Frattamaggiore – For four years, he was supposed to pay protection money, three times a year, for a total of six thousand euros annually. A bartender in Piazza Risorgimento, tired of threats and demands for money, found the courage to report it to the police.
That report sparked an investigation that yesterday led to six arrest warrants for aggravated extortion using mafia methods, signed by investigating judge Isabella Iaselli.
The measure hit the clan of the imprisoned boss Michele Orefice, known as Michele 'o nir, believed to be the contact in Frattamaggiore and the surrounding municipalities of a Camorra branch headed by Francesco Pezzella.
Pasquale Pezzullo, 31, and Carlo Vitale, 21, both from Frattamaggiore, and Domenico D'Antò, 20, from Caivano, were jailed. The other three warrants were served on inmates already incarcerated for other crimes: Michele Orefice, 46, in Tolmezzo prison; his son Luigi, 20, in Viterbo; and Salvatore Attanasio, 40, in Poggioreale.
Luigi Orefice, son of the boss, arrested at the end of June in the anti-Camorra raid between Grumo Nevano and Frattamaggiore, is also involved in the attempted murder of the TikToker fishmonger Luca Di Stefano.
According to the investigation, the group had imposed a fixed payment on the owner of a bar in Piazza Risorgimento: €2.000 at Easter, €2.000 at Christmas, and €2.000 in August. A criminal "subscription" that the victim allegedly honored for years. The incident that triggered the investigation dates back to August 2025: Vitale and Pezzullo allegedly showed up at the bar and demanded the owner pay the monthly installment, setting a deadline of the 28th of the month.
When the businessman complained of financial problems and said he had spoken to Luigi Orefice about them, Pezzullo allegedly reacted in a threatening tone: "Are you talking about problems we've created? Are you talking about threats? Luigi's in jail now and he should stay there for at least ten years... don't worry, we'll see each other again on the 28th."
In another incident, related to the Easter holidays of 2025, the suspects—arriving on a T-Max—allegedly announced they would collect the money within ten days. At the next meeting, which took place in the car, Luigi Orefice allegedly showed the victim a gun from his purse, accompanying the gesture with an ultimatum: "All right!... then take the consequences!"
The handover of 500 euros apparently occurred not only for reasons beyond the control of the extortionists. Investigators believe the group's actions were fueled by the intimidating power of the clan's criminal reputation and the victim's resulting subjugation and silence.
(In the photo, Piazza Risorgimento in Frattamaggiore and in the boxes from left, the boss Michele Orefice, his son Luigi and Salvatore Attanasio)
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It's incredible how certain news stories can happen in our society. Extortion victims need protection and support, but it's also difficult to fight against fear. We hope justice will take its course.