Graubünden revocation of residence permits for four alleged mobsters becomes final

The decisions by which Graubünden's Office for Migration and Civil Law revoked the B residence permits of four people considered close to organized crime have become final. Cantonal authorities confirmed this on Tuesday to RSI: none of the four filed an appeal within the deadline, so the rulings are now enforceable.

The four had lived in Roveredo, in the Moesa, the Italian-speaking region of the canton of Graubünden, at least until their arrest last February. They are a 53-year-old Italian national, his son, the son's Montenegrin partner, and a second Italian national aged 40. The B permit is the residence document issued to foreign nationals living in Switzerland, renewed periodically by the cantonal authorities.

The arrests took place in France and Italy as part of an international anti-mafia investigation into drug trafficking and money laundering. The case drew wide attention in Switzerland too, because the arrests revealed the alleged mobsters' ties to Graubünden.

The permit Ticino had denied

The oldest member of the group had obtained a B permit in Chur, despite prior convictions for extortion and usury in Italy. Ticino had previously denied him the same type of residence document. The case sparked controversy precisely because of this contrast between the two cantons' decisions, each made on the basis of the information available at the time of the application.

The controversy prompted the Graubünden government to introduce new rules for the Moesa region. Since then, every application for a B, C or L permit in that region must be accompanied by an extract from the criminal record. The aim is to prevent residence permits from being granted, as happened in this case, to people already known to another canton's authorities for having a criminal record.