arzano. In the northern area of the province the territory of arzano “equipped with a rich productive fabric and entrepreneurial activities, it is located in a “buffer” zone between the areas of influence dominated by the historic Amato-Pagano and Moccia clans, whose expansionist aims it has always been the object of, and it has been “governed”, through local groups, also in a logic of division of the sectors of illicit activity”.
In this area between the municipalities of Arzano, Caivano, Frattaminore and Frattamaggiore - the report states - between the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, tensions between local groups gave rise to a series of serious clashes. On one side, the Monfregolo clan would have lined up, on the other, the Cristiano clan also known as "della 167", the Arzano branch of the Amato-Pagano cartel.
“The release from prison in April 2020” of the top members of the Cristiano group “who returned to lead the clan, is at the origin of the removal from the territory of the Monfregolo family nucleus and the affiliates who remained faithful to them”.
However, in the second half of 2021, after the murder of the man who had assumed the role of regent of the Cristianos, the Monfregolo family reasserted itself, giving rise to "numerous illegal occupations (also by people from other municipalities), constituting a claim and a tangible sign of the change at the top of the clan and the return of the Monfregolos to the territory ...".
The excerpt from the precautionary measure executed by the Carabinieri on 23 March 2022 against the regent of the Monfregolo group refers to the ambush that took place on 24 November 2021 in the centre of Arzano and which involved 5 people who were injured, as well as seriously injured the member of the Cristiano group who died on the following 28 November.
With the return of the Monfregolo the Cristianos would have been forced to leave the territory of Arzano and take refuge in the Frattese area. Consequently the conflicts also moved to the municipalities of Frattamaggiore and Frattaminore determining the involvement of the local Pezzella-Ullero and Mormile groups.
Precisely "taking into account the described situation of widespread illegality, for about a year the Municipal Police of Arzano has been carrying out tight controls aimed at ascertaining any illegal occupations that have taken place, verifying the regularity of those already in progress and ascertaining the presence of any building abuses.
These activities - concludes the Antimafia analysis - are evidently experienced with impatience by the members of the clan, who consider the public housing blocks of 167 their stronghold, being a highly symbolic place (to be removed, therefore, from legality controls) but also a resource intended to fuel the consensus and loyalty of subjects close to the group and, more generally, of the resident population, through the assignment to those who need a home, according to a real system parallel to the institutional one".
In this context, it is also worth remembering how, in relation to the checks on the regularity of the occupations of public housing, on 7 March 2022 in Arzano, threatening posters addressed to the commander of the municipal police were posted.
In this context, other intimidating actions would have matured, this time against the parish priest of the Parco Verde of Caivano, presumably for his commitment against the mafia. An important insight into the organization and operations in Arzano of the Amato-Pagano association - a leading criminal cartel in drug trafficking already discussed in the paragraph dedicated to the city of Naples - was provided by the operation concluded on June 8, 2021 by the State Police and the Guardia di Finanza.
The investigation had documented a plurality of crimes aimed at maintaining criminal control in the municipality of Arzano and in the surrounding areas. In particular, the investigation had concerned hypotheses of infiltration of the clan also in the municipal administration of Melito di Napoli where the organization enjoyed connections thanks to unfaithful public officials, as well as some representatives of trade associations who in some way also favored the widespread extortion activity on merchants.
The investigative results had also proven the clan's interest in the funeral services sector with a de facto monopolistic management, since companies not willing to pay a fixed fee to the organization were prohibited from operating in the territory.
Carmine Longhi
Article published on 3 October 2022 - 19:28
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