| Camorra |
Map highlighting the location of Campania in Italy
| Presumed Origin |
the SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. [The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
GardunaThe Garduna was a secret criminal society in Spain in the late Middle Ages. It was essentially a prison gang that grew into a more organized entity over time, involved with robbery, kidnapping, arson, and murder-for-hire...
|
| Creation |
XVIII century |
| Actual Number |
members |
| Principals Families |
150 'clans' |
| Criminal Activities |
Arms trafficking, BombA bomb is any of a range of explosive devices that typically rely on the exothermic chemical reaction of an explosive material to produce an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. The word comes from the Greek word βόμβος , an onomatopoetic term with approximately the same meaning as...
Attacks, BlackmailBlackmail is the crime of threatening to reveal substantially true information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand made upon the victim is met. This information is usually of an embarrassing and/or socially damaging nature...
, EnvironmentalThe natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a term that encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof....
pollution, Extortion'Extortion', outwresting, or exaction is a criminal offense which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly...
, cigarette smugglingCigarette smuggling is the illicit transportation of cigarettes from an administrative division with low taxation to a division with high taxation for sale and consumption...
, Counterfeiting, Illegal dumping, Illegal gambling, ProstitutionProstitution is the act or practice of engaging in sex acts for hire. In most cultures, prostitution is viewed by many as a deviant profession, either illegal or socially discouraged...
, drug trafficking, Money launderingMoney laundering is the process of creating the appearance that large amounts of money obtained from serious crimes, such as drug trafficking or terrorist activity, originated from a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions with varying definitions...
, robberyRobbery is the crime of seizing property through violence or intimidation. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear. Precise definitions of the offence may vary between...
, kidnappingIn criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or asportation of a person against the person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
, political corruptionPolitical corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
, people smugglingPeople smuggling is a term which is used to describe transportation of people across international borders to a non-official entry point of a destination country for a variety of reasons...
, murderMurder, as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent , and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, Racketeering, and Waste ManagementWaste management is the collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal, and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics. Waste management is...
|
The
Camorra is a
mafiaThe Mafia is a Sicilian criminal society which is believed to have emerged in late 19th century Sicily, and the first such society to be referred to as a mafia . It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct...
-like
criminal organisationOrganized crime or criminal organizations can be defined as a transnational grouping of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for the purpose of generating a monetary profit...
, or
secret societySecret society is a term used to describe a variety of organizations. Although the exact meaning of the term is disputed, several of the definitions advanced indicate a degree of secrecy and secret knowledge, which might include denying membership or knowledge of the group, negative consequences...
, originating in the region of
CampaniaCampania is a region of southern Italy in Europe. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,595 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
and its capital
NaplesNaples in Italy, is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture, architecture, music and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,800 years old...
in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
. It finances itself through drug trafficking, extortion, protection and racketeering and its activities have led to high levels of murder in the areas in which it operates. It is the oldest criminal organisation in Italy.
Background
The origins of the Camorra are not entirely clear. It may date back to the
16th centuryAs a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century lasted from 1501 through 1600.During the 16th century, Spain and Portugal explored and conquered the world seas. Latin America became a Spanish colony, while Portugal became the master of the Indian Ocean.In Europe, the Protestant...
as a direct descendant of a
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
secret society, the
GardunaThe Garduna was a secret criminal society in Spain in the late Middle Ages. It was essentially a prison gang that grew into a more organized entity over time, involved with robbery, kidnapping, arson, and murder-for-hire...
, founded in 1417. Officials of the Spanish
Kingdom of NaplesThe Kingdom of Naples is the modern day name for a polity which existed on the southern part of the Italian peninsula. Also known contemporaneously, and somewhat confusingly, as the Kingdom of Sicily, this kingdom was founded after the secession of the island of Sicily from the old Kingdom of...
may have introduced the organization to the area, or it may have grown gradually out of small criminal gangs operating among the poor in Neapolitan society near the end of the
18th centuryThe 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini/Common Era numbering system.However, Western historians sometimes specifically define the 18th century otherwise for the purposes of their work...
.
The first official use of the word dates from 1735, when a royal decree authorised the establishment of eight gaming-houses in Naples. The word is almost certainly a blend of "
capoCapo may refer to:*Capo, a device used for shortening the strings, and hence raising the pitch, of a stringed instrument such as a guitar, mandolin or banjo....
" (boss) and a Neapolitan street game, the "morra. (In this game, two persons wave their hands simultaneously, while a crowd of surrounding gamblers guess, in chorus, at the total number of fingers exposed by the principal players.) This activity was prohibited by the local government and some people started making the players pay for being “protected” against the passing police. This etymology seems to represent better the real nature and origin of the Camorra.
The Camorra first emerged during the chaotic power vacuum in the years between 1799-1815, when a
Neapolitan RepublicThe Neapolitan Republic , also known as the Parthenopean Republic was a French-supported republic in the territory of the Kingdom of Naples, formed during the French Revolutionary Wars after King Ferdinand IV fled before advancing French troops...
was proclaimed on the wave of the
French RevolutionThe French Revolution was a period of political and social upheaval and radical change in the history of France, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based...
and the restoration of Bourbon dynasty. The first official mention of the Camorra as an organization dates from 1820, when police records detail a disciplinary meeting of the Camorra. That year a first written statute was also discovered, indicating a stable organizational structure in the
underworldIn the study of mythology and religion, the underworld is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term afterlife, referring to any place to which newly dead souls go. In most cultures the term refers to a neutral or dystopic realm of the afterlife, instead of a heavenly or paradisiac one...
. Another statute was discovered in 1842 including initiation rites and funds set aside for the families of those imprisoned.
The evolution into more organized formations indicated a qualitative change: the Camorra and
camorristi were no longer local gangs living off theft and extortion; they now had a fixed structure and some kind of hierarchy. Another qualitative leap was the agreement of the liberal opposition and the Camorra following the defeat in the 1848 revolution. The liberals realized that they needed popular support to overthrow the king. They turned to the Camorra and paid them, the camorristi being the leaders of the city’s poor. The Camorra effectively had developed into power brokers in a few decades.
The Camorra was never a coherent whole, a centralised organization. Instead it has always been a loose confederation of different, independent groups or families. Each group was bound around kinship ties and controlled economic activities which took place in its particular territory. Each family clan took care of its own business, protected its territory, and sometimes tried to expand at another group’s expense. Although not centralized, there was some minimal coordination, to avoid mutual interference. The families competed to maintain a system of checks and balances between equal powers.
One of the Camorra’s strategies to gain social prestige is political patronage. The family clans became the preferred interlocutors of local politicians and public officials because of their grip on the community. In turn the family bosses used their political sway to assist and protect their clients against the local authorities. Through a mixture of brute force, political status, and social leadership, the Camorra family clans imposed themselves as middlemen between the local community and bureaucrats and politicians at the national level. They granted privileges and protection and intervened in favour of their clients in return for their silence and connivance against local authorities and the police. With their political connections, the heads of the major Neapolitan families became power brokers in local and national political contexts, providing Neapolitan politicians with broad electoral support and in return receiving benefits for their constituency.
Activities
Compared to the
SicilianSicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous region of Italy. Several much smaller islands surrounding it are considered to be part of Sicily....
Cosa Nostra's pyramidal structure, the Camorra has more of a 'horizontal' than a 'vertical' structure. As a result, individual Camorra clans act independently of each other, and are more prone to feuding among themselves. This however makes the Camorra more resilient when top leaders are arrested or killed, with new clans and organizations germinating out of the stumps of old ones. As the
Galasso clanThe Galasso clan was a Neapolitan Camorra clan operating inland to the east of the city of Naples, more specifically in the town of Poggiomarino.-History:...
boss
Pasquale GalassoPasquale Galasso is a former boss of the Galasso clan, a clan of the Camorra, the Neapolitan crime organization. Since August 1992, he has been a pentito , collaborating with the Italian justice. He revealed many intricate secrets about the Camorra...
once stated in court;
"Campania can get worse because you could cut into a Camorra group, but another ten could emerge from it."
In the 1970s and 1980s
Raffaele CutoloRaffaele Cutolo is an Italian crime boss and the charismatic leader of the Nuova Camorra Organizzata , an organisation he built to renew the Camorra. Cutolo has a variety of nicknames including "'o Vangelo" , "'o Principe" , "'o Professore" and "'o Monaco"...
made an attempt to unify the Camorra families in the manner of the Sicilian Mafia, by forming the
New Organized CamorraThe Nuova Camorra Organizzata was an Italian Camorra criminal organization founded in the late 1970s by a Neapolitan Camorrista, Raffaele Cutolo in the region of Campania. It was also known by its acronym "NCO"...
(
Nuova Camorra Organizzata or
NCO), but this proved unsuccessful.
Drive-by shootingA drive-by shooting is a form of hit-and-run tactic, a personal attack carried out by an individual or individuals from a moving or momentarily stopped vehicle. It often results in bystanders being shot instead of, or as well as, the intended target...
s by
camorristi often result in casualties among the local population, but such episodes are often difficult to investigate because of widespread
OmertàOmertà is a popular attitude and code of honor, common in areas of southern Italy, such as Sicily, Calabria, and Campania, where criminal organizations like the Mafia, 'Ndrangheta, and Camorra are strong. A common definition is the "code of silence". In English, it is often rendered omerta, without...
(code of silence). According to a report from Confesercenti, the second-largest Italian Trade Organization, published on October 22, 2007 in the
Corriere della SeraCorriere della Sera is an Italian daily newspaper , published in Milan.It is among the oldest and most reputable Italian newspapers, founded on Sunday, March 5 1876 by Eugenio Torelli Viollier...
, the Camorra control the milk and fish industries, the coffee trade, and over 2,500 bakeries in the city.
In 1983, Italian law enforcement estimated that there were only about a dozen Camorra clans. By 1987, the number had risen to 26, and in the following year, a report from the Naples flying squad reported their number as 32. Currently it is estimated there are about 111 Camorra clans and over 6,700 members in Naples and the immediate surroundings.
Roberto SavianoRoberto Saviano is an Italian writer and journalist.In his writings, articles and books he employs prose and news-reporting style to narrate the story of the Camorra , exposing its territory and business connections.Since 2006, following the publication of his bestselling book Gomorrah Roberto...
, the investigative journalist and best-selling author of Gomorra, an exposé on the activities of the Camorra, states that this sprawling network of Camorra clans now dwarfs the Sicilian Mafia, the 'Ndrangheta and southern Italy's other organised gangs, in numbers, in economic power and in ruthless violence.
In 2004 and 2005 the
Di Lauro clanThe 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...
and the so-called
ScissionistiThe Scissionisti di Secondigliano is a Camorra clan from the Napoletano district of Naples, headed by Raffaele Amato. They are also known as "Spagnoli" because of their endless trips ferrying cocaine from Galicia in Spain...
fought a bloody feud which came to be known in the Italian press as the
Scampia feudThe Scampia feud was a feud between the Camorra gangs in the neapolitan quartiere of Scampia and it broke out in 2004 and 2005...
. The result was over 100 street-killings. At the end of October 2006 a new series of murders took place in Naples between 20 competing clans, that cost 12 lives in 10 days. The Interior Minister
Giuliano AmatoGiuliano Amato is an Italian politician. He was Prime Minister of Italy twice, first from 1992 to 1993 and then from 2000 to 2001. He was more recently Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted the new European Constitution and headed the Amato Group. He is commonly...
decided to send more than 1,000 extra police and
CarabinieriThe Arma dei Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both the military and civilian populations. The Carabinieri is now a branch of the armed forces , thus ending their long standing role as the first corps of the Italian army.-Early history:The corps was created by King Victor...
to Naples to fight crime and protect tourists. It didn't help much – in the following year there were over 120 murders.
In recent years, various Camorra clans have been forming alliances with
Nigerian drug gangsNigerian organized crime, or Nigerian OC, may refer to a number of fraudsters, drug traffickers and racketeers of various sorts originating from Nigeria...
and the
Albanian MafiaThe Albanian Mafia or Albanian Organized Crime are the general terms used for various criminal organizations based in Albania or composed of ethnic Albanians. Albanian criminals are significantly active in the United States and the European Union countries, participating in a diverse range of...
, even going so far as to intermarry. For instance,
Augusto La TorreAugusto La Torre is an Italian criminal and former Camorra boss. Up until his arrest and subsequent collaboration with Italian justice on January 2003, La Torre was the head of the La Torre clan, a powerful Camorra organization whose vast lucrative criminal empire stretched from its base...
, the former La Torre clan boss who became a
pentitoPentito designates people in Italy who, formerly part of criminal or terrorist organizations, following their arrests decide to "repent" and collaborate with the judicial system to help investigations. The judicial category of the pentiti was first created to fight terrorism in the 1970s, during...
, is married to an Albanian woman. It should also be noted that the first foreign pentito, a Tunisian, admitted to being involved with the feared
Casalesi clanThe Casalesi clan is a clan within the Camorra, an Italian criminal organization, operating from Casal di Principe in the province of Caserta between Naples and Salerno.Formed by Antonio Bardellino, it is a confederation of clans in the Caserta area...
of
Casal di PrincipeCasal di Principe is a comune in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about 25 km northwest of Naples and about 20 km southwest of Caserta....
. The first town that the Camorra gave over to be completely governed by a foreign clan was
Castel VolturnoCastel Volturno is a comune in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about 35 km northwest of Naples and about 35 km west of Caserta on the Volturno river.-History:...
, which was given to the Rapaces, clans from
Lagos Lagos is the most populous conurbation in Nigeria with 7,937,932 inhabitants at the 2006 census...
and
Benin CityBenin City, a city and capital of Edo State, southern Nigeria, is a city approximately twenty-five miles North of the Benin River. It is situated 200 miles by road east of Lagos...
in
NigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger...
. This allowed them to traffic cocaine and prostitutes before sending them across the whole of Europe.
Garbage crisis
Since the mid-1990s, the Camorra has taken over the handling of garbage disposal in the region of
CampaniaCampania is a region of southern Italy in Europe. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,595 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
, with disastrous results for the environment and the health of the general population.
Heavy metalsA heavy metal is a member of an ill-defined subset of elements that exhibit metallic properties, which would mainly include the transition metals, some metalloids, lanthanoids, and actinides. Many different definitions have been proposed—some based on density, some on atomic number or atomic...
,
industrial wasteIndustrial waste is a type of waste produced by industrial activity, such as that of factories, mills and mines. It has existed since the outset of the industrial revolution....
, chemicals and household
garbageGarbage may refer to:*Waste, an unwanted or undesired material or substance*Garbage , unreferenced data in a computer's memory*Garbage , a rock musical ensemble**Garbage , the band's debut album...
are frequently mixed together, dumped near roads and burnt to avoid detection, leading to severe soil and air pollution.
With the assistance of private businessmen known as "stakeholders", the numerous Camorra clans are able to gain massive profits from under-the-table contracts with local, legitimate businesses. These "stakeholders" are able to offer companies highly lucrative deals to remove their waste at a significantly lower price. With little to no overhead, Camorra clans and their associates see very high profit margins. According to author
Roberto SavianoRoberto Saviano is an Italian writer and journalist.In his writings, articles and books he employs prose and news-reporting style to narrate the story of the Camorra , exposing its territory and business connections.Since 2006, following the publication of his bestselling book Gomorrah Roberto...
, the Camorra employs children to drive the waste in for a small price, who do not complain about the health risks as the older truckers might.
As of June 2007, the region has no serviceable dumping sites and no alternatives have been found. Together with corrupt local officials and unscrupulous industrialists from all over Italy, the Camorra has created a cartel that has so far proved very difficult for officials to combat.
Efforts to fight the Camorra
The Camorra has proven to be an extremely difficult organization to fight within Italy. At the first mass trial against the Camorra in 1911-12, Captain Carlo Fabroni of the
CarabinieriThe Arma dei Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both the military and civilian populations. The Carabinieri is now a branch of the armed forces , thus ending their long standing role as the first corps of the Italian army.-Early history:The corps was created by King Victor...
gave testimony on how complicated it was to successfully prosecute the Camorra: "The Camorrist has no political ideals. He exploits the elections and the elected for gain. The leaders distribute bands throughout the town, and they have recourse to violence to obtain the vote of the electors for the candidates whom they have determined to support. Those who refuse to vote as instructed are beaten, slashed with knives, or kidnapped. All this is done with assurance of impunity, as the Camorrists will have the protection of successful politicians, who realize that they cannot be chosen to office without paying toll to the Camorra."
The trial that investigated the murder of the Camorrista Gennaro Cuocolo was followed with great interest by the newspapers and the general public. It led to the conviction of 27 leading Camorra bosses, who were sentenced to a total of 354 years of imprisonment.
Unlike the Mafia, which has a clear hierarchy and a division of interests, the Camorra’s activities are much less centralized. This makes the organization much more difficult to combat through crude repression. In
CampaniaCampania is a region of southern Italy in Europe. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,595 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
, where unemployment is high and opportunities are limited, the Camorra has become an integral part of the fabric of society. It offers a sense of community and provides the youth with jobs. Members are guided in the pursuit of criminal activities, including cigarette smuggling, drug trafficking, and theft.
The government has made an effort to combat the Camorra's criminal activities in Campania. The solution ultimately lies in Italy’s ability to offer values, education and work opportunities to the next generation. However, the government has been hard pressed to find funds for promoting long term reforms that are needed to improve the local economic outlook and create jobs. Instead, it has had to rely on limited law enforcement activity in an environment which has a long history of criminal tolerance and acceptance, and is governed by a
code of silenceA code of silence is when a person opts to withhold what is believed to be vital or important information voluntarily or involuntarily.The code of silence is usually either kept because of threat of force, or danger to oneself, or being branded as a traitor or an outcast within the unit or...
or
omertàOmertà is a popular attitude and code of honor, common in areas of southern Italy, such as Sicily, Calabria, and Campania, where criminal organizations like the Mafia, 'Ndrangheta, and Camorra are strong. A common definition is the "code of silence". In English, it is often rendered omerta, without...
that persists to this day.
Despite the overwhelming magnitude of the problem, law enforcement officials continue their pursuit. The Italian police are coordinating their efforts with
EuropolEuropol is the European Union's criminal intelligence agency. It became fully operational on 1 July 1999....
at the European level as well as
InterpolInterpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
to conduct special operations against the Camorra. The Carabinieri and the Financial Police are also fighting criminal activities related to tax evasion, border controls, and money laundering. Prefect Gennaro Monaco, Deputy Chief of Police and Chief of the Section of Criminal Police cites "impressive results" against the Camorra in recent years, yet the Camorra continues to grow in power.
In 1998, police took a leading Camorra figure into custody.
Francesco SchiavoneFrancesco Schiavone is a member of the Camorra, the Neapolitan organized crime syndicate, and the head of the Casalesi clan from Casal di Principe in the province of Caserta between Naples and Salerno...
was caught hiding in a secret apartment near Naples behind a sliding wall of granite. The mayor of Naples, Antonio Bassolino, compared the arrest to that of Sicilian Mafia chief
Salvatore RiinaSalvatore Riina, also known as Totò Riina is a member of the Sicilian Mafia who became the most powerful member of the criminal organization in the early 1980s...
in 1993. Francesco Schiavone is now serving a life sentence after a criminal career which included arms trafficking, bomb attacks, armed robbery, and murder.
The arrests in the Campania region demonstrate that the police are not allowing the Camorra to operate without intervention. However, progress remains slow, and these minor victories have done little to loosen the Camorra's grip on Naples and the surrounding region.
Camorra in the United States
The Camorra existed in USA between the mid-1800s and early 1900s. They rivaled the
Morello crime familyThe Morello crime family, established in 1892, was one of the earliest crime families to be established in the United States and New York City...
for power in
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Eventually, they melded with the early Italian-American
MafiaThe Mafia is a Sicilian criminal society which is believed to have emerged in late 19th century Sicily, and the first such society to be referred to as a mafia . It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct...
groups.
Many Camorra members and associates fled the internecine gang warfare and Italian Justice and emigrated to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the 1980s. In 1993, the FBI estimated that there were 200 Camorristi in the United States. Although there appears to be no clan structure in the United States, Camorra members have established a presence in Cleveland,
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
,
AlbanyAlbany is a city in the United States of America; it is the capital of the state of New York and the county seat of Albany County. Albany is roughly 136 miles north of the city of New York, and slightly south of the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. The city sits on the Hudson River and...
and
Springfield, MassachusettsSpringfield is the largest city on the Connecticut River and the county seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States.In the 2000 census, the city population was 154,082. It is the third largest city in Massachusetts and fourth largest in New England...
. The Camorra is the least active of all the organized crime groups in the United States. In spite of this, the US law enforcement considers the Camorra to be a rising criminal enterprise, especially dangerous because of its ability to adapt to new trends and forge new alliances with other criminal organizations.
According to the
Federal Bureau of InvestigationThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency. The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
:
- "In the 1970s, the Sicilian Mafia convinced the Camorra to convert their cigarette smuggling routes into drug smuggling routes with the Sicilian Mafia's assistance. Not all Camorra leaders agreed, leading to the Camorra Wars that cost 400 lives. Opponents of drug trafficking lost the war. The Camorra made a fortune in reconstruction after an earthquake ravaged the Campania region in 1980. Now it specializes in cigarette smuggling and receives payoffs from other criminal groups for any cigarette traffic through Italy. The Camorra is also involved in money laundering, extortion, alien smuggling, robbery, blackmail, kidnapping, political corruption, and counterfeiting. It is believed that nearly 200 Camorra affiliates reside in this country, many of whom arrived during the Camorra Wars".
In 1995, the Camorra cooperated with the
Russian MafiaThe Russian Mafia or Bratva — often transliterated as Mafiya — are names designating a diverse group of organized crime syndicates originating in the former Soviet Union...
in a scheme in which the Camorra would bleach out US $1.00 dollar bills and reprint them as $100s. These bills would then be transported to the
Russian MafiaThe Russian Mafia or Bratva — often transliterated as Mafiya — are names designating a diverse group of organized crime syndicates originating in the former Soviet Union...
for distribution in 29
Eastern BlocThe terms Eastern Bloc, Communist Bloc or Soviet Bloc were used to refer to the former Communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, including the countries of the Warsaw Pact, along with Yugoslavia and Albania, which were not aligned with the Soviet Union after 1948 and 1960...
and former Soviet republics. In return, the Russian Mafia paid the Camorra with property (including a Russian bank) and firearms, smuggled into Eastern Europe and Italy.
Camorra in the United Kingdom
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
has had its brush with the Camorra.
Antonio La TorreAntonio La Torre is an Italian restaurateur and member of the Camorra. He is the brother of Augusto La Torre, the former head of the powerful La Torre clan from Mondragone...
of
AberdeenAberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city and one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It has an official population estimate of .Nicknames include the Granite City, the Grey City and the Silver City with the Golden Sands...
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
was the local
"Don" of the Camorra. He is the brother of Camorra boss Augusto La Torre of the La Torre clan which had its base in
MondragoneMondragone is a comune or municipality in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region of Campania. It is located about 45 km northwest of Naples and about 40 km west of Caserta.-History:...
,
CasertaCaserta is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial and industrial comune and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Campanian Subapennine mountain range...
. The La Torre Clan's empire was worth hundreds of millions of euros. Antonio had several legitimate businesses in Aberdeen, whereas his brother Augusto had several illegal businesses there. He was convicted in Scotland and is awaiting extradition to Italy. Augusto would eventually become a
pentitoPentito designates people in Italy who, formerly part of criminal or terrorist organizations, following their arrests decide to "repent" and collaborate with the judicial system to help investigations. The judicial category of the pentiti was first created to fight terrorism in the 1970s, during...
in January 2003, confessing to over 40 murders and his example would be followed by many of his men.
Two Aberdeen restaurateurs, Ciro Schiattarella and Michele Siciliano were extradited to Italy for their part in the
"Aberdeen Camorra". A fourth Scottish associate named Brandon Queen who made history by becoming the first foreign member of the Camorra is currently serving a jail sentence in the UK.It has been reported that he also receives a monthly salary, legal assistance and protection, something only members of the Clans receive. Neapolitan writer and expert on the Camorra,
Roberto SavianoRoberto Saviano is an Italian writer and journalist.In his writings, articles and books he employs prose and news-reporting style to narrate the story of the Camorra , exposing its territory and business connections.Since 2006, following the publication of his bestselling book Gomorrah Roberto...
, states that the Camorra has created a branch in Aberdeen and that it is the focus of the La Torre clan's British operations.
Saviano alleges that from the 1980s, Italian gangsters ran a network of lucrative businesses in the city as well as many illegal rackets. Saviano said Scotland's third city, with no history of organised crime, was seen as an attractive safe haven away from the violent inter-gang blood-letting that had engulfed their Neapolitan stronghold of Mondragone. Saviano claims that before the Italian clans arrived, Aberdeen didn't know how to exploit its resources for recreation and tourism. He further states that the Italians infused the city with economic energy, revitalised the tourist industry, inspired new import-export activities and injected new vigour in the real-estate sector. It thereby turned Aberdeen into a chic, elegant address for fine dining and important dealings.
The hub of La Torre's UK empire, Pavarotti's restaurant, now under different ownership, was even feted at Italissima, a prestigious gastronomic fair held in Paris. The restaurant was even advertised on the city's local tourist guides. Saviano further claims to have gone to Aberdeen and worked in a restaurant run by Antonio La Torre. The Camorristas operated a system known as
"scratch" where they used to step up illegal activities if their legitimate ventures were struggling. If cash was short they had counterfeit notes printed; if capital was needed in a hurry, they sold bogus treasury bonds. They annihilated the competition through extortions and imported merchandise tax-free. The Camorra were able to run all sort of deals because the local police had virtually no experience in dealing with organized crime. Although they broke the law, there were never any guns or serious violence, due to lack of rivals.
However, the suggestion that the city remains in the grip of mobsters has been strongly denied by leaders of the 300 strong Italian community in Aberdeen. Moreover, Giuseppe Baldini, the Italian government's vice-consul in Aberdeen denies that the Camorra still maintains its presence in Aberdeen.
In popular culture
- Camorra is a 1972 movie
Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
, directed by Pasquale Squitieri, starring Fabio TestiFabio Testi is an Italian actor, star of, among many others, the film First Action Hero which, curiously, is not included in his official website's filmography. Born in Italy on 2 August 1941, the 1.84m tall actor started his film career as a stuntman in his college years...
and Jean SebergJean Dorothy Seberg was an American actress. She starred in 37 films in Hollywood and in France. Seberg became even more of an icon after her roles in numerous French films and the tragedy of her turbulent life and eventual probable suicide.- Early life :Seberg was born in Marshalltown, Iowa, the...
.
- Il Camorrista (1986), directed by Giuseppe Tornatore
-Biography:Born in Bagheria near Palermo, Tornatore developed an interest in acting and the theatre from at least the age of 16 and put on works by Luigi Pirandello and Eduardo De Filippo.He worked initially as a freelance photographer...
. Vaguely inspired by the real story of NCO boss, Raffaele Cutolo. Cutolo is played by Ben GazzaraBiagio Anthony “Ben” Gazzara is an American actor in television and motion pictures.-Early life:Gazzara was born in New York City, the son of Italian immigrants Angelina and Antonio Gazzara, who was a laborer. Gazzara grew up on New York's tough Lower East Side. He actually lived on E...
, with the Italian voiceover done by Italian actor Mariano Rigillo.
- The 2006 book by Roberto Saviano
Roberto Saviano is an Italian writer and journalist.In his writings, articles and books he employs prose and news-reporting style to narrate the story of the Camorra , exposing its territory and business connections.Since 2006, following the publication of his bestselling book Gomorrah Roberto...
, GomorrahGomorrah is a book by Roberto Saviano published in 2006.-The book:The book describes the clandestine particulars of the business of Camorra, a powerful Neapolitan mafia-like organization...
, investigates the activities of the Camorra in Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Scotland. The book has also been adapted to film with the title GomorraGomorrah is a 2008 crime film directed by Matteo Garrone, based on the book by Roberto Saviano. It deals with crime and the Camorra in Naples and Caserta.-Plot:...
by Matteo GarroneMatteo Garrone is an Italian film maker.Born in Rome, the son of a theatre critic and a photographer, in 1996 Garrone won the Sacher d'Oro, an award sponsored by Nanni Moretti, with the short film Silhouette, that became one of the three episodes that are on his first long film Terra di mezzo...
in 2008.
- The opera The Jewels of the Madonna by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari was an Italian composer and teacher. He is best known for his comic operas such as Il segreto di Susanna...
features the Camorra as part of the plot.
- The story of Raffaele Cutolo also inspired one of the most famous songs of Fabrizio De André
Fabrizio De André was an Italian singer-songwriter and poet. In his works he often told stories of marginalized and rebellious people...
, entitled Don Raffaé (Clouds of 1990).
- A few characters in the anime Baccano!
is a light novel series by Ryohgo Narita, with illustrations by Katsumi Enami. The first volume won Gold in the 9th Dengeki Novel Prize and the series has been made into a TV anime which started July 26, 2007 by Brain's Base and published by Aniplex...
are members of the Camorra, and there are scenes depicting the organization.
See also
Towns with a strong influence of Camorra in their economic life (according to a 2000 report of the Italian Parliament):
- Marigliano
Marigliano is a town and comune of the province of Naples, Campania in southern Italy. It is part of the Agro Nolano plain.-Geography:The town lies 25 km from Naples...
- Naples
Naples in Italy, is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture, architecture, music and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,800 years old...
- Nola
Nola is a city of Campania, Italy, in the province of Naples, situated in the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. It is served by the Circumvesuviana railway from Naples.-Ancient era:...
- Torre Annunziata
Torre Annunziata is a city and commune in the province of Naples, region of Campania in Italy. It is located at the Gulf of Naples at the foot of Mt. Vesuvius. The city was destroyed in the Vesuvius eruption of 79 AD and in 1631...
- Ercolano
Ercolano is a town and commune in the province of Naples, Campania . It lies at the western foot of Mount Vesuvius, on the Gulf of Naples, just southeast of the city of Naples. The medieval town of Resina was built on the lava stream left by the eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed the ancient city...
- Villaricca
Villaricca is a comune in the Province of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 10 km northwest of Naples...
- Caserta
Caserta is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial and industrial comune and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Campanian Subapennine mountain range...
- Casal di Principe
Casal di Principe is a comune in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about 25 km northwest of Naples and about 20 km southwest of Caserta....
- Acerra
Acerra is a town and municipality of Campania, southern Italy, in the Province of Naples, about 20 km northeast of the provincial capital in Naples. It is part of the Agro Nolano plain.-History:...
- San Giorgio a Cremano
San Giorgio a Cremano is a primarily residential town and comune in the province of Naples, in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is located on the foothills of Mount Vesuvius to the west of the volcano, and is six kilometres to the south east of the centre of Naples...
- Quartieri Spagnoli
Quartieri Spagnoli is a part of the city of Naples in Italy. The Neapolitan language is stronger here than anywhere else. It is a poor area, more so than the city overall, which is suffering from high unemployment. Quartieri Spagnoli is an area where the Camorra has influence. The area consists of...
the Spanish Quarters in Naples
Sources
- Behan, Tom (1996). The Camorra, London: Routledge, ISBN 0-415-09987-0
- Liddick, Donald R. (2004). The Global Underworld: Transnational Crime and the United States, Westport (Connecticut): Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004, ISBN 0-275-98074-X
- Jacquemet, Marco (1996). Credibility in Court: Communicative Practices in the Camorra Trials, Cambridge University Press ISBN 0521552516
- Richards James R. (1998). Transnational Criminal Organizations, Cybercrime, and Money Laundering: A Handbook for Law Enforcement Officers, Auditors, and Financial Investigators, Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press, 1998, ISBN 0-849-32806-3
External links
Camorra Articles by Roberto Saviano published on Nazione Indiana