Naples – An episode of violence linked to the world of neighborhood lotteries, the so-called “cartelloni,” ended with the arrest of a 34-year-old from the Pianura neighborhood.
I Carabinieri local station arrested him on charges of attempted extortion after he threatened a 49-year-old woman, a distant relative of his, to force her to pay 30 euros to participate in an illegal lottery.
The man showed up at the woman's house demanding payment for the game, a practice still widespread in some Neapolitan neighborhoods despite its illegality. When she refused, the 34-year-old lost control, taking a switchblade out of his jeans pocket and threatening her:
“If you don’t give me the money, it will end badly.”
Fortunately, the victim had already alerted 112, and the arrival of the military prevented the worst. The man, at the sight of the uniforms, threw the weapon under a car and fled on a scooter, but was tracked down shortly after.
The “billboard” game
The billboard is a popular tradition that has its roots in the Neapolitan smorfia: participants buy tickets with numbers, hoping that they will be drawn based on the Lotto results. Often, however, these lotteries become illegal, becoming a pretext for extortion and controls on the territory.
The Carabinieri recovered the knife abandoned by the man and seized it. The 34-year-old, already known to the police, was arrested and could now also be charged with illegal possession of a weapon.
Article published on May 7, 2025 - 09:27 pm
Video Chronicles
Reading about this episode makes me think that neighborhood lotteries are a serious problem. People don't understand that these things only bring trouble and violence. Let's hope that the authorities do something more to stop this situation.