The Camorra (Italian: [kaˈmɔrra]; Neapolitan: [kaˈmorrə]) is an Italian Mafia-type^[4] criminal organization and criminal society originating in the region of Campania. It is one of the oldest and largest criminal organizations in Italy, dating to the 17th century. The Camorra's organizational structure is divided into individual groups called "clans". Every capo or "boss" is the head of a clan, in which there may be tens or hundreds of affiliates, depending on the clan's power and structure. The Camorra's main businesses are drug trafficking, racketeering, counterfeiting, and money laundering. It is also not unusual for Camorra clans to infiltrate the politics of their respective areas.

Since the early 1980s and its involvement in the drug trafficking business, the Camorra has acquired a strong presence in other European countries, particularly Spain. Usually, Camorra clans maintain close contact with South American drug cartels, which facilitates the arrival of drugs in Europe.

According to Naples public prosecutor Giovanni Melillo, during a 2023 speech of the Antimafia Commission, the most powerful groups of the Camorra in the present day are the Mazzarella clan and the Secondigliano Alliance. The latter is an alliance of the Licciardi, Contini and Mallardo clans.^[5]

History

Camorristi in Naples, 1906

The origins of the Camorra are unclear. It may date to the 17th century^[6] as a direct Italian descendant of a Spanish secret society, the Garduña, founded in 1417. Officials of the Kingdom of Naples may have introduced the organisation to the area, or it may have developed gradually from small criminal gangs operating in Neapolitan society near the end of the 18th century.^[7] However, recent historical research in Spain suggests that the Garduña did not exist and its legendary status was based on a 19th-century fictional book.^[8]

The first official use of camorra as a word dates from 1735, when a royal decree authorised the establishment of eight gambling houses in Naples. The word is likely a blend, or portmanteau, of "capo" (boss) and a Neapolitan street game, the "morra".^[7][9] After gambling was prohibited by the local government, some people started making the players pay for protection against the attentions of passing police.^[7][10][11]

The Camorra emerged during the chaotic power vacuum between 1799 and 1815, when the Parthenopean Republic was proclaimed on the wave of the French Revolution and the Bourbon Restoration. The first official mention of the Camorra as an organisation dates from 1820, when police records detail a disciplinary meeting of the Camorra, a tribunal known as the Gran Mamma. That year the first written statute of the Camorra, the frieno, was discovered, indicating a stable organisational structure in the underworld. Another statute was discovered in 1842, related to initiation rites and funds set aside for the families of those imprisoned. The organisation was also known as the Bella Società Riformata, Società dell'Umirtà or Onorata Società.^[12][13]

The evolution into more organised formations indicated a qualitative change: the Camorra and camorristi were no longer local gangs living off theft and extortion; they had a fixed structure and some kind of hierarchy. Another qualitative leap was the agreement between the liberal opposition and the Camorra, following the defeat of the 1848 revolution.^[14] The liberals realised that they needed popular support to overthrow the king. They turned to the Camorra and paid them because the camorristi were the leaders of the city's poor. The new police chief, Liborio Romano, appealed to the head of the Camorra, Salvatore De Crescenzo, to maintain order and appointed him as head of the municipal guard.^[15] In a few decades, the Camorra had developed into power brokers.^[12] In 1869, Ciccio Cappuccio was elected as the capintesta (head-in-chief) of the Camorra by the twelve district heads (capintriti), succeeding De Crescenzo after a short interregnum.^[16] Nicknamed "The king of Naples" ("o rre 'e Napole"), he died in 1892.^[17][18]

Following Italian unification in 1861, the government made attempts to suppress the Camorra.^[19] From 1882, it conducted a series of manhunts. The Saredo Inquiry (1900–1901), established to investigate corruption and bad governance in Naples, identified a system of political patronage run by what the report called the "high Camorra":

The original low camorra held sway over the poor plebs in an age of abjection and servitude. Then there arose a high camorra comprising the most cunning and audacious members of the middle class. They fed off trade and public works contracts, political meetings and government bureaucracy. This high camorra strikes deals and does business with the low camorra, swapping promises for favours and favours for promises. The high camorra thinks of the state bureaucracy as being like a field it has to harvest and exploit. Its tools are cunning, nerve and violence. Its strength comes from the streets. And it is rightly considered to be more dangerous, because it has re-established the worst form of despotism by founding a regime based on bullying. The high camorra has replaced free will with impositions, it has nullified individuality and liberty, and it has defrauded the law and public trust.^[20][21]

The inquiry introduced the terminology of "high Camorra", as having a bourgeois character, and distinct from the plebeian Camorra proper. The two groups were in close contact through the figure of the intermediary (faccendiere).^[22]

From the rich industrialist who wants a clear road into politics or administration to the small shopowner who wants to ask for a reduction of taxes; from the businessman trying to win a contract to a worker looking for a job in a factory; from a professional who wants more clients or greater recognition to somebody looking for an office job; from somebody from the provinces who has come to Naples to buy some goods to somebody who wants to emigrate to America; they all find somebody stepping into their path, and nearly all made use of them.^[23]

Scholars dispute whether the "high Camorra" was an integral part of the Camorra proper.^[21] Although the inquiry did not prove specific collusion between the Camorra and politics, it did reveal the patronage mechanisms that contributed to corruption in the municipality.^[20] The society's influence was weakened, which was exemplified by the defeat of all of their candidates in the 1901 Naples election. In the early 20th century, given the poverty of Naples and the region, many camorristi emigrated to the United States.^[24]

The Viterbo Trial. Most of the defendants are in the large cage. The three in front are (from left to right) the priest Ciro Vitozzi, Maria Stendardo, the only female defendant; and Enrico Alfano. In the small cage to the right is the Crown witness Gennaro Abbatemaggio.

The Camorra received another blow with the Viterbo Trial (1911–1912). The trial was ostensibly to prosecute those charged with the murder on 6 June 1906 of the Camorra boss Gennaro Cuocolo and his wife, who were suspected of being police spies. The main investigator, Carabinieri Captain Carlo Fabbroni, transformed the trial into one against the Camorra as a whole, intending to use it to strike the final blow to the Camorra.^[25][26]

The trial attracted much attention among newspapers and the general public, both in Italy and the United States, including by Pathé's Gazette.^[27] The hearings began in 1911. After 17 months, the often tumultuous proceedings ended with a guilty verdict on 8 July 1912 against defendants who included 27 leading Camorra bosses. They were sentenced to a total of 354 years' imprisonment. Enrico Alfano, the main defendant and nominal head of the Camorra, was sentenced to 30 years.^{[25][28][29][30]}

The Camorra was never a centralised organisation, but instead a loose confederation of different, independent clans, groups or families. Each group was bound by kinship ties and controlled economic activities that took place in its particular geographic territory. Each took care of its own business, protected its territory, and sometimes tried to expand at another group's expense. There was some minimal coordination to avoid mutual interference. The families competed to maintain a system of checks and balances among equal powers.^[31]

One of the Camorra's strategies to gain social prestige was and remains political patronage. The family clans became the preferred go-betweens of local politicians and public officials because of their grip on the community. In turn, the family bosses used their political sway to assist and protect their clients against the local authorities. Through a mixture of brute force, political status, and social leadership, the Camorra clans gained ground as middlemen between the local community and bureaucrats and politicians at national level. They granted privileges and protection, and intervened in favour of their clients, in return for their silence and connivance against local authorities and the police. With their political connections, the heads of the major Neapolitan families became power brokers in local and national political contexts, providing Neapolitan politicians with broad electoral support, and in return receiving benefits for their constituency.^[31]

Activities

Compared to the Sicilian Mafia's pyramidal structure, the Camorra has more of a 'horizontal' structure.^[32] As a result, Camorra clans act independently of one another and are more prone to feuding. This, however, makes the Camorra more resilient when top leaders are arrested or killed, as new clans and organisations emerge from the remnants of old ones. Clan leader Pasquale Galasso stated in court, "Campania can get worse because you could cut into a Camorra group, but another ten could emerge from it."^[33]

In the 1970s and 1980s, Raffaele Cutolo made an unsuccessful attempt to unify the Camorra families in the manner of the Sicilian Mafia, by forming the New Organized Camorra (Nuova Camorra Organizzata or NCO). Drive-by shootings by camorristi often result in casualties among the local population but such episodes are often difficult to investigate because of the widespread practise of omertà (code of silence). According to a report published in 2007 by Confesercenti, the second-largest Italian trade organisation, the Camorra control the milk and fish industries, the coffee trade, and over 2,500 bakeries in Naples.^[34]

In 1983, Italian law enforcement estimated that there were about a dozen Camorra clans. By 1987, the estimate had risen to 26, and in the following year to 32.^[35] Roberto Saviano, an investigative journalist and author of Gomorra, an exposé of the activities of the Camorra, says that this sprawling network of clans now dwarfs the Sicilian Mafia, the 'Ndrangheta and southern Italy's other organised gangs, in numbers, in economic power and in ruthless violence.^[36]

In 2004 and 2005, the Di Lauro clan and the so-called Scissionisti di Secondigliano fought a bloody feud which came to be known in the Italian press as the Scampia feud. The result was over 100 street killings. At the end of October 2006 a new series of murders took place in Naples between 20 competing clans, costing 12 lives in 10 days. The Interior Minister, Giuliano Amato, decided to send more than 1,000 extra police and carabinieri to Naples to fight crime and protect tourists.^[37] Despite this, in the following year there were over 120 murders.

In 2001, the businessman Domenico Noviello from Caserta testified against a Camorra extortionist and subsequently received police protection. In 2008 he refused further protection and was killed one week later.^[38]

In recent years, various Camorra clans have been allegedly using alliances with Nigerian drug gangs and the Albanian mafia. Augusto La Torre, the former La Torre clan boss who became a pentito, is married to an Albanian woman; the first foreign pentito, a Tunisian, admitted to being involved with the feared Casalesi clan of Casal di Principe. The first town in which the Camorra sanctioned stewardship by a foreign clan was Castel Volturno, which was given to the Rapaces, clans from Lagos and Benin City in Nigeria. This allowed them to traffic cocaine and women in sexual slavery before sending them across Europe.^[39]

Waste crisis

Since the 1980s, the Camorra has taken over the handling of waste disposal in the region of Campania. By December 1999, all regional landfills had reached capacity.^[40] Reports in 2008 stated that the crisis was caused at least in part by the Camorra, which created a lucrative business in the municipal waste disposal business, mostly in the triangle of death. With the complicity of industrial companies, heavy metals, industrial waste, and chemicals and household waste are frequently mixed together, then dumped near roads and burned to avoid detection, leading to severe soil and air pollution.^[41][42]

According to Giacomo D'Alisa et al., "the situation worsened during this period as the Camorra diversified their illegal waste disposal strategy: 1) transporting and dumping hazardous waste in the countryside by truck; 2) dumping waste in illegal caves or holes; 3) mixing toxic waste with textiles to avoid explosions and then burning it; and 4) mixing toxic with urban waste for disposal in landfills and incinerators."^[40]

A Camorra member, Nunzio Perella was arrested in 1992, and began collaborating with authorities; he had stated "the rubbish is gold."^[40] The boss of the Casalesi clan, Gaetano Vassallo, admitted to systematically working for 20 years to bribe local politicians and officials to gain their acquiescence to dumping toxic waste.^[43][44]

The triangle of death and the waste management crisis is primarily a result of government failure to control illegal waste dumping. The government had attempted to mandate recycling and waste management programs, but were unable, causing the expansion of opportunities for illegal activities, which caused further barriers to solve the waste crisis.^{[40][45][46][47]}

In November 2013, a demonstration by tens of thousands of people was held in Naples in protest against the pollution caused by the Camorra's control of refuse disposal. Over a twenty-year period, it was alleged, about ten million tonnes of industrial waste had been illegally dumped, with cancers caused by pollution increasing by 40–47%.^[48]

Efforts to fight the Camorra

The Camorra has proven to be an extremely difficult organisation to fight within Italy. During the 1911–12 trial, Fabroni gave testimony on how complicated it was to successfully prosecute the Camorra: "The Camorrist has no political ideals. He exploits the elections and the elected for gain. The leaders distribute bands throughout the town, and they have recoursed to violence to obtain the vote of the electors for the candidates whom they have determined to support. Those who refuse to vote as instructed are beaten, slashed with knives, or kidnapped. All this is done with assurance of impunity, as the Camorrists will have the protection of successful politicians, who realize that they cannot be chosen to office without paying toll to the Camorra."^[49]

Unlike the Sicilian Mafia, which has a clear hierarchy and a division of interests, the Camorra's activities are much less centralised. This makes the organisation much more difficult to combat through crude repression.^[50] In Campania, where unemployment is high and opportunities are limited, the Camorra has become an integral part of the fabric of society. It offers a sense of community and provides the youth with jobs. Members are guided in the pursuit of criminal activities, including cigarette smuggling, drug trafficking, and theft.^[51]

The government has made an effort to combat the Camorra's criminal activities in Campania. The solution ultimately lies in Italy's ability to offer values, education and work opportunities to the next generation. However, the government has been hard pressed to find funds for promoting long-term reforms that are needed to improve the local economic outlook and create jobs.^[51] Instead, it has had to rely on limited law enforcement activity in an environment that has a long history of tolerance and acceptance of criminality and is governed by the omertà.^[52]

Despite the overwhelming magnitude of the problem, law enforcement officials continue their pursuit. The Italian police are coordinating their efforts with Europol and Interpol to conduct special operations against the Camorra. The Carabinieri and the Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) are also fighting criminal activities related to tax evasion, border controls, and money laundering. Prefect Gennaro Monaco, Deputy Chief of Police and Chief of the Section of Criminal Police cites "impressive results" against the Camorra in recent years, yet the Camorra continues to grow in power.^[53]

In 1998, police took a leading Camorra figure into custody. Francesco Schiavone was caught hiding in a secret apartment near Naples behind a sliding wall of granite. The mayor of Naples, Antonio Bassolino, compared the arrest to that of Sicilian Mafia chief Salvatore Riina in 1993.^[54] Schiavone is now serving a life sentence after a criminal career which included arms trafficking, bomb attacks, armed robbery, and murder.

Michele Zagaria, a senior member of the Casalesi clan, was arrested in 2011 after eluding police for 16 years. He was found in a secret bunker in the town Casapesenna, near Naples.^[55] In 2014, clan boss Mario Riccio was arrested for drug trafficking in the Naples area. Around the same time 29 suspected Camorra members were also arrested in Rome.^[56]

The arrests in the Campania region demonstrate that the police are not allowing the Camorra to operate without intervention. However, progress remains slow, and these minor victories have done little to loosen the Camorra's grip on Naples and the surrounding regions.^[51]

In 2008, Italian police arrested three members of the Camorra crime syndicate on 30 September 2008. According to Gianfrancesco Siazzu, commander of the Carabinieri police, the three were captured in small villas on the coast of Naples. All three had been on Italy's 100 top most wanted list. Police seized assets valued at over 100 million euros and also weapons, including two AK-47 assault rifles that may have been used in the shooting of six Africans on 18 September 2008. Police found pistols, Carabinieri uniforms and other outfits that were used to disguise members of the operation. During the same week, a separate operation netted 26 additional suspects in Caserta. All were believed to belong to the powerful Camorra crime syndicate that operates in and around Naples. The suspects were charged with extortion and weapons possession. In some cases, the charges also included murder and robbery. Giuseppina Nappa, the 48-year-old wife of a jailed crime boss, was among those arrested. She is believed to be the Camorra's local paymaster.^[57]

The Italian state confiscated €30 million including real estate in Luxembourg belonging to Angelo Grillo, a businessman from Marcianise, considered very close to the Belforte clan.^[58] Grillo also owned the company Lynch Invest SA based in the country. In the name of this company, he purchased real estate in Campania and Sardinia.^[59]

In November 2018, Italian police announced the arrest of Antonio Orlando, suspected of being a major figure in the Camorra.^[60]

In February 2019, Ciro Rinaldi, boss of the Rinaldi clan, was arrested in a house in the region of San Pietro a Patierno, he is accused of the double murder of Raffaele Cepparulo, member of a small gang linked to the Mazzarella clan, and Ciro Colonna, an innocent victim. Rinaldi is also considered responsible for the murder of Vincenzo De Bernardo, also linked to the Mazzarellas.^[61] At the time of his arrest, his clan was considered one of the most powerful clans of the Camorra, having all the eastern area of the city of Naples under its control and having as allies the Secondigliano Alliance.^[62][63] On 18 September 2019, Ciro Rinaldi was sentenced to life imprisonment, considered to be the mastermind behind the murders of Cepparulo and Colonna.^[64] According to the reports, Rinaldi reportedly ordered Cepparulo's death believing Cepparulo was planning to kill him to give "pleasure" to the Mazzarella clan, historical enemies of the Rinaldi clan.^[65]

In March 2019, Marco Di Lauro, the second most wanted man in Italy, was arrested after spending 14 years on the run. He is the fourth son of ex-Camorra boss Paolo Di Lauro. In 2010, an informant said that he was responsible for at least four murders.^[66]

In June 2019, the Italian police arrested more than 120 members of the Secondigliano Alliance, the alliance created by the Licciardi, Contini and Mallardo clans, in an anti-Camorra operation. The police also confiscated €130 million. Among those who were arrested were the wives of the bosses of the Bosti, Mallardo, Licciardi and Contini clans, but also their lieutenants, children, grandchildren and entrepreneurs who worked for the alliance.^[67][68] The historical female boss Maria Licciardi managed to escape from the arrest in the operation, and is now considered a fugitive.^[69] Seven members of the organization were arrested in Spain, Netherlands, South America and in the Balkans, places where they were running illicit business on behalf of the Alliance.^[70]

On 12 July 2019, the Italian police confiscated €300 million, including 600 houses, lands, 16 cars and bank accounts belonging to Antonio Passarelli, a businessman believed to be connected to the Di Lauro clan, Puca clan, Aversano clan, Mallardo clan, Verde clan, Perfetto clan and to the Scissionisti di Secondigliano.^[71]

On 10 August 2019, an operation of the police arrested six important members of the Rinaldi clan, particularly members of the Reale faction. They are accused of drug trafficking, extortion and illegal possession of weapons. The organization, once considered one of the most prominent, suffered hard blows in 2019, with the arrests of most of its leaders and important figures.^[72]

On 21 August 2019, Giuseppe Chirico, included in the list of the most dangerous fugitives in Italy, was arrested in the Ciampino airport, where he landed after a brief holiday abroad. Chirico is considered a prominent member of the Scarpa, linked to the powerful Gallo-Cavalieri clan from Torre Annunziata, dedicated in particular to international drug trafficking. He was wanted since January 2018 and was using a fake identity at the time of his arrest.^[73]

On 24 September 2019, the Italian police arrested Salvatore Ferro, step brother of Gaetano Beneduce, head of the historical Beneduce-Longobardi clan, based in Pozzuoli. Ferro, according to investigations, led the Ferro faction of the clan since the death of his brother Rosario Ferro, known as 'Capatosta, in 1998. Now he will serve two years and five months in prison.^[74][75]

In September 2019, Pasquale Puca, known as ‘o minorenne, head of the Puca clan and nephew of Giuseppe Puca, was sentenced to life in prison. Puca is held responsible for the murder of Francesco Verde, known as ‘o negus, then leader of the Verde clan, happened in 2007. Between the end of the 1980s and the 1990s, the Verde clan fought with the Puca and Ranucci clans, a clash to which numerous murders were attributed.^[76]

In October 2019, the Direzione Investigativa Antimafia seized €1.5 million belonging to Annalisa De Martino, the former partner of the boss Giuseppe Gallo. The Gallo clan has control over illegal activities such as extortion, drug trafficking and money laundering in the areas of Boscotrecase, Boscoreale and Torre Annunziata. De Martino was considered to be in charge of the financial management of the organization.^[77][78]

On 23 October 2019, the Italian police dismantled the Montescuro clan, arresting 23 important members of the organisation. The clan was headed by the elderly boss Carmine Montescuro, nicknamed 'Zì Menuzzo' , a leader of remarkable criminal charisma, who for at least 20 years played the role of mediator in the wars between various clans. According to the investigations, due to his mediation skills, he was able to put the Missos, the Mazzarellas and the Continis at the same table when the war between their organisations was at its peak in the early 2000s. Montescuro also had a good relationship with Marco Mariano, boss of the Mariano clan in the 1990s. Despite his advanced age, the Court of Naples authorized his arrest and transfer to prison; however, after less than two weeks, he was transferred from jail to house arrest for health reasons.^[79] Montescuro was also known for his passion for gambling, and was often in Monte Carlo, where he reportedly spent large amounts of money.^[80][81]

In November 2019, Raffaele Romano, a prominent affiliate of the De Luca Bossa clan, decided to move to the side of the State, becoming a pentito.^[82] According to reports, the De Luca Bossa clan, now the most powerful clan of Ponticelli and of much of the Vesuvian area, could soon crumble under the declarations of the new pentito.^[83]

On 6 November 2019, the Carabinieri arrested Federico Rapprese, linked to the Rannucci clan and included in the list of the most dangerous fugitives. Rapprese was wanted since February 2018, accused of the attempted murder of Antonio Marrazzo, brother of the head of the Marazzo clan, happened in December 2006.^[84]

On 8 November 2019, Antonio Abbinante, considered the new boss of Scampia and the current head of the Abbinante clan, was arrested by the police. Abbinante was intercepted in Mugnano di Napoli along with two bodyguards.^[85]

On 11 November 2019, Marco Di Lauro was sentenced to life imprisonment, considered the mastermind behind the ambush in which Attilio Romanò, an innocent victim, was killed. The murder took place in January 2005, when the assassins of the Di Lauro clan mistook Romanò for the nephew of the boss Rosario Pariante, one of the Scissionistis with whom the Di Lauro clan was at war.^[86]

On 12 November 2019, 20 members of the Cesarano clan were arrested, accused of Camorra association, extortion and drug trafficking. The organization is particularly active in Ponte Persica and Pompei. In May 2019, the police dismantled a scheme in which the clan had a privileged channel to the Netherlands, obtaining the monopoly on shipments of flowers, bulbs and pottery from the country.^[87]

On 11 December 2019, Giuseppe Polverino and Giuseppe Simioli, former leaders of the Polverino clan, were sentenced to life imprisonment. They were held responsible for the murder of Giuseppe Candela, which happened in July 2009. According to the investigations, Candela, who was a member of the clan, was killed because he was managing his business independently and no longer responding to the clan.^[88]

In February 2020, four members affiliated to the Rinaldi clan were arrested, among which are also Rita and Francesco Rinaldi, sons of the late boss of the clan, Antonio Rinaldi known as 'O Giallo (killed in 1989), as well nephews of Ciro Rinaldi.^[89] They are accused of usury, extortion and attempted extortion with the aggravating circumstance of the mafia method.^[89]

Also in February 2020, the Guardia di Finanza seized a company that, according to the Antimafia, belonged to the Cesarano clan, from Castellammare di Stabia, and was headed by Antonio Martone and Giovanni Esposito, both in prison, and brothers-in-law of Luigi Di Martino, boss of the Cesarano clan. The purpose of this company was to stand between traders and carriers in order to impose the services and tariffs of the clan on them. The Guardia di Finanza estimated the turnover of the business was around €2 million.^[90][91]

On 17 March 2020, the Italian police arrested five members of the Aprea-Cuccaro clan accused of extortion and attempted extortion with aggravating circumstances.^[92] According to the investigators, the building contractors in the area of Barra, the clan's stronghold, victims of extortion by part of the clan, were summoned to the 'villa' of the boss Antonio Acanfora, also arrested in the operation and considered the current regent of the Aprea's wing inside the organizations. The current actions by members of the Aprea-Cuccaro clan would be an expression of the new criminal alliance formed with the De Luca Bossa clan and the Rinaldi clan in order to control the entire eastern territory of Naples.^[93]

In May 2020, a small group of drug dealers led by Anna Gallo, a 74-year-old woman, was overthrown by the Italian police in Torre Annunziata. Anna Gallo, known as "ninnacchera", is the widow of a local Camorra affiliate Ernesto Venditto, killed in an ambush in 1999. In the operation were arrested 22 people, including 9 women.^[94][95]

Also in May 2020, the Italian State confiscated €7 million to a businessman linked to the Zagaria's faction of the Casalesi clan. Among the seized goods are 25 bank accounts, 8 companies, 18 commercial premises, 32 houses, 7 garages and 4 lands.^[96][97] In the same week, was also confirmed the confiscation of assets for a total value of over €22 million belonging to Vincenzo Zangrillo, another businessman linked to the Casalesi. In this operation were seized 200 vehicles, 21 hectares of land, 6 companies and 21 bank accounts.^[98] In the past, Zangrillo had been accused of international drug trafficking.^[99]

On 3 June 2020, the Italian police dismantled the monopoly of the drug market led by the D'Alessandro clan. According to the police the clan had the total control of the cocaine market in the Sorrento Peninsula, where they would be also selling drugs to wealthy businessmen. The D'Alessandro clan also used a network of brokers to which they accessed new supply channels, having contacts even with the Bellocco and Pesce 'ndrine, historical 'Ndrangheta groups from Rosarno in Calabria.^[100][101]

In June 2020, 5 Camorra affiliates were arrested in the Province of Naples, that operated between the cities of Nola and Saviano. According to the investigations, they were involved in public contracts in Saviano, such as in the redevelopment of the sewage system and in the management of the waste collection service. The group was also active in the drug market, supplying the local drug dealers.^[102]

After months of investigations and joint activities of the Interpol, on 3 June 2020, the Italian government finally obtained the extradition of Salvatore Vittorio from Dominican Republic to Italy. Vittorio was considered the money launderer of the Contini clan in Santo Domingo. According to the Italian authorities, he is accused of mafia-type criminal association and money laundering.^{[103][104][105]}

On 5 June 2020, the Direzione Distrettuale Antimafia seized €10 million of assets from the Polverino clan. Among the seized assets were two villas, two garages, two warehouse-depots, six commercial premises, three plots of land, a school building and a nursery.^[106][107]

On 9 June 2020, a Senator of centre-right opposition Forza Italia party, Luigi Cesaro, was placed under investigation, after a police investigation that led to the arrest of 59 affiliates of Camorra clans based in the comune of Sant'Antimo, including three brothers of the politician. The Cesaro family is a well known family in Sant'Antimo, having vast businesses especially in the field of private health and affiliated with the National Health Service.^[108] According to the investigations, the Cesaros were involved in a scheme between entrepreneurs, municipal technicians, politicians and well-known representatives of the local organized crime, such as members of the Puca clan.^{[109][110][111]}

Outside Italy

Despite its origins, it presently has secondary ramifications in other Italian regions, like Lombardy, Piedmont, Lazio and Emilia-Romagna in connection with the centres of national economic power.^{[112][113][114][115]} It has also spread outside the boundaries of Italy, and acquired a foothold in other countries, in particular in Spain, but also in the Netherlands, France, Morocco, United Kingdom, Romania, Switzerland, Peru and Ivory Coast.^[116]

Alliances with other criminal groups

Current status

With most of the old Camorra clans decapitated, and their bosses either dead or arrested, the organization is experiencing a rise in youth criminal gangs trying to take their places. This phenomenon is called Paranza, Camorra terminology for a criminal group led by youngsters or "small fish". Whilst the older bosses often operated out of the limelight, these young criminals broadcast their exploits on social media, posing in designer clothes and with €200 bottles of champagne.^[226]

In 2015, 19 year-old Emanuele Sibillo, considered one of the first young and leading bosses of this new generation, was shot dead by a rival baby gang.^[227] Most of these young criminals are children of Camorra members that are currently in jail.^[228]

According to Felia Allum, author of book The Invisible Camorra: Neapolitan Crime Families across Europe:

We can clearly see the baby gangs are criminals, or people who want to have criminal careers. But there's a vacuum, because the traditional families have lost their leaders. In the centre of Naples the bosses are either in prison or they've become state witnesses, so there's this kind of space for younger kids to appear. They're 17 or 18 with criminal ambition, and they've got a sense of identity of what they want to do.^[229]

However, according to Peppe Misso, called ’o nasone, former boss of the Misso clan for over 40 years and now pentito, this young generation of criminals are managed by the "real" Camorra clans, shifting the public attention to these baby gangs while they do their business in silence. According to Misso, the real power of the organization is now in the hands of the Licciardi clan, Mallardo clan, Moccia clan and Contini clan.^[230]

On 2 September 2018, Ciro Mazzarella, one of the last historical godfathers of the Camorra, and head of the Mazzarella clan, died in his villa in the affluent neighbourhood of Posillipo, Naples, at the age of 78.^[231]

According to reports, in 2019, after the arrest of Marco Di Lauro, leader of the Di Lauro clan and fourth son of Paolo Di Lauro, the Contini clan became the most powerful clan of the Camorra, thanks to no internal split, and not having affiliates that became collaborators of justice. The clan is present in the drugs trafficking, extortion, betting and counterfeiting, also investing hundreds of millions of euros in various countries of Europe.^[232]

On 23 April 2019, the powerful boss Mario Fabbrocino, leader of the Fabbrocino clan, died in the hospital of the Parma prison, where he was serving a life sentence for ordering the murder of Roberto Cutolo, Raffaele Cutolo's only son, in 1990.^[233] He was known as the boss dei due mondi (boss of two worlds) due to his drug trafficking connections in South America.^[234]

Since 26 June 2019, Maria Licciardi was considered the most wanted fugitive belonging to the Camorra, after she managed to escape the huge police operation against her clan.^[235] However, on 12 July 2019, the Court of Naples annulled the preventive detention against Licciardi, sharing the legal questions raised by her lawyer, Dario Vannetiello.^[236] She was arrested again at Rome's Ciampino airport by Carabinieri on the orders of Naples prosecutors, alleged to have been running extortion rackets as head of the Licciardi Camorra clan, on 7 August 2021 when attempting to travel to Spain.^[237]

On 11 July 2019, Anna Terracciano, known as ‘a Masculona, boss of the Terracciano clan, died after suffering from an unknown illness. Terraciano had taken control of the clan after the death of her brother Salvatore, known as ‘o Nirone, in 2016. She has always been very feared and respected for her impetuous nature. According to the media, she is the figure that has well represented the image of the women inside the Camorra, the female symbol of leadership when men are detained or dead.^[238]

According to the reports of the DIA about the Camorra, the Mazzarella clan, despite the bloody war against the Rinaldi clan, is still one of the most powerful organizations in Campania, dominating the territory in various neighbourhoods, and having numerous groups under their influence, as the Ferraiuolo clan.^[239]

After a time inactive, the De Luca Bossa clan is believed to be gaining power again in the eastern area of Naples, specifically in Ponticelli, thanks to the merger with emergent groups as the Minichini and Schisa.^[240] The clan was founded by Antonio De Luca Bossa, known as ‘O sicco, in the 1990s, and was famous for the bloody war against the once powerful Sarno clan. In 1998, ‘O sicco made the first attack with a car bomb in the Camorra's history, killing Luigi Amitrano, the nephew of the boss Vincenzo Sarno, the real target of the ambush.^[241] Antonio's father was a member of the Nuova Camorra Organizzata, and died from natural causes in 2008 after 18 years in jail.^[242]

On 11 September 2019, Antonino Di Lorenzo, known as o' lignammone, was killed in an ambush near his house in Casola di Napoli.^[243] Di Lorenzo was a notorious drug trafficker, dubbed by the media 'the king of drug trafficking in the Monti Lattari region'.^[244] According to the Direzione Investigativa Antimafia, he was specialized in the industrial production of marijuana, flooding the illegal drug market, supplying market squares from Castellammare di Stabia to Sorrento^[245] and in recent years was at the center of numerous investigations about drug trafficking.^[246] His murder is believed to be connected with the feud for control of vast marijuana plantations in the mountainous area of Monti Lattari. Yet, according to the investigations, the killing happened thanks to the 'permission' of the clans from Castellammare di Stabia, who have always supervised the immensely lucrative marijuana trade from the region.^[247]

On 30 October 2019, the release of two affiliates belonging to the Beneduce-Longobardi clan made the media headlines after they were received with a huge party in the neighborhood of Monterusciello, Pozzuoli. Giovanni Illiano, 48, and Silvio De Luca, 41, were released after 8 years and 10 years in prison, respectively. More than a hundred of relatives and friends were waiting for them for a party with champagne, flashing nightclub lights, a large fireworks display and a concert of Anthony, a well known neomelodic singer of the area.^[248] The fact, documented with photos and videos sent through social networks, caused outrage in the population, and is being investigated by the Italian Police, as it was not authorized by the Municipality of Pozzuoli or by the police.^[249][250]

On 21 November 2019, Feliciano Mallardo, brother of Giuseppe and Francesco Mallardo, was found dead inside his car. According to the investigations, he would have suffered a heart attack.^[251] Feliciano, who had taken the reins of the Mallardo clan after his brothers ended up in jail, was known as ‘o Sfregiato.^[251]

According to numerous 2019 reports, the most powerful clans of the Camorra are the Secondigliano Alliance and the Mazzarella clan. Both clans remain with full dominance of their territories while most of city experiences the growth of small and violent gangs headed by young guys between 17 and 25 years old.^[252][253]

In May 2020, Patrizio Bosti, one of the most powerful Camorra bosses who is still alive and one of the leaders of the Secondigliano Alliance, was released from prison. Bosti also claimed inhumane treatment while in prison, and will be compensated by the Italian state. The Camorra boss, that was serving a prison sentence since his arrest in Spain in 2008, should have been released from prison in 2023, however he was charged for three years and the halfway between early release and the time calculated as credit for the "inhuman treatment".^[254][255] On May 16, 2020, Bosti was rearrested. The new prison order concerns a recalculation of the sentence by the Emilia-Romagna judiciary, as he was serving his sentence in the region, on the basis of documents provided by the Naples Public Prosecutor. According to the authorities, Bosti has to serve another six years in jail.^[256][257]

In June 2022, the notorious Camorra boss Cosimo Di Lauro died in prison. Di Lauro was considered an icon of the Camorra, a ruthless criminal who has become a role model for young people for his look and the storytelling about him.^[258]

In popular culture

• Camorra is a 1972 film, directed by Pasquale Squitieri, starring Fabio Testi and Jean Seberg.
• "Commendatori", an episode of The Sopranos which features the Camorra. One of the Camorra's members, Furio Giunta then joins the DiMeo crime family of the American Mafia.
• Il camorrista (1986), directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. Vaguely inspired by the real story of NCO boss, Raffaele Cutolo. Cutolo is played by Ben Gazzara, with the Italian voiceover done by Italian actor Mariano Rigillo.
• Roberto Saviano's 2006 book Gomorra investigates the activities of the Camorra in Italy, especially in the Provinces of Naples and Caserta. Matteo Garrone adapted the book into a 2008 film, Gomorra, describing low-level Camorra foot-soldiers, and in 2014 into a TV series of the same name.
• The 2009 film Fortapàsc (English: Fort Apache Napoli) directed by Marco Risi about the brief life and death of journalist Giancarlo Siani, murdered by camorrisiti from the Nuvoletta clan.^[259]
• The opera I gioielli della Madonna by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari features the Camorra as part of the plot.
• The story of Raffaele Cutolo also inspired one of the most famous songs of Fabrizio De André, entitled Don Raffaé (Clouds of 1990).
• The Camorra (depicted as a hooded secret society) appear as villains in an episode of The Wild Wild West, "The Night of the Dancing Death".
• In an episode of Archer (Season 4, Episode 11) when a plot to murder the pope was being carried out by the Camorra. After being told that they had succeeded in saving the pope, they are informed of the bad news: That they had killed Camorra members.
• In the Japanese light novel series and anime Baccano!, a handful of the main characters are part of the Camorra group known as the Martillo Family, and become quite insulted if they are mistaken for the Mafia.
• Elena Ferrante's four Neapolitan Novels are concerned with the damage done by the Camorra portrayed as the two Solara brothers.
• In Rei Hiroe's manga Black Lagoon, during the "El baile De La Muerte"/"Roberta's Blood Trail" arc, a man called Tomazo makes his appearance. Tomazo is on the side of the Italian mob leader Ronnie the jaws. Later it is revealed that Tomazo is a member of the Camorra, and his surname Falcone as well.
• In John Wick: Chapter 2, main antagonist Santino D'Antonio is a top member of the Camorra.
• In the short story "The Fate of Faustina" by E. W. Hornung, it is revealed that the main character and criminal-in-hiding A. J. Raffles has made an enemy of a high-level member of the Camorra from his time spent in Italy. In the sequel story, "The Last Laugh", the Camorra try to realize that threat and kill Raffles; however, Raffles not only saves himself from his attackers but also tricks them into poisoning themselves.
• In The Equalizer 3, Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) confronts Camorra crime lord and main antagonist Vincent Quaranta and his brother Marco to free a small town in South Italy from their control.

See also

• List of members of the Camorra
• List of Camorra clans
• Banda della Magliana
• Sacra Corona Unita
• Castel Volturno massacre

References

Further reading

• Mooney, John A. (1891). "The Two Sicilies and the Camorra". The American Catholic Quarterly Review. Vol. XVI, pp. 723–748.
• Train, Arthur (1911). "An American Lawyer at the Camorra Trial". McClure's Magazine,. Vol. XXXVIII, pp. 71–82.
• Wolffsohn, L. (1891). "Italian Secret Societies". The Contemporary Review. Vol. LIX, pp. 691–696.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Camorra.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Camorra".

• Articles by Roberto Saviano published on Nazione Indiana (in Italian)
• "Drug, feuds and blood in the land of the Camorra" – SCAMPIA 24 Video-documentary of the newspaper Il Mattino