Licciardi Clan, the “monthly wage” to buy silence: 2.500 euros per month to the daughter of the boss Lo Russo

The investigation by the Naples DDA, which today led to the arrest of eight members of the Licciardi clan from Masseria Cardone in Secondigliano, also revealed an unprecedented pact between two historic Camorra gangs in the area north of Naples.

These are monthly payments to avoid the collaboration of Giuseppe Lo Russo, a prisoner under 41 bis. The only brother of the famous “Capitoni” family of Miano who has never repented.

Among the 31 people under investigation in the inquiry, as emerges from the order of the investigating judge Linda Comella of the XIV section of the Court of Naples, there is also Filomena Lo Russo, daughter of Giuseppe.

Maria Licciardi at the forefront of the agreement: The pact of blood (and money)

A system of monthly payments – the so-called “mesata” – to guarantee the silence of the boss detained under a harsh prison regime. This is the strategy that emerged from the investigations into the Licciardi clan, which for years has paid 2.500 euros a month to Filomena Lo Russo, daughter of Giuseppe Lo Russo, historic head of the clan of the same name, now detained under the 41 bis regime.

The purpose? To prevent the boss's repentance from overwhelming the Licciardis, linked to the Lo Russos by decades of criminal business. The mechanism is revealed by wiretaps and statements from collaborators of justice, which confirm the existence of an iron pact between the two families.

Maria Licciardi and the management of the “mesata”

As early as 2016, Maria Licciardi—one of the clan's three driving forces, along with her brothers Vincenzo and Pietro—had personally guaranteed the payments to the Lo Russo family. The recipient of the money was Filomena Lo Russo, Giuseppe 's daughter and sister of inmates Vincenzo and Antonio.

The payments were made with punctual banking at a newsstand in the Masseria Cardone, the historic headquarters of the Licciardi. It was Maria Licciardi herself who delivered the amount to a loyal member of the clan every month, together with the “wages” of the other affiliates.

The advance and internal tensions

From the intercepted calls in the home of Antonio Bruno, the Licciardi's right-hand man, it emerges that Filomena Lo Russo had asked for an advance, promptly granted by the clan "to maintain good relations".

Not only that: Maria Licciardi had entrusted Bruno with the task of managing relations with the Lo Russos, especially after an internal conflict between Filomena and Matteo Balzano, a leading member of the Mianesi.

Why do the Licciardi pay?

The reason is clear: Giuseppe Lo Russo, in prison, knows too much. His eventual revelations could undermine the entire Licciardi organization, especially on the old business between the two clans.

A risk that Maria Licciardi could not afford, so much so that she transformed the “monthly allowance” into an unwritten obligation. After all, as confirmed by the repentant Mario Lo Russo (Filomena’s uncle) in a report dated 2022 we read: “My niece took money from the Licciardis… Maria always brought it to her”.

The accusation: receiving stolen goods and strengthening the Camorra

For the DDA, the payments to Filomena Lo Russo are not just bribes, but evidence of a criminal system still active. The woman is accused of: receiving stolen goods (for having accepted money of illicit origin), but also of favoring the alliance between clans, an aggravating circumstance typical of the associative crime.

(in the photo Maria Licciardi and Giuseppe Lo Russo)