This morning, acting on behalf of the Naples Public Prosecutor's Office, the State Police executed a precautionary custody order against 16 individuals. They are considered seriously suspected of mafia-type association, murder, assault, firing shots in a public place, carrying and possession of common and war weapons, extortion, and possession of narcotics. The operation was conducted at the request of the District Anti-Mafia Directorate of the Court of Naples.
The investigation, started in February 2021 and concluded in 2022, involved the agents of the Flying Squad of the Naples Police Headquarters, "Capturers" section, and of the Scampia Police Station, with the assistance of the Flying Squads of Perugia and the Police Stations of Giugliano and Anzio. Law enforcement has gathered significant evidence regarding the existence, structure, and operations of the Scognamiglio and Pecorelli criminal gangs, both affiliated with the Lo Russo clan. These groups clashed violently for control of the neighborhoods of Miano, Chiaiano, Piscinola, and Marianella.
Among the crimes committed by the two groups, the following are worth mentioning:
- The murder of Salvatore Milano, a longtime member of the Lo Russo clan, occurred on April 22, 2021.
- The murder of Antonio Avolio, on June 24, 2021.
- Salvatore DiCaprio was injured on June 10, 2021.
- An attack on several employees of the Monaldi Hospital in Naples on March 29, 2021, related to the buying and selling of jobs.
- An extortion attack on the owner of a bar in the Miano district, in August 2021.
- The seizure of an arsenal of common and war weapons.
- Numerous gunshots fired in a public place.
The investigative activity benefited from the ballistic comparison carried out by the Naples Scientific Police Department, which confirmed the correspondence between the seized weapons and the cartridge cases found in the various episodes of violence.
It might interest you
At the same time, the Carabinieri of the Operational Nucleus of the Naples Vomero Company executed a precautionary measure against 3 people, seriously suspected of mafia association and aggravated homicide. The investigations, conducted since 2020, have revealed the links between the Cifrone group, already disjointed by previous operations, and the new recruits of the Scognamiglio and Catone-Pecorelli groups.
Among those targeted by the precautionary measures is one of the perpetrators of the murder of Salvatore Milano, killed with seven gunshots.
In parallel, the GICO of the Economic and Financial Police Unit of Naples and the Central Investigative Unit of Rome of the Penitentiary Police, in collaboration with the SCICO and the Capodichino Company of the Guardia di Finanza, executed a preventive seizure order against 20 individuals investigated for extortion, usury, money laundering and other crimes aggravated by the mafia method.
The investigations revealed that a clan leader, despite having been detained for murder since 2010, continued to give orders from prison, secretly managing various economic activities and investing the illicit proceeds in movable and immovable property and luxury watches, even purchased with cryptocurrency.
The seizure involved 8 properties, 12 lots of land, 5 business complexes, 2 cars, 1 moped and 90 financial reports, for a total value of approximately 8 million euros. The measures executed are precautionary measures issued during the preliminary investigation phase, and the suspects are to be considered presumed innocent until a final sentence is reached.
Leave a comment