Naples - Three life sentences and a total of 100 years in prison for the other four defendants is the harsh indictment delivered today by the District Anti-Mafia Directorate's public prosecutor, Sergio Raimondi, in the trial that aims to shed full light on one of the bloodiest episodes of the Ponticelli feud.
The proceedings, conducted under a summary procedure before preliminary hearing judge Antonino Santoro, have entered their decisive phase: the Prosecutor's Office has requested the maximum sentence, life imprisonment, for three of the seven defendants, considered the sole protagonists of a bloodbath that culminated in three murders, two of which involved victims completely unrelated to the criminal activity.
The Prosecutor's Office's requests: life imprisonment for the gangsters
The most serious request concerns Ciro Contini, known as 'o Nirone, nephew of clan leader Eduardo Contini, along with Giulio Ceglie and Vincenza Maione. The DDA has requested life sentences for all three, holding them responsible, in varying degrees, for the organization and execution of crimes stemming from the Camorra war that bloodied Ponticelli between 2016 and 2018.
The other defendants also faced harsh sentences: 30 years in prison for Michele Minichini and Giuseppe Prisco, and 20 years for Mariarca Boccia and Gabriella Onesto.
The confessions and the judgment of the DDA
The trial also featured some dramatic twists. Ciro Contini and Giulio Ceglie made confessions during the trial, while Michele Minichini had already admitted his guilt in another case.
However, for the Prosecutor's Office – especially with reference to 'o nirone – these are "late and instrumental" admissions, which came when the evidentiary framework was already solid.
“'A pazzignana” and the map of the murders
It was the statements of Luisa De Stefano, a woman from Pazzignana who became a collaborator with justice over a year ago, that allowed the Flying Squad, coordinated by the Anti-Mafia Directorate (DDA), to reconstruct roles, motives, and dynamics. A bloody map that follows a ferocious logic: targeting the families of adversaries, punishing those close to informants, responding with death for every real or perceived affront.
The first piece is the murder of Mario Volpicelli.
January 30, 2016: Mario Volpicelli, killed in revenge
It's evening when Mario Volpicelli returns home. He has no criminal record, he's not an affiliate, he's not a boss. But he is the uncle of Gennaro Volpicelli, identified as the alleged perpetrator of the murder of Antonio Minichini, Michele's brother.
It's enough to decree his death.
According to the prosecution, Michele Minichini was the perpetrator. Giulio Ceglie and Vincenza Maione participated in the attack, with the latter acting as organizer. The gunshots ended the life of a man chosen solely for his blood ties. It was the first, brutal demonstration of a vengeance that knew no bounds.
March 7, 2016: Giovanni Sarno, the price of repentance
A little over a month later, the feud strikes again. This time the victim is Giovanni Sarno, murdered in his home with two gunshot wounds. He also has a clean criminal record.
His crime, according to criminal logic, is being the brother of two clan leaders, who recently became collaborators of justice and accusers of Roberto Schisa.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, Ciro Contini pulled the trigger. Minichini, Maione, and Gabriella Onesto are believed to have organized the ambush. Mariarca Boccia is believed to have provided the decisive tip-off, telling the commando when and where to strike.
It's a direct message to the world of repentants: whoever speaks out, pays. And their families pay, too.
March 12, 2018: Salvatore D'Orsi, the latest crime
The last contested murder closes the circle on March 12, 2018. The one who died is Salvatore D'Orsi, known as Poppetta, believed to be a drug dealer close to the De Micco clan.
The ambush unfolds once again in Ponticelli, in a neighborhood now accustomed to the sound of gunfire. According to the prosecution, the perpetrators were Michele Minichini and Giuseppe Prisco. It is the epilogue of a war that has already left too many victims on the battlefield.
Waiting for the verdict
Now the floor is given to the defense – lawyers Dario Carmine Procentese, Salvatore Impradice, Antonella Regine, Leonardo Lombardi, and Sorbilli – who are called upon to make a difficult attempt to contain a request for convictions that weighs like a millstone.
For Ponticelli, however, the trial represents something more than a verdict: it is an attempt to give a name, responsibility, and a judicial end to a period in which the Camorra decided that even innocent people could die.
The sentences requested by the DDA
Life imprisonment
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Ciro Contini aka the black
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Julius Ceglie
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Vincenza Maione
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30 years in prison
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Michael Minichini
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Joseph Prisco
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20 years in prison
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Mariarca Boccia
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Gabriella Onesto
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(in the photo from top left: Michele Minichini, Ciro Contini, the repentant Luisa De Stefano and the three victims Mario Volpicelli, Giovanni Sarno and Salvatore D'Orsi: below Gabriella Onesto, Vincenza Maione, Mariarca Boccia, Giulio Ceglie and Giuseppe Prisco.
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Source EDITORIAL TEAM
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