Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
where there is money, there is greed, and disputes between rival clans over this lucrative
trade have seen the spilling of much blood.
One of the most serious clan battles in recent history was the so-called 'Scampia Feud',
ignited by
camorrista
Cosimo Di Lauro in late 2004. As the newly appointed head of the
powerful Di Lauro clan, the 30-year-old decided to centralise the area's drug trade, giving
himself more power and the clan's long-respected franchisees much less. This did not go
down well with many of Di Lauro's associates. Among them were Raffaele Amato and
Cesare Pagano, who broke away to form a rival clan dubbed the Scissionisti (Secession-
ists). What followed was a long and ruthless series of murders and retributions between
the opposing groups, one that would claim over 50 lives in 2004-05 alone.
MAFIA TRASH
In early 2012 Italian police arrested 14 people and seized company assets in excess of €8 million in a
probe into illegal toxic waste trafficked by the Camorra. This figure is hardly surprising: the Camorra
runs a lucrative line in transporting, dumping and burning toxic waste smuggled into Campania from
Italy's wealthy, industrial north. In 2004 the medical journal
Lancet Oncology
dubbed an area in
Naples' northeast hinterland 'the triangle of death' due to abnormally high cases of liver cancer and
congenital malformations of the nervous and urinary systems. The trade's origins are linked to Ca-
salesi clan boss Gaetano Vassallo, who in 2008 confessed to bribing local politicians, farmers and oth-
er clan bosses into letting him dump dangerous waste in fields between Naples and Caserta.
Fighting Back
Over the years, the law has captured many Camorra kingpins, among them Cosimo Di
Lauro, his father, Paolo, and Giuseppe Dell'Aquila. Yet the war against the Camorra re-
mains an uphill battle. Its presence in Neapolitan society spans centuries, and, for many,
the Camorra has provided everything Italy's official avenues have not, from employment
and business loans to a sense of order in local communities. The Camorra's weekly drug
trade rates range from €100 for lookouts to €1000 for those willing to hide the drugs at
home. Driving a shipment of drugs from Milan to Naples can pay as much as €2500.
Italy's recent financial downturn has proven
another boon. With liquidity in short supply,
hard-pressed companies have become more
susceptible to dirty money. Camorra-affiliated
loan sharks commonly offer cash with an aver-
Arrested in 2009, Ugo Gabriele broke the
mould like no other. Beefy and cunning, the
