Ponticelli, armed young boss Matteo Nocerino captured

NNaples – Matteo Nocerino, the 22-year-old from Ponticelli considered a "baby boss" and an increasingly notorious figure in Neapolitan crime news, has ended his time on the run. On Thursday morning, the State Police arrested him in a Mobile Squad raid, ending his fugitive status and opening a new chapter in his already troubled legal case.

Mobile Squad officers located and searched a home in the Ponticelli neighborhood. There, they surprised Nocerino and, during the search, found an unserialized semi-automatic pistol with three 6,35 caliber cartridges. The young man was subsequently arrested for illegal possession of a concealed weapon, ammunition, and receiving stolen goods.

Subsequent investigations revealed that Nocerino had already been subject to a detention order issued on July 11 by the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Naples. He will serve a sentence of three years and six months in prison for a previous conviction for illegal possession of weapons.

A criminal story between clans and escapes

Nocerino's name is not new to law enforcement and the local media. He had already been in the spotlight during the celebrations for Napoli's third Scudetto. On that occasion, he was arrested for a "stesa" (shooting intended to intimidate) that occurred a few hours after his cousin's murder. Vincenzo Costanzo, known as “Ciculill”, emerging leader of the D'Amico clan, to which Nocerino was initially linked.

After being convicted for that raid, the young man was granted house arrest, but his behavior hasn't improved. Last May, he had already been caught in the company of then-fugitive Giuseppe Perrella.

The raid, conducted by the Carabinieri on Via Concezione Immacolata in Ponticelli, led to the arrest of Perrella, son of Ciro and believed to be connected to the De Micco-De Martino clan, wanted for aggravated kidnapping using mafia methods.

On that occasion, Nocerino – although he was under house arrest with an electronic bracelet – and the 23-year-old daughter of the detained boss Antonio D'Amico “Fraulella”, they had been reported at large for aiding and abetting.