Camorra informants: "This is how Elia Cancello replaced Cicciotto in Scampia."

For years, in the working-class neighborhoods of Scampia, not a leaf moved without the permission of Luigi Diano, known as Cicciotto.

He was the Amato-Pagano man in the most sensitive area: the Seven Palaces, the Chalet Baku, and the Oasis of the Good Shepherd. Places that aren't just concrete and high-rises, but veritable money-making machines, thanks to drug dealing centers active 24/7.

Cicciotto didn't have the charisma of a big boss, nor the air of a neighborhood tough who shows off. He was more of a Camorra official, a pragmatic organizer. From Melito and Mugnano—historic strongholds of the Amato-Pagano clan—he had been entrusted with the task of managing the world's most notorious drug district, and he did so discreetly but firmly.

Prosecutors describe him as a meticulous coordinator: he liaised with the pushers, monitored their shifts, and collected fees from the so-called "private" dealers—those independent dealers who could only operate if they paid their percentage to the clan. It wasn't just a drug issue: Cicciotto represented the visible presence of the Amato-Pagano clan in Scampia.

This is confirmed by both the precautionary order of December 2024, signed by the Naples investigating judge, in which he is described as the "organizer and contact" for the Lottis. This document captures the reality of that period: the Amato-Paganos dominated Scampia, once again. But also by the order last September that led to the arrest of those who replaced him, the brothers Maurizio and Elia Cancello.

The first one has been in prison for a month together with his partner and six other accomplices, the second one, that is Elia the real boss, still at large with Gennaro Cifariello and Moreno Del Medico,

But just as the judges were writing those papers, the ground was already changing under Cicciotto's feet.

A fragile balance

The Amato-Pagano family had shaped the neighborhood's history. Born out of a rift with the Di Lauros in the early 2000s, they had succeeded in ousting the Secondigliano clan in a bloody war that left dozens dead on the streets. Since then, they had consolidated an empire, expanding their operations to Melito, Mugnano, and Spain, where they controlled entire international cocaine trafficking rings.

But in Scampia, as always, power is a question of physical presence.

However, starting in the spring of 2024, that balance begins to crack. There is no announced coup, no declared feud like in 2004. Everything happens silently, through signals imperceptible to most, but crystal clear to those who live within those buildings.

The Amato-Pagano family, while still powerful, is busy elsewhere. Judicial investigations have weakened their chain of command, and new local players are beginning to emerge. Among them are the brothers Elia and Maurizio Cancello.

The void that opens the way

In December 2024, Cicciotto's arrest marked a turning point. The man who guaranteed the clan's direct control over the historic neighborhoods of Scampia was no more. His men were left without leadership, and the new group stepped into that void.

For the neighborhood's residents, the change is immediately noticeable: new faces begin to appear, new scooters patrol the streets, new names appear in the bars and alleys. It doesn't take long to realize that something has changed.

The informants will describe it in simple words: “Elia Cancello, Cifariello and Raia took the Sette Palazzi, the Chalet Baku and the Oasi, ousting Cicciotto”.

The Amato-Pagano dominion, built over twenty years, cracks in the space of a few weeks.

And while the neighborhood records Cicciotto's downfall, the name that would soon become synonymous with power in Scampia begins to emerge: Elia Cancello.

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