Orta di Atella – The journalist, Mario De Michele, was arrested red-handed by the Carabinieri of the Marcianise Company for having extorted 5 thousand euros in cash from the former mayor of Orta di Atella, Angelo Brancaccio.
The arrest was made at the end of an operation coordinated by the Prosecutor's Office of Naples North, which allowed the extortion plan to be unmasked. According to what emerged from the investigations, From Michele, who had known Brancaccio for years, allegedly blackmailed the former mayor by demanding 10 thousand euros, with an initial tranche of 5 thousand euros to be delivered to a facility with a swimming pool in Succivo.
Brancaccio, however, reported the blackmail before the meeting, allowing the Carabinieri to organize a trap. At the moment of the exchange, the military caught De Michele red-handed, while he was pocketing the sum. The journalist, already known for previous legal troubles related to false attacks, had been suspended from the Order of Journalists, but had resumed his activity on his site Italianotizieonline (formerly Campania Notizie).
He presented himself as a parliamentary reporter, but the Carabinieri found that this qualification was false. De Michele's arrest represents a hard blow to a case that highlights the abuse of power and the fragility of those who use their position for illicit purposes.
Article published on 1 July 2025 - 14:39
