Naples - The most recent investigations into the Licciardi clan have revealed a shift in leadership at the Masseria Cardone branch following the arrest in August 2021 of Maria Licciardi, the group's historic leader and a symbolic figure of the Secondigliano Alliance.
Investigators believe Paolo Abbatiello, identified as the regent and area leader for the Masseria Cardone stronghold, fits into this power vacuum, managing and coordinating criminal activities in the area.
The investigative activity involving him spans a period between September 2022 and May 17, 2023, the date of his arrest. During this period, investigators reconstructed a stable, high-level role in the management of the clan's affairs. Indeed, the 1280-page precautionary order signed by investigating judge Federica De Bellis, which yesterday led to the arrest of 19 people, focuses on the "little twin's" regency.
It was during this period that wiretaps and local surveillance consolidated Abbatiello's image as a key operational and decision-making point for affiliates, local officials, and external parties who turned to the group for extortion, debt collection, and drug dealing operations.
The clan's structure: four strongholds on the territory
Court documents and the most recent pre-trial detention orders describe the Licciardi clan as an organization structured into four large territorial divisions: Masseria Cardone, Rione Don Guanella, Rione Berlingieri, and the Vasto area.
Each branch oversees its own neighborhood with a dense network of contacts, charged with monitoring drug trafficking, extortion of merchants and entrepreneurs, gambling, and betting, channeling the common fund to the top for subsequent distribution.
In this criminal mosaic, Masseria Cardone is identified as a "historic stronghold" of the Secondigliano Alliance, a focal point for drug trafficking and for relations with related groups in the northern area. The Don Guanella and Berlingieri districts represent the other pillars of the Secondigliano system, while Vasto represents the cartel's projection into the area near the station, a highly commercial area and strategic for the distribution of personnel and business.
Cardone Farmhouse in Secondigliano, a historic area of public housing, a clan stronghold, a hub for drug dealing and relations with other groups in the northern area.
Don Guanella District Secondigliano-Miano A historic pillar of the clan, the scene of alliances and cohabitations with groups such as "abbasc Miano"
Berlingieri District, Northern Naples Territorial group with its own representatives, included in the Licciardi control room
Large station and commercial area Logistical and commercial projection of the clan, control of economic activities and trafficking
The profile of "Paoluccio", a historic affiliate of the Licciardi family
In wiretapped conversations and the reconstructions of justice collaborators, Paolo Abbatiello emerges as a "historical affiliate" of the Licciardi clan, linked to its top brass since the 1990s. He is referred to by various nicknames—"Paoluccio," "il gemellino," "uncle"—names that betray his familiarity within the organization and recognition of a consolidated position.
The final sentences handed down by the Neapolitan magistrates place him as Vincenzo Licciardi's right-hand man during his time on the run, assigning him roles as hitman, manager of drug dealing centers, and contact for the control of strategic areas such as the Sanità district and the areas linked to the Vastarella-Tolomelli clan, to whom drugs from Secondigliano were imposed.
In this context, Abbatiello is also implicated in homicide incidents and mediation interventions in conflicts over the management of drug trafficking with other clans, confirming his central role in the group's internal and external dynamics.
The accusatory framework reconstructed over time against him is based on a system of wiretaps, environmental wiretaps, shadowing, and observation services that document both his contacts with the clan's top brass and his participation in strategic decisions.
One of the historic wiretaps involving him depicts him talking to Pasquale Salomone in a car, confirming the two men's close association as Vincenzo Licciardi's go-to men and their direct involvement in managing delicate phases of the boss's time as a fugitive.
The Sanremo site inspection for Vincenzo Licciardi's fugitive case.
In 2006, the documents report his presence, together with Alessandro Buoninconti, in an inspection of Sanremo to find a safe summer refuge for Vincenzo Licciardi, an operation then followed by conversations between other members of the clan who commented on the trip and the fears of possible bugs installed in the car.
The investigations also document Abbatiello's participation in the group's so-called "strategic" meetings, where alliances, business management, and responses to state repressive initiatives were planned, further confirming his role at the organization's elite.
The return to Masseria Cardone and the rise to regent
After periods of detention related to convictions for mafia association, Paolo Abbatiello was released in 2021, returning to his home in Masseria Cardone, already identified as one of the Licciardi family's historic bases.
A few months later, with the arrest of Maria Licciardi, it is precisely his figure that emerges as the natural point of reference for the reorganization of the clan, thanks to blood ties, historical militancy and the ability to build relationships with allies and affiliates.
The most recent investigations describe a "second phase" of the investigation which documents his hegemony over the group, surrounded by a core of trusted men who are said to be entrusted with extortion, debt collection, and management of the markets, starting with Luigi Esposito and his nephew Salvatore Sapio, identified as the operational arm and intermediary with other criminal groups in the Naples area.
In this scenario, Abbatiello's role as capozona of the Masseria Cardone translates into a leadership that combines historical continuity with adaptation to the Camorra's new businesses, from online scams to racketeering in public housing and other businesses.
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