Scampia, the "market" under the 33 as told by the informer: Kobrett and cocaine, summits and "months" at the clan.
Within the investigation that led to yesterday's arrests, the narrative of the informer Salvatore Roselli becomes a map: it delimits the square under the "33", identifies who decides and who executes, describes the supply channels and the periodic incomes that hold the organization together.
And it highlights a fact that, from an investigative perspective, is as significant as drugs: the stability of the model. Not a makeshift marketplace, but a system that changes managers without changing the rules.
But the added value here is the ability to give names, roles, quantities, social prices of peace (“months”), and above all the internal lexicon: “square in pieces”, “quota”, “hunt” for money, “responsible for Scampia”.
The order that led to yesterday's raid on the network linked to the "33" gang was heavily influenced by the account given by Salvatore Roselli, known as "Frizione": thanks to his detailed account, the DDA magistrates reconstructed the roles, hierarchies, and internal rules of the drug dealing system, including handovers, parallel accounting, and a fine line between alliances and friction within the neighborhoods.
Yesterday's raid and the trace of the reports
The blow dealt yesterday to the criminal network linked to the "33" of Scampia finds one of its pillars in the statements of Salvatore Roselli, known as "Frizione", a man who for years was not a simple cog but a point of contact between different levels of power in the territory.
The pages of the precautionary order line up reports, findings, and legal precedents, but above all, they provide an "insider" account of how a drug dealing ring organizes, divides, defends itself, and, above all, generates money.
Roselli spoke to the DDA magistrates starting from one of his first reports, dated March 2, 2023, and places his contacts within a specific timeframe: his permanent return to Scampia, periods in Mugnano, and the resumption of operational relationships and functions. "During the day, I oversaw Scampia," he says, describing a daily routine of physical presence and control, even when he slept elsewhere at night.
“Seven Palaces” as an outpost and the role of “Foreign Minister”
The first picture that emerges is of a territory fragmented into neighborhoods and subgroups, yet held together by a superior management. Roselli reconstructs his position as the Amato-Pagano contact in Scampia, a role he attributes to a decision by Marco Liguori.
In his story, the “Sette Palazzi” area is not a simple residential area: it is an operational platform. “The Seven Palaces… was the Amato-Pagano outpost in Scampia”, he puts on record.
From that point on, Roselli describes an almost diplomatic function: anyone who needed to speak to the top brass or send "embassies"—he cites well-known groups and families in the area, from the Licciardis to the Di Lauros, passing through local channels—had to go through him. “They came to me, and I organized their meetings with Marco Liguori.”
It is not just a narrative image: the ordinance recalls that a proceeding already concluded (with a GIP ruling dated 20 July 2022 and confirmed on appeal in January 2024, with a reduction of the sentence for mitigating circumstances) has framed Roselli as Liguori's contact. “in relations with other criminal groups”, a figure that judges come to summarise as a sort of “Minister of Foreign Affairs” of the clan, with expertise also in the narcotics sector.
The internal succession: when "Frizione" retreats and "Saviuccio" advances
In the mosaic of the ordinance, Roselli's figure fits together with other converging statements. For example, a statement dated December 9, 2021, by Luigi Rignante, made when Roselli was not yet collaborating, is cited, which defines him as “head of the Seven Palaces group” and “lieutenant of the Amato-Pagano family in Scampia”. The concept is repeated with a crudeness typical of criminal contexts: if you had to talk to the family, you had to turn to him.
But the story becomes interesting when it addresses the transitions of power. After Roselli's arrest, and even before that, when he felt "hunted" by law enforcement, his role would have slipped to Salvatore Mele, known as "Saviuccio." Roselli himself admits to a period of internal changeovers: “For a while… he was made responsible for Scampia in my place… but then I resumed my role, because MELE made some mistakes”.
It's a detail that reflects a dynamic often invisible from the outside: not an immobile structure, but an organization that reassigns tasks based on necessity, opportunity, or tension.
The square under the 33: division of the "market" and specializations
The heart of the ordinance, as far as we're concerned, is the description of the area below "33" as a segmented market, with criminal "property" and production and sales lines. Roselli describes it in clear terms: "They own the cocaine and Kobrett square under '33'. The owner of the square today is Saviuccio." And it adds a key element to understanding the organization: the square is not a single thing, but a set of pieces and shares.
According to Roselli, the "33" would be divided between groups and referents: “The aforementioned square of '33' is divided between Savio MELE and the ABBINANTE”. The division is not abstract: Mele would have “the squares of Kobrett and cocaine”, while the Abbinante would be attributed “heroin, crack, hashish and weed.” It is a product specialization, almost a division into departments, which minimizes conflicts and maximizes profits, as long as everyone recognizes hierarchies and boundaries.
The "change of hands" and the exchange of places: the economy of concessions
Among the most revealing pages is the account of the bartering of places, as if they were licenses. Roselli states that in the past he too "had a place there, for heroin," and reconstructs an exchange with Antonio Abbinante after his release: "I gave him the heroin supply I had in '33'... and in exchange he gave me... the heroin supply under the Baku roof." That supply would then be further sold "to the Raia family and Armando Ciccarelli."
This passage, read in reverse, describes a corporate management of the territory: the market as an asset, "change" as a transaction, continuity as a guarantee. It's not just who sells that matters, but who can authorize, move, or sell. And above all: who collects.
The "square in pieces" and the sales numbers: "7-800 pieces per day"
In the July 5, 2023, report, when shown a photo album prepared by the Flying Squad, Roselli returns to Mele and his square. He calls it a "square 'in pieces'," clarifying his meaning: “the classic place where single doses are sold to buyers on the street.” It is the translation of a high-rotation street dealing model, which thrives on continuity and shifts, rather than single deliveries.
And then there are the numbers, the ones that explain why that market became strategic: "The Kobrett market is very strong, the strongest in Scampia, it produced 7-800 pieces a day." In a single sentence, Roselli links military strength and commercial strength: power is not just intimidation, it is the ability to sell consistently and massively.
Supplies: 3–5 kg per month and supply channels
Roselli attributes a stable cocaine supply to Mele: "He got the cocaine from the Amato-Pagano family, between 3 and 5 kg per month," also identifying a contact for drug "relations": Fortunato Murolo. Regarding the Kobrett, however, he describes a different supply chain, with Gaetano Sacco and his sons playing a significant role "for the majority" of the supplies, at least between 2018 and 2020, in addition to "others I don't know."
It's a typical feature of mature criminal networks: not a single supplier, but multiple supply lines, to withstand arrests, debts, seizures, and instability. The ordinance uses these elements as the basis for reconstructing the supply chain, distinguishing between those who manage the marketplace and those who supply the warehouses.
Internal rules: "months", prisoners and maintenance quotas
Alongside the drugs, there's the accounting, and Roselli describes it with the ease of someone explaining how a tax works. Mele, he says, supported Massimo Cafasso, known as "Maglietella," "as a partner," and "he supported his prisoners (of the piazza)”. Then there is a point that emerges as a rule of coexistence within the organization: “As a clan… we had MELE 'hunt' 1500 or maybe 2.000 euros a month to be given to Antonio ABBINANTE”.
The concept is central: the right to work in a place isn't free. If you don't pay a fee, or if you don't contribute to the support of inmates and their families, the agreement is void. Roselli specifies that Mele “he contributed nothing else to the clan” if not with that month, and that “he didn't get a month's salary from the clan”, But he was allowed to keep the place "as an old affiliate." It's a picture of balance: operational autonomy in exchange for financial loyalty and hierarchical recognition.
Men of the square: "he worked for" and the chain of tasks
In the transcript of June 27, 2023, when he was shown the photograph of Fabio Cartigiano, Roselli expanded the picture with a detail that is often crucial in investigations: the manpower and the distinction between those who command and those who execute. Cartigiano, he says, is “a boy from class 33” who “works for Savio MELE”, with a hashish deal “on his cell phone” and a role in managing Kobrett's square under the 33.
The difference between the two activities is explained precisely: "Regarding hashish, he owns the business, but he gives a share to Savio MELE; while for the Kobrett, he works for MELE, and gets paid a salary."Here lies the entire grammar of control: some drug dealing lines can be "own-run" but taxed, others are managed directly by the higher level with salaries and shifts.
Roselli also underlines his positioning: “I had to deal with those in charge… and little with the kids in the square”. It is a phrase that, read together with the rest, indicates a pyramidal structure where the vertices interact with each other, while the base remains replaceable.
Frictions and Compositions: Vanella Grassi and the Price of Peace
The story also highlights tensions with other groups in the area. Roselli recalls that when "Nicola della 33" (whom he identifies as Capasso) ran the square together with Alessandro Rignante, “Vanella Grassi wanted a share of the market”, connected to Giuseppe Gervasio, who “during the third feud he had sided with Vanella”.
Mediation, in the story, occurs through direct contact: “I went to talk to Bombolone (Vincenzo Grimaldi)”. The outcome is indicative of the logic of compromise: no structural quota recognized to Vanella, but “just a month's wages of 1.000 a month” intended for Giuseppe Gervasio, at least until Mele's return, when “these relationships were regulated within their family.” In other words: the truce is bought with a periodic payment, until a new balance of power makes the agreement superfluous.
The Rignante case: the 700–800 thousand euro “hole” and the purge
Among the most serious passages, Roselli inserts an element of criminal accounting that often precedes breakups and vendettas: Alessandro Rignante would have been “chased out of MELE” and the reason, according to the story, is a huge shortfall. “Because he was held responsible for a shortfall of 700/800 thousand euros.”
Roselli adds a detail that serves as an indicator of its specific weight: “despite my attempts at intercession.” If a “Friction” intervention is not enough, it means that the level of internal friction has already become irreparable or that Mele, at that moment, has enough power to impose his choice.
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Comments (1)
The article presents a detailed and complex analysis of the situation in Scampia, but I find the information a bit confusing. Too many names and complicated situations make it difficult to follow the story. More clarity is needed.