See also
- Camorra
- List of members of the Camorra
- Licciardi clan
- List of Camorra clans
- Di Lauro clan
- Mallardo clan
- Secondigliano Alliance
| Founded | Early 1980s |
|---|---|
| Founded by | Edoardo Contini |
| Founding location | Naples |
| Years active | 1980s-present |
| Territory | Various neighborhoods in Naples. Territories in Rimini in Italy, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Barcelona in Spain and Eastern Europe |
| Ethnicity | Campanian |
| Membership | 150–250 full members, unknown number of associates |
| Criminal activities | Racketeering, fraud, smuggling, extortion, drug trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, counterfeit |
| Allies | Mallardo clan Licciardi clan Di Lauro clan Rinaldi clan Moccia clan Mariano clan Commisso 'ndrina Ukrainian mafia Cesarano clan |
| Rivals | Mazzarella clan Giuliano clan (defunct) Caldarelli Clan |
The Contini clan is a powerful Neapolitan Camorra clan operating in the city of Naples, and more specifically in the area of the Naples Central Station. The clan's traditional powerbase is the Arenaccia district. It also operates in the Poggioreale, Vasto, Mercato and San Carlo all'Arena suburbs of Naples. [1] The clan is also active outside Italy, particularly in Barcelona, Spain, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and in Eastern Europe. The Contini clan is also one of the founding clans of the Secondigliano Alliance, which is considered by the authorities as the most powerful Camorra group that is still active.
The organization was created by Camorra boss, Edoardo Contini, in the early 1980s. Few years later, he joined the Nuova Famiglia confederation against the Nuova Camorra Organizzata led by Raffaele Cutolo, in this time he was leading a criminal group in San Carlo all'Arena.
In the mid-1980s, Contini was already considered one of the most influential criminals in Naples, obtaining the Eastern European market for cocaine, after a meeting with narco-traffickers from Colombia and Sicilian mobsters. In that time, he founded the Secondigliano Alliance with Francesco Mallardo and Gennaro Licciardi. [2]
The power of Contini is based on his entrepreneurial skills as well as the choice of weapons only in extreme cases. The lack of internal divisions and pentiti (collaborators of justice) has made its membership almost invulnerable compared to the other Neapolitan clans. The organization is unique in the fact that no one has ever betrayed Eduardo Contini and none of his underlings have ever attempted to reach the organization's top spot, thereby creating a rift in the organization.
Before his arrest, Edoardo Contini appeared on the list of thirty most dangerous fugitives in Italy. [1] [3]
In 2017, the Guardia di Finanza, confiscated €320 million belonging to the Contini clan, including gas stations between Campania and Molise, a bar between Naples and Avellino, tobacco shops, coffee roasting companies, jewelers and about thirty properties including a villa in Ischia. And according to the investigators it was just a fraction of their wealth. [4]
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 no 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. [5]
The Di Lauro clan allegedly has an alliance with the Contini clan, particularly with Ciro Contini, the nephew of the boss Edoardo Contini. According to the pentito Domenico Esposito both clans have a pact with regards to the drug trafficking business. [6]
The organization is said to cooperate with the Ukrainian mafia in the cigarette smuggling business. The Ukrainians would smuggle the cigarettes from Ukraine and Eastern Europe into Italy, where with the help of the Contini clan it supplies the Neapolitan market. [7]
Investigations of the Italian police reveals links between the Contini clan and the Crupi brothers, members of the powerful Commisso 'ndrina. Both organizations are reportedly cooperating in the drug trafficking business. [8]
In September 2019, Luigi Di Martino, nicknamed ‘o profeta, was transferred to the 41-bis prison regime. Di Martino was a key player in the alliance between the Contini clan and the historical Cesarano clan from Castellammare di Stabia. [9]
In October 2019, the Italian police dismantled a branch of the organization based in the city Rimini and headed by Ciro Contini, known as o’ nirone, who ran the group from behind bars using a clandestine mobile phone. He is described as a violent, homophobic and sexist boss as well as extremely dangerous because he "killed for fun". He would told his girlfriend that the females cannot attend the men's meetings inside the clan. Contini, who is nephew of Edoardo, was unwanted and considered a "maverick" by the top members of the organization in Naples, so he had shifted his influence to the Emilia-Romagna area where he had founded the new group. [10]
On November 08, 2019, the Italian police arrested Gaetano Attardo, considered a prominent member of the clan. He was arrested in a villa in the Castel Volturno region. [11]
Antonio Righi, called "Tonino il biondo", was considered by the investigators as a money launderer on behalf of the clan in England. Among the British companies that figured in his scheme, was one registered at a luxurious terraced house not far from Oxford Street in London’s West End. The trial built against Righi clearly showed that he understood exactly how modern global finance works. The Italian police confiscated 250 million euros belonging to him. [12] [13]
After months of investigations and joint activities of the Interpol, on June 3, 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. [14] [15]
The Camorra is an Italian Mafia-type 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.
The Scampia feud or First Scampia feud was a feud between the Camorra gangs in the Neapolitan quartiere of Scampia which broke out in 2004 and 2005. The fight was between the Di Lauro clan, from Secondigliano, and the so-called "secessionists", a breakaway faction in the northern suburbs of Naples that tried to assert its control over drugs and prostitution rackets in the area.
Paolo Di Lauro is an Italian crime boss, leader of the Di Lauro Clan, a Camorra crime organization. He is also known as Ciruzzo 'o milionario among other aliases. In 2002 he was included in the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy and was captured in September 2005.
The Di Lauro clan is an Italian crime clan, part of the Camorra in Naples. The clan operates in the neighbourhoods of Secondigliano, Scampìa, Miano, Marianella, Piscinola, and in the adjacent municipalities of Casavatore, Melito, Arzano, Villaricca and Mugnano. At its peak, between the mid-1990s and the early 2000s, the organization was earning more than €500,000 a day from the sale of drugs alone, making Secondigliano the largest open-air drug market in Europe. The founder of the clan is Paolo Di Lauro, from Via Cupa dell'Arco, in Secondigliano.
Vincenzo Licciardi is the boss of the Licciardi clan, and one of the main leaders of the Secondigliano Alliance, a Camorra crime syndicate operating in Naples and the surrounding Campania region. His nickname is 'o Chiatto ("Fatso").
The Lo Russo clan was a Neapolitan Camorra clan operating on its territory within the city of Naples, concentrated specifically in the area of Miano, whose control extended throughout numerous neighborhoods in the north of the city for more than three decades. Since the fall of all the Lo Russo brothers, and the numerous arrests of most of its affiliates, the organization is considered overthrown.
The Licciardi clan is a powerful Neapolitan Camorra clan that operates in the remote areas of Naples, specifically in the Secondigliano district and its stronghold of Masseria Cardone. Its sphere of influence extends to Scampia, Chiaiano, Miano and San Pietro a Patierno.
The Mallardo clan is a Camorra clan operating from the town of Giugliano in Campania, north of the city of Naples. The Mallardo clan is also one of the clans that belongs to the Secondigliano Alliance, that is considered by the authorities as the most powerful Camorra group that is still active.
Edoardo Contini is an Italian Camorra boss. He is the founder and head of the Contini clan, a Camorra clan with its central base in the Arenaccia, that also operates in the Poggioreale, Vasto, Mercato and San Carlo all'Arena suburbs of Naples.
The Scissionisti di Secondigliano or Amato-Pagano clan is a Camorra clan from the Secondigliano district of Naples, headed by Raffaele Amato and Cesare Pagano. They are also known as "Spagnoli" (Spaniards) because of their strong presence in Spain, particularly in Costa del Sol and Barcelona.
Patrizio Bosti is a powerful Italian Camorra boss and current head of the Secondigliano Alliance, a Camorra crime syndicate based in the city of Naples.
Giuseppe Dell'Aquila, nicknamed Peppe 'o ciuccio, is an Italian criminal and a member of the Neapolitan Camorra.
The Secondigliano Alliance is a strategic alliance of Camorra clans in Naples, Italy and its hinterland which controls drug trafficking and the extortion racket in many areas of Naples since the 1990s. The Alliance has branches in the Netherlands and in Spain, with interests in international drug trafficking and massive money laundering.
Francesco Mallardo, also known as Ciccio 'e Carlantonio, is an Italian criminal and a member of the Neapolitan Camorra. He headed the Mallardo clan operating from the town of Giugliano in Campania, north of the city of Naples. He was added to the list of thirty most dangerous fugitives in Italy.
The Mazzarella clan is a Campanian Camorra clan operating in the city of Naples. The clan is historically considered one of the most powerful groups of the Camorra.
The Rinaldi clan is a Camorra clan operating in the area of San Giovanni a Teduccio, in the eastern area of the city of Naples. Since 2019 the clan has formed an alliance with the Ponticelli's De Luca Bossa clan, and Barra's Aprea-Cuccaro clan, called by the media Rinaldi-De Luca Bossa-Aprea, which has emerged as the most powerful Camorra group in the eastern region of Naples.
The Aprea-Cuccaro clan is a Camorra clan operating in the area of Barra, in the city of Naples.
Gennaro Licciardi was a powerful Italian Camorrista in the north region of Naples, founder of the Licciardi clan, and one of the founders of the Secondigliano Alliance.
Raffaele Imperiale is an Italian criminal and a member of the Camorra. He is considered by the authorities as one of the most important drug traffickers affiliated with the Camorra. He was on the list of the most wanted fugitives in Italy until his arrest on 4 August 2021 in Dubai. In December 2022 it was noticed that Imperiale become a "pentito", starting crown witness procedure.
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