After months behind bars, Michele Ortone, 24, known as 'o biondo, has decided to collaborate with justice. The former affiliate of the Esposito-Nappi clan, who later passed through the ranks of the Santagata di Pianura, began to spill the beans on December 20th.
Article Key Points
The transcripts of his interrogations, some of which were previewed by Il Roma and Il Corriere del Mezzogiorno, were filed in the trial that arose from the raid in September that decapitated the gang led by the boss Massimiliano Esposito, known as “'o scognato”, and his wife Maria Matilde Nappi.
Horton's Confessions: From Parking Lots to Murders
During the interrogations, Ortone reconstructed his criminal path: "I was part of the Esposito-Nappi clan since 2018, and then, from September 2023 to August of this year, I moved on to the Santagata di Pianura. I wanted to take Pianura because there was more money circulating there than in Bagnoli. In Bagnoli, in fact, I limited myself to managing a parking lot in Coroglio, near the Hbtoo club, on behalf of Maria Nappi. But I wasn't satisfied: I wasn't receiving enough for the criminal activities I was carrying out".
The repentant's statements
Pressed by the questions of the prosecutors of the Naples DDA, Ortone explained that he had been part of the Esposito-Nappi clan since 2018 and then, from September 2022 to August of this year, of the Santagata clan. The transition would have occurred after being placed under house arrest.
The Murder of Gennaro Ramondino
The new repentant also provided some information on the murder of Gennaro Ramondino, the twenty-year-old killed last summer in Pianura and then set on fire: "I can report that he was killed because he wanted to take over Pianura. I know this because Gennaro Ramondino was part of the Santagata group".
The clan's business
Ortone then provided a long sequence of geographical and tariff references: “In particular – he stated in the minutes of the first interview on December 20 – the parking lots in Coroglio, in Agnano outside the hippodrome, the one near the Med, the one near the Palapartenope, which also has the Troncone group's sights on, but which always remains ours, can be traced back to the Esposito clan”.
The business of discos
The beating heart of the business is represented by the five discos on Via Coroglio. The clan would also control “the parking lot in front of the Hbtoo, which extends to Cavalleggeri, the parking lot near the Arenile, where the parking attendants have instructions to place the cars in a herringbone pattern to let more people in, and for each car they take the sum of 20 euros, and the parking lot adjacent to the Riva club”.
The clan's rates
Ortone himself, for some years, illegally managed a rest area in Coroglio. From investigative sources, it emerges that the person appointed by the clan to collect the total takings at the end of the evening receives on average 100 euros per “service”. A figure halved for those in charge of the material management of the rest areas.
Of a completely different nature, however, are the payments that the clubs would be forced to make to the clan's coffers in certain periods of the year, especially in spring and summer. Ortone refers in particular to a club that "paid the sum of 5.000 euros, while its parking lot is the only one managed by the Giannellis, who also have a cart that distributes hot dogs". The clan's offer responds to market demand, and so the Esposito-Nappis had also decided to equip themselves: "Our group also has another cart that distributes hot dogs".
Article published on 8 February 2025 - 07:41
