"You get to the point where you are desperate and you are forced to accept proposals that come from the context of constraint and desperation. You have to consider which side you are on. My appeal is to report it and you can start living."
These are the words of the businessman and politician of the Democratic Party of Soccavo, Salvatore Fiore who with his complaint brought about the arrest of six Camorra tie-makers from his neighborhood.
"I did everything I could to pay off the initial debt, but the interest ceiling kept rising. That's why I turned to Sos Impresa and, obviously, the Carabinieri. I hope that after this complaint, there will be the right amount of attention, that the spotlight will not go out on those who found the strength to report."
“Good life. But people like you die.” They are the words that Joseph Barrett, a 39-year-old from Casoria, sent on April 18 to Salvatore Fiore, a businessman and politician from Soccavo. With these threats, Barretta tried to force Fiore to pay 2.820 euros, which according to the alleged tormentor Fiore owed to Luciano Ruotolo, another trader.
Fiore, -as reported by Il Roma- exhausted by the threats, decided to report everything to the police, handing them the messages that Barretta had sent him on Whatsapp.
According to investigators, Barretta threatened Fiore with serious damage to his safety and that of his family, and to involve “Sicilian friends” if he did not pay. Furthermore, Barretta allegedly referred to his previous detention and the fact that he belonged to a criminal family from Secondigliano.
Fiore told the police that he began to pay the sums requested by Barretta in several installments, through Postepay top-ups on cards registered to Mary Toraldo and Gennaro Barretta, Giuseppe's brother.
Fiore's nightmare did not end with the complaint. Concerns for his safety continued in the following weeks, so much so that he was forced to lower the shutters of his shop on Via dell'Epomeo.
Fiore told the police that he had instructed his accountant to close the administrative and fiscal positions of the shop, and that he had almost entirely emptied the business.
Barretta’s threats have also had a serious impact on the economic conditions of Fiore and his family. Fiore told the police that his economic conditions are “disastrous,” and that he, his wife, and his minor son are forced to live with the help of their adult children.
Capezzuto's threat: "My daughter's boyfriend is coming out in a month"
Among the statements made by Fiore, those relating to the conduct of stand out Charles Capezzuto, close to the criminal circles of the Traiano district. Fiore said that on April 19, 2023 he received a Whatsapp message from Capezzuto, in which the recipient told him: “It’s been another month and the boyfriend is going out.”
Fiore hypothesized that Capezzuto was referring to the daughter Martina's boyfriend, a Camorrista currently in prison for murder. Fiore added that, according to neighborhood rumors, his daughter's boyfriend is a member of a Camorra clan from the Traiano district. The Carabinieri investigations are still ongoing.
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(In the photo from left Carlo Capezzuto, Giuseppe Barretta, Giovanni Minopoli and Nicola Siano)
Article published on 19 December 2023 - 08:42
