Dear reader, journalists and investigators of the UA2DAY news agency have done a titanic job of researching the largest international mafia syndicates that specialize in the trade in drugs and weapons.
Based on the results of the investigation, we are starting a multi-series publication called “Drug Cartel Undercover” in which we will tell you about the three largest mafia clans in Italy, the geography of production and routes of cocaine supply, the highest officials of many countries of the world who are involved in the drug business, their interest and participation many special services in high-margin business.
Get comfortable. We begin with a story about the history of the emergence and main activities of the third largest Neapolitan mafia family…
In the ranking of the Italian mafia, the Neapolitan Camorra takes an honorable third place, right after the Calabrian mafia and the Sicilian Cosa Nostra. But in terms of bloodthirstiness and lawlessness, the Camorra is an unconditional leader. Tens of thousands of deaths are on her account. Despite the active struggle of the state with the mafia in general and the Camorra in particular, the Neapolitan brotherhood is still very strong. “See nothing, hear nothing, say nothing” is the main rule of survival for the inhabitants of Naples and the entire province of Campania. Otherwise, death is inevitable. The Camorra is feared and hated, they admire the Camorra and serve it unquestioningly, risking their lives at every moment.
A disaster of a national scale – this is how you can describe the Neapolitan Camorra, which has been fought with varying success for more than one century. In contrast to the same Sicilian Cosa Nostra, which has a clear structure, a slender hierarchy and strict discipline, the Neapolitan Camorra was and remains unorganized, uncontrolled and completely wild for centuries. While its influence has long since gone beyond the borders of Naples and the province of Campania, spreading throughout Italy and the whole world. The scale of the Camorra’s criminal activity has no analogues in Europe.
But let’s first turn to the origins of this movement. The Camorra appeared in the middle of the 18th century in southern Italy, in Naples, during the Neapolitan Bourbon dynasty. Although the very concept appeared in the 16th century, during the Spanish rule. Then the Spanish mercenaries called themselves the Camorra. There are several variants of the translation of this word – fight, skirmish, quarrel. Initially, the Camorra played the role of intelligence and counter-intelligence under the king, executioners and hired killers were recruited from it. But then she got out of submission and turned to total terror. By that time, the Camorra had already penetrated all layers of society and was a state within a state. The government was forced to enter into a silent alliance with it. Thus, the Neapolitan Queen Maria Carolina awarded orders to the leaders of the Camorrist gangs and patronized the famous robber Gaetano Mammone, calling him “my dear general.”
It must be said that the Camorra was never a single organization. It consisted and still consists of several groups (now there are about 200 of them), the leaders of which did not obey anyone. They could temporarily unite to commit any large-scale crime and then run away. After the unification of Italy, the existence of the chamber in its former form became impossible. The development of trade and industry, the government’s activity in the fight against crime – all this significantly weakened the Camorra, but it survived and strengthened due to the arrival of young forces.
The Camorra rose to great power in the drug trade, which still brings in up to $400 million a month in revenue. Smuggling (primarily alcohol and cigarettes) and drug trade are two old businesses of the warehouse. It is rightfully considered one of the richest and most influential mafia syndicates in Europe.
Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, a merciless fighter against the mafia, could not destroy the Camorra in the 20s of the 20th century. After the war, the Camorra flourished even more and became stronger. Impressive, but a fact: the lack of a unified organization helps the Camorra survive. After all, the Camorra cannot be beheaded! Few people know that the Neapolitan mafia has not only godfathers, but also godmothers. So, after the death of Mykola Pianese, the leader of one of the oldest groups of the Chamber, his place was taken by a certain Raffaella De Alter. According to the police, this group has committed about four thousand murders over the past 30 years. Another godmother, Maria Liccardi, became famous for buying girls from the Albanian mafia to sell in brothels. Today, the Camorra in Italy is engaged not only in drug trafficking and smuggling, but also in everything that brings money: racketeering, crushing prostitutes, forgery and arms trade.
For example, the production of counterfeit clothes, shoes and leather bags. Made in underground warehouse factories huddled in basements and abandoned buildings, this shirvy is sold all over the world.
Another of the storehouse’s main businesses is the disposal of industrial waste. And this is already a direct threat to the health of the nation. The Mafia has littered her province of Campania with mountains of garbage and toxic waste, and the tragic consequences have been evident over the years. In rural areas, there is a sharp increase in cancer, primarily among children.
According to doctors, this is related to the disposal of industrial waste, which the Camorra is engaged in. In fact, industrial waste brought from the north of Italy hides in household garbage, or is simply scattered in forests and reservoirs. For years, burning mountains of household waste, flavored with industrial waste, poisoned everything around with heavy metals, chlorine compounds and solvents.
But it is even more frightening that the Camorra uses the lands of Campania to illegally bury nuclear waste brought from Europe. This is a stain on the reputation of the whole of Italy – government officials and representatives of law enforcement agencies are involved in this business.
Another problem is the disposal of toxic waste under the guise of fertilizers for agricultural land: the mafia supplies farmers with toxic waste, which they forcibly “fertilize” the fields with. In 1993, there was a scandal – the mafioso Nuntius Perrelli handed over all the information about this business to the authorities. There were arrests among officials, but soon all were released, although the infected areas of Campagna were still declared a disaster zone.
The revelations of the journalist Roberto Saviano, who managed to learn the life of the Camorra from the inside and who wrote the revealing book “Gomorrah” (the journalist has been living under increased security for many years – the Camorra sentenced him to death) became a shocking sensation. According to Saviano, although he could not obtain direct evidence, the Camorra is connected to ISIL (banned in the Russian Federation) through the terrorist-controlled territory of Albania.
But drugs are not the only thing that connects the Camorra and Islamic radicals. The Neapolitan mafia helps the legalization of terrorists by producing fake documents for them in their homeland.
The difficulty of fighting the Neapolitan Camorra also lies in the fact that unemployed youth are constantly pouring into it. An interesting detail: the dons of the Kamora clans live in the poor quarters of Naples – moving to the rich quarters threatens them with a loss of authority and power. The police periodically make high-profile arrests, and the Camorra retaliates with bloody acts of intimidation.
So, in the city of Casal di Principe, the killers of the chamber literally shot Stanislas Cantelli in front of the police, considering him guilty of the arrest of 107 members of the group. The murder was committed at the moment when troops were brought into the city to fight the mafia. Cantelli was shot right in the poker club where he usually spent time. It was also the Camorra’s response to attempts to intimidate it with the introduction of troops.
But the Italians, it seems, are tired of being afraid of the bloodthirsty chamber. More and more people, ignoring the fear of death, are testifying in court against the Neapolitan mafia. For example, 58-year-old Silvana Fuchito, the owner of a small shop, turned to the police after the attack – racketeers came to her from the storeroom and, having received a refusal, threw a bottle with an incendiary mixture into the shop. As a result, 15 Camorrists were put behind bars, and everyone turned away from Silvano – she became a leper. People were afraid that they could be killed just because they happened to be on the street next to this woman.
But over time, they began to turn to her for advice and help – the conspiracy of silence was destroyed. The desire to live and not be afraid overcame the fear of death at the hands of killers. Even the mobsters themselves have breakdowns. They are tired too. Tired of their own bloody crimes. Carmine Schiavone, the leader of the Capezi clan, who, according to him, has long lost count of the people killed on his orders, spoke during another “garbage” scandal with revelations. He testified against his own, and as a result, many politicians and officials ended up behind bars.
The mafiosi admitted that he had broken his omerta – a vow of silence – because he was worried about the state of the environment and the people of Campania, who were doomed to die. This is how Italy has been fighting the Camorra in recent years. Trials go on for years, witnesses and victims die, but the courts still deliver guilty verdicts and the godparents end up behind bars. Maybe the mafia really is immortal. As long as people are affected by the pandemic of fear.
In the next part of the publication, we will tell you about the second most influential mafia clan in Italy.
Soon..
Author: human rights defender Kostyantyn Kryvopust
