Casamonica clan

Casamonica clan

Founded	1970
Founded by	Casamonica family Di Silvio family
Founding location	Abruzzo, Molise, Rome
Years active	1970s-present
Territory	Rome, Roman Castles, Lazio coast, Ostia
Ethnicity	Sinti
Criminal activities	Extortion, drug trafficking, corruption, racketeering money laundering, prostitution, gamble, procurement, usury, theft, robbery, sport betting, murder
Allies	Banda della Magliana 'Ndrangheta Camorra
Rivals	Proietti clan (defunct)

The Casamonica clan is a mafia ^[1] criminal organization of Sinti origin ^[2] and operating in the Rome area and present, with their ramifications, in various other areas of Lazio. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Origins

The Casamonica clan originates from the Casamonica and Di Silvio families, families of Sinti originating from Abruzzo and Molise who settled in Lazio. The first members of the clan, Luciano Casamonica, Adelaide Spada, arrived in the outskirts of Rome from Tortoreto, Teramo, towards the end of the 1930s. They were joined, in the 1950s, by other members from Pescara and Venafro, a town in Molise. In the first phase the families were semi-steady and spent the winter in Rome and then migrated in the spring to Milan and Turin.

History

At the beginning in the 1950s they were dedicated to the theft and resale of stolen goods, prostitution, theft and resale of stolen horses then they moved on to other criminal activities in the 1960s such as robberies, gambling and betting on the black market, to then flow in the 1970s into other criminal activities such as extortion, loan sharking, money laundering, arms trafficking, blackmail, drug dealing, racketeering and finally kidnappings, rapes even on commission and murders. In addition to a multitude of criminal and administrative offences such as occupation of private and public land, illegal building, etc.
Mainly the Sinti families illegally occupied the land with caravans and trailers, and then began to build illegally.
Initially they settled mainly in the southern and south-eastern area of Rome: Romanina, Anagnina, Porta Furba, Tuscolano, Spinaceto and further south, in other municipalities up to Frascati and Monte Compatri. ^[6]

In its criminal rise, from the 1970s for over 30 years, the clan also clashed and intermarried with other Sinti families such as De Rosa, Di Guglielmo, Morelli, Di Silvio, Di Colombi, Di Rocco, Ciarelli, Bevilacqua, Sauchella, Spada and Spinelli to increase its criminal power and assets from criminal activities and avoid conflicts.

The rise to the conquest of the illicit traffic of Rome, occurred, starting from 1970s, with the criminal alliance of the Banda della Magliana, and lasted until the 1990s. Clan offers the Banda della Magliana criminal manpower to carry out any criminal objective, in exchange for sharing a portion of the profits and consolidating their power in the areas chosen for their criminal action. Clan helps the Banda della Magliana in eliminating the rival Proietti Clan which occurred between the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s.

The Clan consolidated enormous criminal power in the shadow of the Banda, which with the death of Enrico De Pedis saw its criminal influence in Rome reduced, inheriting its criminal business and contacts with the Camorra and the 'Ndrangheta. Through these criminal contacts, the Clan evolved and became as brazen as the old Banda della Magliana, absorbed the attitude of ostentation of luxury and criminal power typical of the Camorra and organized itself typically as a 'Ndrina, with a criminal summit typically centered on a prominent family head, but also with many other related families dedicated to their own criminal activities in their own area of reference, who could unite when necessary to help each other in criminal activity. The complete metamorphosis from criminal organization to mafia criminal organization took place between the 1990s and 2000s. Since the 2000s it has acquired the status of a mafia family organized as an 'Ndrina, and is treated with respect and fear by other organizations such as the Camorra and 'Ndrangheta, both allies and rivals. The various families allied of the Camorra and 'Ndrangheta provide it with drugs to sell and protection to operate in its own territory of competence, undisturbed thanks corruption and influence criminal. A criminal power that allows them to build undisturbed illegal villas showing off luxury, pomp and power, move huge amounts of capital especially from drug dealing and loan sharking and reinvest it in companies to take control of them, further expand their domain over the territory. In the neighborhoods and areas controlled by clan members, they also make themselves recognizable by flaunting luxury items, such as sports cars and weapons, to intimidate residents who are victims of their extortion and other criminal activities.

Areas of activity

The traditional cornerstones of the mafia clan are the areas located in the south-eastern outskirts of Rome: Romanina, Anagnina, Porta Furba, Tuscolano, Spinaceto, and further south, in other municipalities up to Frascati and Monte Compatri.

According to the Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate (DIA), the Casamonica clan is the most powerful and rooted criminal structure in the Region of Lazio, with estimated assets amounting to 90 million euros. According to a census by Vittorio Rizzi, head of the Rome mobile team (Squadra Mobile, a division of State Police), the clan is made up of around a thousand affiliates.

Activities

The Casamonica clan was associated with racketeering, extortion and usury for decades, with very little public exposure until a lavish funeral for crime boss Vittorio Casamonica caused outrage in 2015. The clan is known for ostentatious funerals and garishly decorated villas. Illegally built villas in the Quadraro district were demolished in 2018 during the incumbency of Virginia Raggi as mayor of Rome. In June 2022, eleven clan members were facing trial over electricity theft. ^[7]

References

1. "Mafia: una quarantina di condanne al clan Casamonica". ansa.it. ansa.it. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
2. "Storia dei Casamonica, il clan più potente di Roma". ilpost.it. ilpost.it. 23 April 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
3. "Rome Tears Down Villas Of Casamonica Criminal Clan". November 28, 2018.
4. "Police raids target powerful Casamonica clan in Rome and southern Italy". www.thelocal.it. July 17, 2018.
5. "Maxiprocesso ai Casamonica, per la Cassazione è mafia". ansa.it. ansa.it. 17 January 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
6. "Chi sono i Casamonica: tutto sulla famiglia che controlla Roma Sud". romatoday.it. romatoday.it. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
7. Giuffrida, Angela (7 June 2022). "Eleven members of Rome-based mafia clan face trial over electricity theft". The Guardian. Rome.