Naples – There is no peace for Umberto Catanzaro, the 23-year-old soccer player whose life was shattered by the blind ferocity of the clans. Three months after his disappearance, a new wound has opened up for his family: the appearance on social media of videos and messages that appear to come directly from the cells where the alleged perpetrators of the raid are being held.
Anonymous profiles, but with unequivocal content, which praise the suspects, transforming detention into a sort of criminal "catwalk."
The raid and the tragic mistaken identity of the killer
The story dates back to September 15, 2025. Umberto, a promising local footballer with no criminal background, was in a car in the Spanish Quarter. He was unaware he was sitting next to the hitman's real target: an acquaintance "guilty" of insulting the reputation of a local boss's daughter by publishing intimate images of her after their relationship ended.
The assassins, sent to cleanse the wound with blood, fired without hesitation. Umberto was seriously injured, fighting for his life for two months until the tragic end of November 17, when his heart stopped beating within the walls of the Vecchio Pellegrini Hospital.
The Blitz and the Shadow of Salvatore Percich
The investigation, conducted swiftly by the Flying Squad, quickly led to a sensational breakthrough: a raid that decapitated the fireteam, leading to the arrest of boss Salvatore Percich and his accomplices, believed to be the organizers and perpetrators of the retaliation. This operation seemed to have brought the matter to a halt, until the recent social media outcry.
The father's plea: "It's not normal."
"Today marks three months since Umberto passed away," the victim's father confessed to ANSA, his voice cracking with grief and indignation. "My wife and I cry day and night, while these people are glorified on social media. I don't know if it's legal or if they're using illegal phones, but we can't bear this challenge. If anything can be done, the state should intervene."
The family, through their lawyers, has formally requested the Prosecutor's Office and the Department of Penitentiary Administration (DAP) to verify the origin of those posts. The suspicion remains the same: the use of smartphones smuggled into prison to maintain ties to the local community and display a power that not even the bars seem to contain.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
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