Camorra, the cameras have nailed the killers and instigators of the murder of Domenico Gargiulo

Naples – A complex web of criminal alliances and control of drug dealing hubs emerges from the investigation that led to eight precautionary measures against alleged leaders and affiliates of the Rione Don Guanella group , an offshoot of the powerful Licciardi clan.

The police investigations, coordinated by the District Anti-Mafia Directorate ( DDA ), have shed light on the brutal murder of Domenico Gargiulo, known as sicc' and penniell', reconstructed in detail thanks also to the precious images from the video surveillance cameras.

The precautionary measure, signed by the investigating judge of Naples Linda Comella , which is 458 pages long, not only outlines the structure and relationships of the Licciardi clan with other criminal gangs – an association jealous of its autonomy and based on blind loyalty – but also reveals the management of lucrative illicit activities, including flourishing drug dealing centers and the used car market.

The role of the boss Antonio Bruno “Michelo”

At the heart of the investigation is the involvement of Antonio Bruno , believed to have ordered , along with the boss Gennaro Antonio Sautto , the murder of Domenico Gargiulo. Investigators believe the killing was carried out to preserve and consolidate strategic "alliances" between the clans.

The evidence gathered is not limited to wiretaps and telephone conversations, but also includes telling video surveillance footage and the revelations of high-level collaborators of justice.

Among them are the brothers Antonio, Carlo, Mario, and Salvatore Lo Russo, former leaders of the eponymous clan from Miano linked to the Licciardis; Giuseppe Ambra and Luigi Rignante , affiliated with the Abete-Abbinante-Notturno clan; Antonio Cocci and Vincenzo Iuorio, linked to the Sautto-Ciccarelli clan; and Salvatore Roselli. This mosaic of statements has helped reconstruct the complex criminal dynamics.

The statements of the repentants

Antonio Bruno, nicknamed “Michelo'”, whose prominent role transcends the leadership of the Rione Don Guanella group, is linked by family ties to the heart of the Licciardi clan: he is married to Marianna Cibelli , sister of Nunzia, wife of Pietro Licciardi, son and heir of the clan's founder, Gennaro “a scigna”.

The murder of Domenico Gargiulo has its roots in criminal dynamics dating back to 2012, when the victim passed from the Abete-Abbinante-Notturno to the Marino clan during the third Secondigliano feud.

At the time, the Abbinante family had already decreed his death, and Gargiulo had miraculously escaped two ambushes. The first, on October 15, 2012, ended with the accidental killing of Pasquale Romano , a young man with no connection to the Camorra.

The second, on November 9 , failed due to a malfunction in the killer's weapon . Subsequently, Gargiulo had become close to the Sautto-Ciccarelli family , linked to the Licciardis, a circumstance supported by the fact that the car used to travel to the site of the trap had been rented by Vincenzo Iuorio , who later became a collaborator with justice.

Forced to kneel and killed with a shot to the back of the head

Camorra “justice” was carried out with a single, lethal shot to the back of the head , fired from behind, perhaps while the victim was kneeling, as suggested by a graze on the knee found by the coroner.

Gargiulo's journey to the meeting point with his killers in his car (different from the one stolen and later found with the body in the trunk) was meticulously documented by Secondigliano video surveillance cameras , starting at 17:51 PM on September 7, 2019.

His car, clearly recognizable with him aboard in a white T-shirt and red cap, passes through Bruno's residential area. The car reappears in the footage at 19:30 p.m., although it is not possible to identify who is driving.

As early as 2020, Vincenzo Iuorio had provided magistrates with crucial details about the motive and perpetrators of the murder. However, surveillance footage has once again turned the spotlight on Antonio Bruno, Vincenzo Caiazzo, and Vincenzo Pernice, corroborating the cooperating witness's account, other testimonies, and additional investigative evidence gathered over the years.

Caiazzo and Pernice were also identified thanks to photographs showing them on a scooter, travelling the same route as Gargiulo , at times coinciding with their departure from the meeting point and their return in the direction where his car would be found.

Domenico Gargiulo paid with his life not only for his change of alliance , but also for the conviction of the boss's nephew Antonio Abbinante for the death of Pasquale Romano and, above all, the delicate power dynamics and relationships that the Licciardi clan intended to preserve with the Sautto-Ciccarellis and the Abbinantes themselves.

A murder that reveals the ruthless criminal “diplomacy” that regulates the balance of the Neapolitan Camorra.

(in the photo the discovery of the car with the victim's body and in the boxes from the top left Domenico Gargiulo, the boss Antonio Bruno and Vincenzo Pernice; at the bottom always from the left Vincenzo Caiazzo, Renato Esposito and Gennaro Sautto)