A real judicial blow hit the so-called “three-headed clan” last night, the mafia holding company that has controlled drug trafficking in the Spanish Quarters of Naples for years.
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The GUP, Maria Rosaria Aufieri of the court of Naples issued 45 sentences, for a total of over 540 years of prison, even exceeding the requests of the public prosecution. Among those convicted, the names of the leaders and promoters of the criminal association stand out, who received sentences of up to 20 years of imprisonment.
The clan, the result of a pact between three historic families of the neighborhood – the Masiellos, the Espositos and the Saltalamacchias – had managed to create a real monopoly on drug dealing, managing drug markets and organizing ambushes to eliminate rivals and consolidate their own power.
The agreement between the three bosses, Antonio Esposito known as “'o pallino”, Vincenzo Masiello “'o cucù” and Eduardo Saltalamacchia, dates back to December 2019, shortly after the latter's release from prison and the resumption of control over the Pignasecca area.
The investigations, as Il Roma recalled, culminated in a mega-raid in May 2023 with 53 arrests, reconstructed a dense criminal network, with episodes of violence and intimidation. Among these, the ambushes of Domenico Masi and Paolo Pesce, in addition to the management of drug dealing areas such as that of “della Sposa”, controlled by Carmine Furgiero “'o pop” and his son Luigi, both sentenced to 20 years in prison.
The most severe sentences hit the top of the organization: Antonio Esposito, Vincenzo Masiello and Eduardo Saltalamacchia were sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment each. Among the other defendants, the sentences of 14 years and 10 months for Gaetano Avoletto, Gennaro Avoletto, Lorenzo Cangiano, Maria Lo Vasco, Antonio Masiello, Gaetano Masiello, Vincenzo Massa, Antonio Pomidoro, Maurizio Provenzano and Alessandro Romano stand out.
The trial, held with an abbreviated rite, highlighted the hierarchical structure of the clan and the ferocity of its methods, confirming the existence of a "superclan" that, through agreements and violence, dominated the drug market for years in one of the most symbolic neighborhoods of Naples. A historic sentence, which marks a very hard blow to organized crime in the Neapolitan city.
The sentences name by name
- Richard Ronald Agyen: 11 years and 6 months
- Gaetano Avoletto: 14 years and 10 months
- Gennaro Avoletto: 14 years and 10 months
- Antonio Boccia: 5 years
- Ciro Burraccione: 15 years and 8 months
- Lorenzo Cangiano: 14 years and 10 months
- Massimo Capasso: 11 years and 1 month
- Dario Catalano: 5 years
- Stefano Chiantese: 8 years
- Roberto Ciotola: 9 years old
- Giovanni Civitelli: 11 years and 1 month
- Michele D'Alessandro: 8 years and 8 months
- Vincenzo D'Avino: 8 years and 8 months
- Giancarlo De Gaetano: 5 years and 4 months
- Mariano Delle Rosse: 9 years and 6 months
- Antonio Esposito: 20 years old
- Gaetano Esposito: 11 years and 1 month
- Carmine Furgiero: 20 years
- Luigi Furgiero: 20 years
- Luigi Gaudino: 12 years and 6 months
- Giuseppe Iaselli: 8 years and 4 months
- Emanuele Irollo: 13 years and 4 months
- Maria Lo Vasco: 14 years and 10 months
- Emanuele Marinelli: 9 years and 6 months
- Domenico Masi: 4 years and 8 months
- Antonio Masiello: 14 years and 10 months
- Ciro Masiello: 12 years old
- Gennaro Masiello: 9 years and 10 months
- Gaetano Masiello: 14 years and 10 months
- Luciano Masiello: 5 years and 6 months
- Vincenzo Masiello: 20 years
- Vincenzo Massa: 14 years and 10 months
- Salvatore Mazzocchi: 10 years and 2 months
- Elio Papi: 12 years old
- Arturo Picco: 13 years and 4 months
- Antonio Pomidoro: 14 years and 10 months
- Maurizio Provenzano: 14 years and 10 months
- Carmine Pugliese: 8 years and 10 months
- Giovanni Punzo: 12 years and 2 months
- Alessandro Romano: 14 years and 10 months
- Giuseppe Rossi: 12 years old
- Eduardo Saltalamacchia: 20 years old
- Alula Tesema “Alessandro”: 13 years old
- Fabio Vitrano: 8 years and 6 months
- Giuseppe Zeppella: 8 years and 7 months
Article published on 7 February 2025 - 21:48
