A verdict that overturns twenty years of trials and rewrites a key chapter in Naples' criminal history. The third section of the Naples Court of Assizes of Appeal acquitted Raffaele Abbinante, his son Francesco Abbinante, and Vincenzo Pariante, overturning the life sentences handed down in previous trials.
The three were accused of having participated in organizing the double homicide of Fulvio Montanino and Claudio Salierno, which occurred in the autumn of 2004: the episode that marked the beginning of the Scampia feud, an armed conflict that in a few months left dozens dead on the asphalt, including many innocent victims.
The ruling, described by the magistrates themselves as "a sensational turn of events," comes after two annulments with referrals ordered by the Court of Cassation and represents the third ruling on the same prosecution case.
According to the judges, the main factors that undermined the evidentiary system were the inconsistencies in the testimonies of the collaborators of justice, repeatedly highlighted by the defense lawyers, Claudio Davino and Antonella Genovino.
Twenty years of trials and reversals
At first instance and on appeal, Abbinante Sr., his son, and Pariante were sentenced to life imprisonment. However, the Supreme Court of Cassation overturned the sentence, ordering a new trial. The Court of Assizes of Appeal upheld the three life sentences, forcing the defense to appeal again.
The Supreme Court again accepted their arguments, ordering a further postponement: and it is in this third step that the full acquittal arrived.
The double murder of Montanino – Cosimo Di Lauro's right-hand man – and his uncle Salierno marked the irreversible split between the Di Lauros and the Scissionisti, sparking a war of unprecedented ferocity that lasted months, with over sixty deaths in a handful of weeks.
The trial of the leaders of the Scissione
In 2019, the trial of the leaders of the Split had become final, but they were instead definitively convicted:
Cesare Pagano
Carmine Pagano
Archangel Fir
Antonio Della Corte
Angel Marino
Gennaro Marino
Ciro Mauriello
Enzo Night
Sentenced to 21 years:
Calzone Rite
Roberto Manganiello
Francesco Barone
Ferdinando Emolo (the only defendant from the Di Lauro clan)
Emolo's conviction concerned carrying weapons and shooting in a public place with mafia-related aggravating circumstances, in a climate of terror that the Di Lauros imposed on the Case Celesti after the double homicide.
Also in 2019, Raffaele Amato, known as “'a vecchiarella,” the historic leader of the Scissionisti, saw his life sentence fall, replaced by a 20-year sentence.
The revelations of the repentants
The accounts of numerous collaborators of justice were crucial in reconstructing the genesis of the murder. Among them, Luigi Secondo, who explained how Arcangelo Abete and Gennaro Marino pushed for Montanino's elimination: "By killing him," the informer reported, "they believed that Paolo Di Lauro, then a fugitive, would return to take over."
In reality, the murder ushered in a season of bloodshed that would engulf the entire neighborhood.
Life sentences in 2019
Cesare Pagano
Carmine Pagano
Archangel Fir
Antonio Della Corte
Angel Marino
Gennaro Marino
Ciro Mauriello
Enzo Night
20 YEARS
Raffaele Amato (“the old lady”)
21 YEARS
Calzone Rite
Roberto Manganiello
Francesco Barone
Ferdinand Emolo
Acquitted (2025)
Raffaele Matching
Francesco Abbinante
Vincenzo Pariante
The Montanino-Salierno double homicide is unanimously considered the founding act of the Scampia feud, the bloodiest Camorra war in Naples in recent decades. A war that left hundreds dead, including women and children unrelated to the criminal underworld, and that forever changed the geography of Camorra power in the northern part of the city.
Verified Source
Comments (5)
if convicted yesterday, today because they were acquitted I believe they have finished their sentence to serve or because they were acquitted it is then after 20 years, but is all this true or are you writing nonsense?
I HOPE THAT THESE ELECTIONS IN CAMPANIA….
Acquitted because they already have several convictions against them that have already become final.
All Cutoliani
The acquittal of Abbinante and his associates is a dramatic turn of events that raises questions about how justice works in Italy. But there are too many inconsistencies in the accounts, and this does not inspire public confidence.