In late 1890 he went to Malta and worked in a brothel in the notorious Strait Street (Triq Strada Stretta) in Valletta.
Eugenio became Edward Marshal, Carmelo became Charles Maitland, Alfredo became Alfred Martin, Salvatore became Arthur Evans and Atillio became Raymond Maynard.
They quickly became involved in their father's former trade and, during the years following the Second World War, imported women from Belgium, France and Spain.
[2][4] With a steady and highly profitable prostitution operation and adequate protection from members of the Metropolitan Police, the Messinas ran unchecked in the city.
"[2][4] In the late 1940s, Duncan Webb, a crime reporter on the tabloid newspaper The People,[2] began writing articles claiming that information was being leaked from Scotland Yard to Alfred Messina and on 3 September 1950 the paper published a front-page article, “Arrest These Four Men”, by Webb describing prostitution in the West End, including interviews with more than 100 prostitutes, and revealing names, dates, photographs and other information crucial to any police investigation.
[2] The activities of the Messinas soon gained the attention of Scotland Yard, which formed a special investigative task force under Superintendent Guy Mahon to engage in an aggressive campaign against them.
[5] Attilio Messina was sentenced to four years imprisonment after being caught attempting to illegally re-enter the country in April 1959).
[2] Eugenio and Carmelo Messina eventually resurfaced in Belgium living in a 10-bedroom flat at Avenue Louise in Brussels.
The Police forces of Italy, France, Belgium and UK were involved in the investigations and evidence collection for the prosecution of the brothers.