Secondigliano Alliance

Last updated
Secondigliano Alliance
FoundedLate 1980s
Founded by
Founding location Secondigliano, Naples
Years active1980s-present
TerritoryVarious neighborhoods of Naples, Italy
Presence also in Netherlands, Spain and Dominican Republic
Criminal activities Racketeering, Fraud, Smuggling, Extortion, Drug trafficking, Money laundering, Political corruption, Human trafficking
Allies
Rivals

The Secondigliano Alliance (Italian: Alleanza di Secondigliano) 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.

Contents

Early years

The main clans of the alliance were the Licciardi clan, Contini clan and Lo Russo clan from Naples and the Mallardo clan from Giugliano. The alliance was initiated by Gennaro Licciardi and Arvo Palmiotto who built their clan in the early 1990s in Secondigliano, a northern suburb of Naples. [1] The alliance included Edoardo Contini and Francesco Mallardo, and dominated the Neapolitan underworld during the 1990s. When the three male leaders died or were imprisoned, Licciardi’s sister Maria Licciardi was left in charge of the alliance. [2] Under her leadership, the alliance became more organized, secretive, sophisticated and consequently more powerful. [3]

The reign of Maria Licciardi ran smoothly for many years without any problems, until a disagreement arose over a consignment of pure unrefined heroin. In the spring of 1999, a large consignment of heroin arrived from Istanbul, Turkey. Licciardi decreed it should not be used, as it was too pure and strong for drug users and would kill them. However, the Lo Russo clan disagreed and repackaged the shipment for sale on the streets. The sale of unrefined heroin resulted in the deaths of many drug users across Naples and caused great public outrage, resulting in massive police crackdowns on the Camorra clans. Many Camorristi were arrested and subsequently imprisoned. [4]

The Lo Russo clan eventually split from the alliance, causing disintegration and a bloody gang war, including the use of car bombs and bazooka attacks. Clans began fighting over turf and attempted to destroy or take other clans' business. [1] When four clan members were murdered in her stronghold of Secondigliano, Licciardi was forced to retaliate. She mobilised her footsoldiers for an all-out counter-attack. The deadly gang wars resulted in nearly 120 deaths in Naples and the surrounding region. It was around this time that investigators became aware of Licciardi's existence. [4]

Maria Licciardi was arrested on June 15, 2001. [1] Her brother Vincenzo Licciardi took over as a supreme head of the Secondigliano Alliance along with Paolo Di Lauro and Edoardo Contini. Vincenzo Licciardi was arrested on February 7, 2008. [5]

Current status

In June 2019, the Italian police arrested more than 120 members of the Alliance 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. [6] [7] The historical female boss managed to escape from the arrest in the operation. [8]

Despite the large number of police operations against it, the Alliance is still considered the most powerful organization in the Camorra. [9]

In May 2020, Patrizio Bosti, a leader of the Secondigliano Alliance and one of the most powerful living Camorra bosses, was released from prison. Bosti, who was serving a prison sentence since his arrest in Spain in 2008, was not due to be released until 2023; however, he mounted a successful legal challenge against the state, citing inhumane treatment due to overcrowding. [10] According to the investigations, Bosti's freedom makes the Secondigliano Alliance even stronger; considering that Maria Licciardi is also free, this allows the organization to have two of its historical leaders out of prison. [11] 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. [12] [13]

Maria Licciardi 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. [14]

Activities

The Alliance is strongly active in Spain: numerous important members of the organization were arrested in the country, such as Paolo Di Mauro, who died in 2018, and was considered by the authorities one of its top associates, particularly linked to the Continis. [15] [16]

Seven members of the organization were also arrested in Spain, Netherlands, South America and the Balkans, where they were running illicit businesses on behalf of the Alliance. [17]

The Alliance is also believed to use Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic to launder money. [18]

The group is believed by the authorities to be allied with the Commisso 'ndrina in the trafficking and sale of cocaine and marijuana from South America, via the Netherlands. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paolo Di Lauro</span> Italian crime boss

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Licciardi</span> Italian criminal

Maria Licciardi is an Italian criminal affiliated with the Camorra, head of the Licciardi clan, and one of the bosses of the Secondigliano Alliance. She was one of the most powerful bosses of the Camorra in the city of Naples from 1993 until her arrest in 2001.

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 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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrizio Bosti</span>

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.

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.

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Behan, See Naples and Die, pp. 262-3
  2. ↑ Fiandaca, Women and the Mafia, p. 15
  3. ↑ Godmother sends deadly message to her Mafia rivals, The Daily Telegraph, June 19, 2001
  4. 1 2 Italy's most wanted Mamma, The Guardian, June 30, 2000
  5. ↑ Italy, U.S. target Mafia in massive raids, The Associated Press, February 7, 2008
  6. ↑ "Camorra, scacco all'alleanza di Secondigliano: oltre 100 arresti". rainews.it. Rai News. June 26, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Over 120 arrested in Italian mafia raids". theaustralian.com.au. The Australian. June 26, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Blitz Secondigliano, Maria Licciardi 'a piccerella è in fuga". Fanpage.it. June 26, 2019.
  9. ↑ Internapoli, Redazione (2019-10-25). ""Alleanza di Secondigliano e Mazzarella i clan più attenzionati", parla il Capo della Procura". InterNapoli.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  10. ↑ "Chi è 'O Patrizio, il "maradona" della malavita napoletana". Voce di Napoli (in Italian). 2020-05-14. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  11. ↑ Rossi, Alberto (2020-05-14). "Napoli, scarcerato Patrizio Bosti: per il boss dell'Alleanza di Secondigliano anche un risarcimento". Teleclubitalia notizie da Napoli e dall'Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  12. ↑ "Camorra: arrestato Patrizio Bosti, capo Alleanza di Secondigliano". rainews (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  13. ↑ "Camorra: torna in cella il boss Patrizio Bosti, era stato scarcerato e risarcito per trattamento inumano". www.ilmattino.it (in Italian). 16 May 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  14. ↑ "Reputed mafia 'godmother' arrested at Rome airport". The Guardian. Associated Press. 7 August 2021.
  15. ↑ Extremadura, El Periódico (28 January 2010). "Detenidos en Barcelona dos capos de la camorra". El Periódico Extremadura (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  16. ↑ "È morto il super boss della camorra, chi era Paolo Di Mauro 'o Infermiere, : "Comandava in città"". Voce di Napoli (in Italian). 2018-11-22. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  17. ↑ "Camorra: scacco all'Alleanza; 12 ricercati, 7 all'estero". la Repubblica . June 28, 2019.
  18. ↑ "Gli affari dell'Alleanza a Santo Domingo e l'ultimatum di Mallardo: "Ridatemi i soldi o finisce male"". teleclubitalia.it (in Italian). June 27, 2019.
  19. ↑ Bitonto, Stefano Di (2020-05-14). "Scarcerato Patrizio Bosti, scuse e risarcimento dello Stato per il boss dell'Alleanza di Secondigliano". InterNapoli.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 8 June 2020.
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