homicides and kidnappings – including that of shipowner Pericles Panagopoulos – as well as extortion and planting explosive devices.
His female partner has reportedly testified that they visited Mykonos twice in the months before the murder. There, the 44-year-old allegedly met a man who is active in the real estate market with whom the engineer, according to some witnesses, had allegedly quarreled in the past.
Police investigating the murder of Stathis in Neo Psychiko focused on his professional activities on the island, which he visited every week, in order to identify the motive for the crime and the perpetrator. Among the persons they spoke to on the island to gather information were local government officials, an experienced contractor and other professionals.
Police authorities ascertained the victim’s involvement in recent years with the real estate sector and the possibility that he had disturbed some circles with some recent property sales.
Crime in certain islands of the Cyclades, such as Mykonos, centered around building and illegal construction, has become entrenched in recent years, due to the lack of systematic crackdowns. However, over time these illegalities evolved and in some cases have taken on the characteristics of organized crime, as evidenced by a number of cases of beatings and extortion which remain open to this day and are still under review.
In some of these cases the victims were not beaten or threatened on the island, but in Attica. According to reports, Stathis had recently moved to another part of Athens after being attacked outside his home.
