Naples. "I'm tired of this life, I renounce my past," with these words uttered yesterday morning in court during the trial against him and an accomplice accused of extortion, the leader Raffaele Paone , known as "Rafaniello ," a leading member of the Vanella Grassi clan, has decided to repent.
The 39-year-old is one of the leading members of the "Girati" gang of Secondigliano, being the cousin of the boss Vincenzo Grimaldi, who in turn is the son of the deceased boss Raffaele Grimaldi, known as "bombolone".
The 39-year-old had already expressed to investigators his desire to repent in recent days, but this was only "certified" yesterday morning, when Paone asked to speak during the hearing of the trial in which he is accused of racketeering together with Francesco Lomasto, known as "o' fringuello."
The two were arrested last December for a series of widespread extortions against shopkeepers and entrepreneurs in San Pietro a Patierno.
Paone, despite being under house arrest, continued to commit crimes in the name of the clan. He was released from prison in June 2022, despite a 16-year prison sentence. But his arrest must have undermined his criminal certainties since he has now decided to side with the state.
He had been sentenced to 16 years in prison
The news of his repentance was anticipated yesterday by Internapoli and today received widespread coverage in newspapers such as Cronarie di Napoli and Il Roma. And now the magistrates of the anti-mafia prosecutor's office are awaiting important news to further push the Vanella Grassi clan.
