Camorra: Here's How the Courageous Entrepreneur Framed the Bosses of the Licciardi Clan

Napoli – The courage of a Secondigliano construction entrepreneur allowed the State Police to deal a heavy blow to the extortion racket linked to the powerful Licciardi clan.

Thanks to his complaint, two alleged "tax collectors" ended up in prison, while a third, believed to be a prominent member of the Camorra, is currently wanted.

The handcuffs snapped onto the wrists of Giovanni Naples, 42 years old, and Luke Jasmine, 32 years old, both reached by a detention order issued by the Anti-Mafia Prosecutor's Office of Naples. He instead escaped capture Peter Izzo, 59 years old, said “Pierino”, a name well known in criminal circles and who, according to the Camorra informants, would be a leading exponent of the clan Cardone FarmhouseIzzo has been missing for two days, but the search continues unabated.

The Nightmare Told by the Victim: From Veiled Threats to Explicit Requests

The brave builder has written down the nightmare he had fallen into, recounting a real criminal escalation. It all began last June 8, when in a bar on Corso Secondigliano the entrepreneur was approached by the alleged boss Izzo. “He said to me, 'You're really rude, you know that? How come you're doing work in the Gescal neighborhood and you didn't even come to introduce yourself? Don't you know that it's good manners to ask permission when you're doing work?'”, the victim told investigators.

 The boss to the builder: “You are a bad boy, you didn’t show up”

From veiled threats it was a short step. The next morning, Napoli and Gelsomino showed up directly at the apartment where the company was busy with renovation work. The builder was summoned and received even more explicit warnings.

“The two,” he explained to the police, “immediately reached me and Napoli told me, ‘no less, you’re doing construction work in Gescal and Masseria Cardone, you’re pocketing 40.000 and 70.000 euros and you didn’t even come to us. You didn’t behave well. In any case, you have to give us a present because I just got out of prison and we have no money. You have to give us 5.000 euros for the work you’re doing in Gescal’”. A demand that, after negotiations, the clan agreed to lower.

The following day, the entrepreneur handed over a thousand euros with the promise of paying the same amount at the end of the month. The situation escalated last Sunday, when Gelsomino, according to the arrest warrant, approached the victim in a threatening tone: “Are you kidding us? You’re sending us to buy salt, are you going to give us this money or not? So should we stop your work? Should we not let you work anymore?”

The lightning investigation was conducted by the Organized Crime section of the Flying Squad (led by director Leuci) and by the investigative team of the Secondigliano Police Station (led by director Pintauro).

The two alleged torturers are now in the Secondigliano prison awaiting the validation hearing. The charge formulated by the Dda is extortion aggravated by the mafia method and purpose.

The circle is not yet closed, however, with the third suspect still on the run. In the meantime, the alert remains high in Secondigliano, a neighborhood that in recent weeks has seen an escalation of criminal episodes, from the "knocks" for protection money to the recent attack that almost destroyed the Picardi bakery. The investigations into these incidents are about to enter the climax, and a new wave of arrests could soon interrupt this escalation of violence.