Naples – Final blow to the Amato-Pagano clan, the powerful criminal branch that dominates Melito, in the northern hinterland of Naples.
The Court of Cassation has confirmed the flurry of sentences handed down on appeal in January 2024, for a total of more than 140 years in prison, making the sentences definitive for 21 of the 24 defendants involved in an investigation into widespread drug trafficking and racketeering.
Three defendants, however, as Il Roma anticipates on newsstands, see a glimmer of hope: for Domenico Di Girolamo, Maria De Luca and Giuseppe Sinistro, the Supreme Court has annulled the convictions, sending the case back to a new section of the Court of Appeal.
The investigation: a clan crushed
The 2021 blitz had dismantled the criminal network headed by Marco Liguori, acclaimed as the boss of the Amato-Pagano clan. The investigation, meticulously conducted by the Naples Prosecutor's Office, had revealed an innovative and traditional extortion system, with the imposition of three annual installments and the obligation for approximately 500 victims - including shopkeepers and entrepreneurs - to purchase Christmas gadgets.
Drug trafficking was also at the center of the illicit activities, which fed the clan's coffers. Among the prominent names is Antonio Papa, former president of the Aicast traders' association, accused of being a point of reference for relations with extortion victims. His appeal to the police in March 2020, during the pandemic, to protect shopkeepers from thefts, while he participated in the clan's criminal activities, was surprising.
The Supreme Court ruling
Most of the defendants chose not to appeal to the Supreme Court , accepting the sentences of the appeal.
. For those who appealed – Giuseppe Liccardo, Domenico De Mase, Raffaele De Pancis, Massimiliano Aricò, Vincenzo Maglione, Antonio Papa and Michele Riso – the Supreme Court rejected the requests, making the sentences definitive. A dramatic turn of events, however, for Domenico Di Girolamo and Maria De Luca, defended by the lawyer Luigi Poziello, and Giuseppe Sinistro, assisted by the criminal lawyer Celestino Gentile, for whom the Court of Cassation ordered the annulment of the sentences, paving the way for a new trial on appeal.
A criminal system dismantled
The investigation highlighted the pervasiveness of the clan, which operated with summits organized at the Aicast headquarters and meetings with the victims of the racket. The investigations revealed a structured organization, capable of imposing its control over the territory through threats and an efficient drug dealing network.
The final sentence represents a hard blow for the Amato-Pagano clan , but the case of Di Girolamo, De Luca and Sinistro still leaves a judicial chapter open.
List of final convictions
Antonio Papa : 13 years and 4 months
Andrea Severino : 12 years and 8 months
Marco Liguori : 7 years and 8 months
Raffaele De Pancis : 7 years and 7 months
Gianni Maisto : 8 years and 4 months
Giuseppe Pellecchia : 8 years and 4 months
Salvatore Chiariello : 7 years and 4 months
Antonio Miliardi : 7 years and 4 months
Raffaele Tortora : 7 years old
Sebastiano Aruta : 6 years and 8 months
Domenico De Mase : 6 years and 8 months
Fortunato Murolo : 6 years and 8 months
Nicola Schiavone : 6 years
Claudio Cristiano : 5 years and 8 months
Salvatore Roselli (repentant): 5 years and 4 months
Michele Riso : 4 years and 8 months
Luciano De Luca : 4 years and 5 months
Giuseppe Liccardo : 4 years and 5 months
Vincenzo Maglione : 4 years and 5 months
Rosario Balido : 3 years and 4 months
Massimiliano Aricò : 2 years and 8 months
Convictions overturned (with referral to appeal):
Giuseppe Sinistro (9 years and 4 months on appeal)
Maria De Luca (8 years on appeal)
Domenico Di Girolamo (6 years on appeal)
(from left 4 of the condemned: Antonio Papa, Marco Liguori, Claudio Cristiano and the repentant Salvatore Roselli)
The verdict has brought an important result for justice, but it remains to be seen how the situation will develop for the three defendants with overturned convictions. Crime does not disappear easily and requires attention.