Naples – No house arrest for Gennaro Pacilio, identified by investigators as the perpetrator of the murder of Antonio Natale, the young drug dealer lured into a trap and murdered on October 4, 2021.
The Second Criminal Section of the Assize Court of Naples (President Concetta Cristiano) rejected the request by the defendant's lawyers to replace the precautionary prison measure.
Pacilio was sentenced on October 31, 2025, to 16 years in prison. The defense requested house arrest, also pointing to his cooperation, which—according to the Court itself—would have marked "the severing of his connection with organized crime," evidenced by his admission to the special protection program.
But for the judges, this isn't enough. In their ruling rejecting the request, they spell out a crucial point: in addition to his removal from Camorra circles, he remains "residual common danger," assessed in light of the "severity and brutality" of the alleged crime, which was classified as "aggravated premeditated homicide."
The trap and the execution
According to the investigative reconstruction presented at the trial, Antonio Natale was lured under a pretext to an isolated location. The attack allegedly began there: repeatedly struck, left without escape, his body was finally abandoned outside, exposed to the elements. Investigators believe this execution is part of the drug-dealing dynamics and criminal hierarchy of Caivano's Parco Verde.
The crime, according to the prosecution, was allegedly carried out on the orders of the Bervicato gang, a criminal organization rooted in the Parco Verde stronghold. It was a planned action, not a spontaneous attack: premeditation, the trap, and the manner of the killing remain the key elements cited in the assessments of the criminal's dangerousness.
“No shortcuts”
In its decision, the Court also took into account further serious crimes attributed to Pacilio, cited as an additional factor in the assessment of the possibility of mitigating the custodial measure.
In recent days, through their lawyer, Gioacchino Genchi, Antonio Natale's family issued a clear statement: no call for vengeance, but "true justice." A justice, they reiterated, that involves sentences proportionate to the gravity of the crimes, full accountability, and the rejection of "shortcut rewards" based on apparent collaboration.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
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