Acerra – “Do you recognize me? Everyone in Acerra pays. You have a present for me in August: I heard you're making money and opening another school.”
This is one of the sentences included in the investigation that led to the arrest of four people accused of attempted extortion aggravated by mafia methods, as part of an investigation conducted by the Carabinieri of the Castello di Cisterna Investigative Unit.
According to investigators' reconstruction, Antonio Aloia, 47, allegedly forced a preschool entrepreneur from Acerra to pay protection money. While he was on the run, he used video calls with his accomplices to reinforce the threats and obtain money. This constant pressure was accompanied by explicit references to his membership in local organized crime and the local "rule": those who work must pay.
In addition to Aloia, Naples Court investigating judge Michaela Sapio has also ordered the pre-trial detention of Giovanni Tarantino, 45, Pasquale Di Norcia, 41, and Salvatore Giordano Pacilio, 56. All are charged with complicity in the attempted extortion of the entrepreneur, who was forced to endure pressure and intimidation in order to continue his business.
Antonio Aloia is Ottavio Colalongo's killer
Antonio Aloia's name also appears in another, far more serious, court file. Just yesterday, the Carabinieri served Aloia with the warrant indicating him as the perpetrator of the murder of Ottavio Colalongo, killed in Scisciano on December 17th. According to investigators' reconstruction, Colalongo was first wounded and then finished off with gunshots to the head while he was already on the ground.
Aloia was arrested and sent to prison last Christmas, ending his time as a fugitive. Now, as the judicial investigation into Scisciano's murder tightens, the outlines of an extortion scheme are emerging that allegedly targeted educational and business activities, considered a reliable source of income for the clan.
Two separate proceedings but a common thread, which for the Prosecutor's Office demonstrates the pervasiveness of criminal control over the territory and the central role attributed to Aloia in the violent and extortionist dynamics of the area north of Naples.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
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This article highlights the gravity of the situation in Acerra, but it's also important to reflect on how these illegal activities can negatively impact the community. We hope that justice will take its course and a climate of safety can be restored.