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Founded | 2004 |
---|---|
Founded by | Raffaele Amato |
Founding location | Secondigliano |
Years active | 2004-present |
Territory | Italy: Secondigliano, Scampia, Miano, Marianella, Piscinola, Casavatore, Melito, Arzano, Villaricca Mugnano Spain: Costa del Sol, Barcelona and Galicia |
Criminal activities | Murder, extortion, drug trafficking, smuggling, money laundering |
Allies | Lo Russo clan (defunct) Russo clan (from the QS) Bizzarro clan Lepre clan Ruocco clan 'Ndrangheta |
Rivals | Di Lauro clan Vanella Grassi (girati) Former allies: Abbinante clan Pariante clan Notturno clan Marino clan |
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.
After the end of the war against the Di Lauro clan, the group fell apart, starting a violent internal war. In the present day the Scissionisti di Secondigliano are known as the Amato-Pagano clan. Currently, the organization is one of the most important in the entire Camorra in terms of international drug trafficking. [1]
Raffaele Amato split from the Di Lauro clan and tried to assert the Scissionisti's control over drugs and prostitution rackets in the areas, that included Secondigliano and Scampia. Amato aligned himself with several Sistema leaders, as the Camorra is known in Naples, which included Gennaro Marino and Arcangelo Abete. The war, known as the Scampia feud (Italian "faida di Scampìa"), resulted in over 100 murders in 2004 and 2005. The feud caused widespread public revulsion against the Camorra and led to a major crackdown by the authorities. [2] [3]
Secondigliano was historically controlled by the Di Lauro clan whereas Scampia, Casavatore, Chiaiano, Marianella, Piscinola, Giugliano and Melito is under the control of the Scissionisti.
Raffaele Imperiale, one of the most important drug traffickers of Naples, and an important affiliate of the Amato-Pagano clan, was involved in large scale cocaine trafficking from the Netherlands. In the 1990s he was a member of the Di Lauro clan, but changed sides becoming an affiliate of the Scissionisti first and of the Amato-Pagano later. [4] Imperiale worked in Amsterdam until 2008. In 2016, two stolen Van Gogh paintings from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam in 2002 were recovered in a villa near Naples, owned by him. Imperiale was sentenced to 18 years in absentia for drug offenses. [5] [6]
In addition to the faction commanded by the Amato-Pagano, other clans were most often included in the "Scissionisti di Secondigliano", such as:
After the end of the feud against the Di Lauro clan, more precisely in 2012, most of the former groups that formed the "Scissionisti di Secondigliano" started an internal war, one example was the so-called "Second Scampia feud", a war waged between the Amato-Pagano clan against the Abete, Abbinante and Notturno clans. [19] [20]
According to the Direzione Investigativa Antimafia, despite the arrests of important members of the organization, the Amato-Pagano clan continues to maintain the monopoly of drug trafficking and military control of the territory through extortion, having a leading role in the criminal activities in the north region of the city of Naples. [21]
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.
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 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. 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.
Raffaele Amato is an Italian Camorra boss and head of the Amato-pagano clan, a Camorra clan from Naples. He is known by multiple nicknames in the Neapolitan criminal underworld, including "Lo Spagnolo", "'o Lell", "Lell o' chiatt'" and "'a vecchiarella".
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.
Ketty Gabriele is a reputed Camorra figure. Gabriele, a femminiello and member of the Camorra, was reported as the first transgender mafia figure following an arrest by Naples police in February 2009. According to authorities, Gabriele is a small-time capo behind a drug and prostitution ring for the Scissionisti di Secondigliano.
Cosimo Di Lauro was an Italian Camorrista who was acting boss of the Di Lauro clan from Naples. Due to his flamboyant nature and passion for designer clothes, he earned the nickname "The Designer Don". Di Lauro is known by some as "o' Chiatto", and to journalists as the "prince regent".
Marco Di Lauro is an Italian Camorrista and member of the Di Lauro clan from Naples. After having been a fugitive for 14 years and been included on the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy, he was captured in Naples on 2 March 2019.
Cesare Pagano is an Italian Camorrista. Until his arrest in July 2010, he had been on the "most wanted list" of the Italian ministry of the Interior since March 2009, for Camorra association, international drug trafficking and other crimes.
The Secondigliano Alliance is a strategic alliance of Camorra clans in the Italian city of Naples and its hinterland, controlling drug trafficking and extortion rackets in many areas of the city since the 1990s. The Alliance has branches in the Netherlands and in Spain, with interests in international drug trafficking and money laundering.
Renato Cinquegranella is an Italian criminal and a member of the Camorra. Cinquegranella is on the "List of most wanted fugitives in Italy" of the ministry of the Interior.
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.
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 had become a "pentito", starting crown witness procedure.