They feared her. She was a real female boss. She had inherited the scepter from her late husband. She had decided that from the stalls you could extort a maximum of 10 euros a day. And instead a contact of the Mazzarella clan he wanted 70 euros. Too high a sum.
Article Key Points
But how could a direct message be sent to the boss Michele without causing consequences? It was necessary to tell the 'aunt', that is, Antonietta Virenti, 64 years old, female boss arrested today by the police for a custody order signed by the investigating judge Tommaso Perrella, which led to the arrest of 25 suspects. Virenti is the wife of Vincenzo called 'o pazzo, who died in prison in November 2018, and mother of Michele Mazzarella, clan leader of the area Fork a Napoli, and mother-in-law of Marianna Julianor, daughter of the boss Luigi, the famous “Lovegino” or O King of Forcella collaborator of justice for several years.
The conversation was captured in a wiretap between Massimo Ferraiuolo, the man who managed the gang's operations 'protection payment' and criminal affairs in the central station area, and Gaetano Gemei, two other recipients of the precautionary measure. Capozona and gregario talk in the car, April 25, 2019.
Massimo Ferraiuolo: “I end up going there and things get messed up, I go to my aunt's first and then…”. Gaetano Gemei: “(Pasqualino Salvia, ed.) How many does he have? Go to Ciro Mazzarella”. Massimo Ferraiuolo: “He must keep ten of his.”
Antonietta Virente he is charged with mafia-style criminal association “as leader and promoter, leader of the clan”. According to the order, the woman was able to manage the clan in the absence of her son.
“At the top of the gang for over twenty years, aided by her nephews Salvatore Barile and Ciro Mazzarella – writes the investigating judge – she is the one who makes the most important decisions”. Extortion on every stall in the Maddalena fake market, also known as the Duchesca. And a very strong code of silence.
Out of 200 stalls, only one complaint, and that of a non-EU boy. This is because, as emerges from the accusations, those who refused to pay were savagely beaten. “When I get back, give me the arrears,” were the threats that came directly from members of the clan to those who did not pay. And even the illegal parking attendants paid. Almost half of the takings. Tax collectors of the gang Joan Romaniello e Maria Tella Marzano. “The extortions flowed into a common fund that was used, when necessary, to pay the salaries of prisoners and their families,” the investigating judge explains in the order.
Meetings with the Montescuro clan in the hospital mortuary
The pages of the ordinance also contain the stories of Maurizio Ferraiuolo, former collaborator of justice and brother of Massimo, one of those arrested in the blitz and who in the meantime has become the top man of the gang in the Forcella area: “I always had support in the hospital… where I slept when I had to escape the authorities’ searches or was in danger due to internal feuds… I remember having held some meetings…”.
On September 24, 2012, he reported that the Camorra summits were held in a hospital in the center and that weapons were also hidden. The meetings were held in the hospital premises, including in the mortuary, like those that followed one another to try to put an end to the armed conflict between the Mazzarella clan and the Montescuro clan.
Minister Piantedosi: “Let’s give citizens back spaces of legality”
This morning's operation by the State Police in Naples, coordinated by the local District Attorney's Office, “it once again bears witness to the extraordinary commitment of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies against criminal organizations that attack the economic and social fabric of the Neapolitan capital”.
The Minister of the Interior declared this, Matteo Piantedosi, commenting on the execution of 25 precautionary custody measures in prison against as many people considered seriously suspected of mafia-type association, extortion and possession of weapons, and linked in various capacities to local gangs.
“We must continue with determination to give concrete answers to the Neapolitan community and fight the criminal associations that try to control the territory by imposing their power with extortionate demands to the detriment of commercial activities,” underlined the head of the Viminale, highlighting that “operations like these are fundamental to allow citizens to reclaim those spaces of legality and security necessary for the growth of a healthy economy and for a peaceful coexistence free from conditioning.”
Attorney General Riello: “Difficult to restore confidence in the State”
“Certainly there is a lot of fear of reporting. Evidently the signals must be stronger because it is not easy to find the courage to report in environments so permeated by crime”. According to the Attorney General of Naples, Louis Riello. “This says a lot about the fact that it feels like a cloak – he adds – the judiciary and the police are doing a lot, but the situation in Campania is very serious and giving people back the right trust in the State is a very tiring operation”.
(in the photo from left Antonietta Virenti, Gaetano Gemei, Salvatore Ferraiuolo, Maurizio Virente, Enzo Barattolo, Massimo Ferraiuolo, Antonio Tubelli)
Article published on 6 December 2022 - 08:05
