Crime clan tastes own medicine
A large bomb exploded in the western Attica town of Elefsina early yesterday, destroying a coffee shop belonging to the mother of three brothers involved in one of the area’s main protection rackets. Nobody was injured by the 4 a.m. explosion, although police said this was by pure chance as the blast caused damage to cars and buildings as far as 100 meters away from the coffee shop, which was gutted. A total of 15 cars were damaged, while dozens of apartment windows were broken, together with glass entrances to the nearby apartment blocks. Police said the shop’s owner is Kalliroi Nastouli, two of whose sons are in prison for murder. The third, Makis Nastoulis, was murdered in 1994 in a killing that police link to a turf war among extortion gangs over control of Elefsina nightclubs and coffee shops. The elder of the two imprisoned brothers, Costas, has been convicted of running an extortion racket from Korydallos Prison. His henchmen regularly used bombs to frighten uncooperative businessmen into paying protection money.
