Capaccio– “Today we take another step towards the truth”. With these words Dario Vassallo, president of the “Angelo Vassallo Sindaco Pescatore” Foundation, comments on the anti-mafia operation that led to the arrest of ten people in the province of Salerno and Sulmona, among which stands out the name of Francesco Alfieri, former president of the Province of Salerno and former mayor of Capaccio Paestum.
The accusations: a system in collusion with crime
The investigations, coordinated by the Anti-Mafia District Directorate, reveal a criminal network active for years, protected – according to Vassallo – by a “collusive system” that he has repeatedly denounced. “The so-called 'Cilento System' is not just corruption, but an alliance with the Camorra,” says the brother of Angelo Vassallo, the fisherman mayor killed in 2010 in an ambush that has never been fully clarified.
Today’s arrests would confirm that, already in the 2019 elections, votes would have been exchanged for illicit favors, allowing exponents linked to organized crime to control economic and political activities. “In 2011 I denounced everything publicly,” Vassallo recalls, “speaking of a rotten system that was infiltrating the institutions. But the response I got was shocking.”
The complaint to the Democratic Party and the political silence
Vassallo reveals that he filed a formal complaint with the Democratic Party, receiving in response that Alfieri was considered “the spearhead of the party”. “That sentence – he accuses – marked the silence and political support that protected the Cilento System and allowed the mafia to strengthen”.
Even in 2019, he adds, he delivered new documents to the Democratic Party: “I expected an intervention, but once again everything was ignored”.
The request to the Anti-Mafia Commission
Now, with the investigation underway, Vassallo is asking the Parliamentary Anti-Mafia Commission, chaired by the Honorable Chiara Colosimo, to acquire all the documents. “The work of the judiciary,” he concludes, “is bringing to light a system that has poisoned Cilento for too long. The truth about my brother Angelo and the dismantling of this network go hand in hand.”
Meanwhile, local politics is trembling: the shadow of organized crime, after years of suspicion, finally seems to have a name and surname.
Article published on March 27, 2025 - 14pm
It is important that these investigations are carried out seriously. Too often we hear about collusion between politics and crime, but the evidence must be solid. Let's hope that justice is done for everyone.