Scampia's "33," the heart of drug dealing under the Amato-Pagano brand. For years, it was a perfect machine, a never-ending cog. Thousands of doses were sold every day, a constant flow of crack, cocaine, and Kobrett reaching other neighborhoods in Naples and even beyond the province.
According to the investigations of the Flying Squad and the accounts of collaborators of justice, those who governed that drug dealing area were Massimiliano Cafasso, 54 years old, known as “Maglietella”, and Salvatore Mele, 50 years old, alias “Saviuccio”.
For the investigators, they were the real masterminds: promoters, organizers, and financiers of a syndicate that operated under the direct control of the Amato-Pagano clan, one of the historic cartels of the splinter Camorra.
The DDA raid: 28 people under investigation, but the "boss" is the only one under investigation.
The precautionary order signed by investigating judge Lucia De Micco, at the request of prosecutors Lucio Giugliano and Mariangela Magariello of the Naples Anti-Mafia Directorate, affected a total of 28 people: 25 were jailed and three were placed under house arrest.
But the most important name, the one indicated as the historical leader of the group, Massimiliano Cafasso, is not on the list. The reason is entirely legal. The investigating judge has in fact deemed that there was, at present, no criminal case against him. “absence of serious circumstantial evidence”, also because Cafasso has been detained for years for other proceedings. This assessment, however, does not erase his central role in the investigative reconstruction.
The repentant's story: "A multi-million euro empire"
Luigi Rignante, a collaborator of justice, is the one who sheds light on the functioning of the square, speaking without hesitation in his statements about the "golden period" of the Trentatré.
«The absolute master of the square was Massimiliano Cafasso – said – but its peak was under the management of Paolo Gervasio and Salvatore Mele. A multimillion-euro empire was created there.
According to the repentant, that management earned the two the total trust of the secessionists: "The Amato-Paganos promoted them to manage the entire cocaine trade in Scampia. The shipments arrived to them, and they distributed them throughout the city and throughout Campania."
A “separate” square inside the 33
Rignante's story also clarifies a key detail: not all the drugs sold in 33 were managed by the same group.
"The Trentatré square sells crack, heroin, weed, hashish... but the Kobrett and cocaine square is something else.", explains the collaborator. «It's a separate square, managed by the Amato-Pagano clan».
Originally, he says, the square belonged to Cafasso, then passed to his uncle Paolo Gervasio, the "Pablo Escobar of Scampia," who died in 2012, and to Salvatore Mele, his nephew and Cafasso's cousin. Management subsequently passed to Gervasio's son, Giuseppe, until it was closed and subsequently reopened by order of Mele from prison.
From the 2004 feud to the new leadership
Cafasso, the repentant recalls, is a man of the first hour: «He fought alongside the old bosses and was one of the instigators of the 2004 feud against Cosimo Di Lauro».
Arrested in November of that year along with many historic leaders, Cafasso only partially experienced the Scampia war. After his arrest, however, the street continued to unwind:
«It passed to Paolo Gervasio and Salvatore Mele. During the feud they gained so much trust that the Amato-Paganos entrusted them with all the cocaine in Scampia».
The reopening ordered by the prison
After a period of crisis and arrests, the 33rd street square was closed. But not forever.
«In prison I spoke with Mele – Rignante tells – and he told me clearly that he wanted to reopen it."
The order came from the cell: contacts, authorizations, meetings with the Abbinante. «We brought the embassy, and the square was reopened», says the collaborator. A fragile management, marked by internal conflicts, until Mele's definitive return as the absolute point of reference.
“Today Mele is the point of reference for the Amato-Pagano family”
The final picture is clear: "Today the square is back under the management of Salvatore Mele," says Rignante, "who has taken over from "Frizione" and is the Amato-Pagano group's absolute point of contact in Scampia.".
A pivotal, commanding and guaranteeing role. «If we had a problem and needed to talk to the Amato-Paganos, we had to go to him».
(In the photo, starting from top left, the repentant Luigi Rignante, Mario Abbatiello, Gabriele Vallefuoco, Cristian Celentano, Giovanni Castiello, Cesare Di Domenico, and Aura De Salvo. At the bottom from left instead: Salvatore Bifolchetto, Vincenzo Castelnuovo, Michael Rossi, Luciano Carbone, Gennaro Ottaianao, and Antonietta Mascaro)
The list of suspects
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ABBATIELLO Antonio, born in Naples on January 1, 1967. PRISON
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ABBATIELLO Mario, born in Naples on September 4, 1971 PRISON
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COWBOY Salvatore, born in Naples on July 20, 1987 PRISON
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CACCIAPUOTI Giuseppe, born in Giugliano in Campania on May 21, 1968 PRISON
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CAFASSO Massimiliano, born in Naples on March 22, 1972. UNDER INVESTIGATION
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CALVINO Gennaro, born in Naples on January 16, 1979 PRISON
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CAPANO Pasquale, born in Naples on July 5, 1975 PRISON
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CARBONE Luciano, born in Naples on December 2, 1996 PRISON
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CARTIGIANO Fabio, born in Naples on August 4, 1981 PRISON
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CASTELNUOVO Vincenzo, born in Naples on August 25, 1989 PRISON
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CASTIELLO John, born in Villaricca on September 27, 1991 PRISON
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CELENTANO Cristian, born in Naples on November 30, 1994 PRISON
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Salvatore BOWL, born in Naples on June 10, 1987 PRISON
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COUNT Giovanni, born in Naples on October 30, 1974 PRISON
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COPPOLA Giuseppe, born in Casoria on August 30, 1958 PRISON
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D'AMBROSIO Alessio Francesco, born in Naples on July 24, 1998 PRISON
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DE MATTEO Antonio, born in Naples on September 28, 1991 PRISON
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DE SALVO Laura, born in Naples on August 14, 1983 PRISON
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BY DOMENICO Cesare, born in Naples on October 9, 1989 PRISON
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GAGLIONE Gennaro, born in Naples on May 30, 1981 PRISON
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LUONGO Pasquale, born in Naples on July 12, 1972 PRISON
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MASCARO Nicoletta, born in Naples on February 17, 1968 HOUSE ARREST
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APPLES Salvatore, born in Naples on May 6, 1976 PRISON
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MONTEFUSCO Salvatore, born in Naples on September 26, 1979 PRISON
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MUSTO Antonio, born in Naples on April 27, 1968 PRISON
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MUSTO Gennaro, born in Naples on November 24, 1990. UNDER INVESTIGATION
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OTTAIAN Gennaro, San Giorgio a Cremano, January 1, 1963
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ROSSI Michael, born in Naples on April 29, 2003 HOUSE ARREST
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RUSSO John, born in Naples on December 20, 2004 HOUSE ARREST
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TSEVTZOV Dimitri, born in Ukraine on September 9, 1986. PRISON
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VALLEFUOCO Gabriele, born in Mugnano di Napoli on July 27, 1978 PRISON
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
The article describes the situation in Scampia square well, but I feel there are many details missing. It would be interesting to know how the police act in these situations and what the consequences are for citizens.