Naples – It's not just a question of borders, but of breathing space. In the Sanità district, the "System" never sleeps and moves through the alleys with the precision of a company and the ferocity of a standing army.
The latest precautionary order, signed by investigating judge Simona Capasso, is a merciless x-ray of nearly ten years of criminal activity: 42 people under investigation, 22 arrests, and a web of complicity that ranges from widespread control of drug dealing centers to acrobatic underground thefts. At the center of it all are two figures: Ciro Mauro, the charismatic boss, and Biagio D'Alterio, his right-hand man.
The Rise of Ciro Mauro: The "Salary" for Affiliates
It all began (or began again) in March 2013, with the release of Ciro Mauro from prison. In just a few years, the boss transformed Vico Pacella ai Miracoli into the headquarters of a syndicate capable of dealing on equal terms with the giants of the city's Camorra, such as the Mazzarellas.
The Mauro clan isn't a makeshift gang. According to the investigation documents, the organization was structured according to company criteria: tasks were assigned precisely, and members received a "weekly" fixed salary proportional to the risk and quality of their contribution.
D'Alterio was the accountant of terror: he kept the books, managed relationships with other clans, and ordered the "stese"—armed raids on scooters to terrorize rivals and mark their territory.
The war of the streets: "If you don't like it, close it down."
The core business remains drugs. Cocaine and hashish flood the neighborhood, but no one can sell without the permission of the "System." Wiretaps reveal a climate of suffocating oppression. When independent dealers or managers of small squares hesitated to pay the bribe (the so-called "week"), the response was immediate and brutal.
"We're in charge here, you're a plaza, I'm the system," the clan's emissaries snarled. Names like "Pollicino," "Picchietto," and "Scellone" repeatedly appear in the wiretap logs. Those who didn't pay were forced to close down. The case of De Matteo Guido and his son Francesco is emblematic: to force them to pay €1.500, the clan didn't hesitate to fire shots at their home on November 18, 2019. This coordinated action involved Luca Di Vicino and Vincenzo Leonardo as perpetrators, while Giovanni Nacarlo prepared and loaded the weapons.
The armed garrison and the passing of the baton
The investigation also documents the shift in hegemony and shifting alliances. After the decline of the Mauros, the Savarese-Pirozzi group emerged, closely tied to the Mazzarella cartel. Here, control became military. The suspects were filmed by investigative cameras patrolling Vico Gradini San Nicandro in full battle gear: pistols slung in their belts, silver revolvers proudly displayed, and the cocking of their rifles audible in the background.
"I have a machine gun handy, what do you have to do?" Salvatore La Salvia said in a 2020 wiretap. The group wasn't afraid of head-on collisions, as demonstrated by the firefights with the Lepre del Cavone clan in Piazza Dante, or punitive raids like the one in the Galleria Laziale, where Gennaro De Marino is accused of chasing and shooting two people on a scooter.
From the riches to the stables (and the sewers)
In addition to drug trafficking and widespread extortion – which even affected financial operators and pizzeria owners who were forced to give up their credits with the clan's bricklayers – the ordinance sheds light on another specialty of the group: thefts using the "hole method".
Vincenzo Nacarlo and Carmine De Cham are accused of spectacular heists. Using the sewer system as an underground highway, the gang managed to break into the Candolfi jewelry store (with a €60.000 haul) and the "Win Back" store, where they burgled the safe, making off with €200.000 in cash and smartphones. To secure their escape, they even filled the exterior locks with glue to delay the intervention of law enforcement.
The accounting of hate
The investigation concludes with a bleak picture of silence and submissiveness. Even women, like Assunta Chiaro and Valentina Peluso, played key roles in the safekeeping of money or the daily sale of "sachets." The Sanità district emerges from the prosecutor's office documents as an area where law is suspended and where every "Christmas gift" demanded by the bosses is a wound inflicted on the healthy part of the city.
List of 42 suspects
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Amodio Luis Antonio, born in Naples on 12/18/2001; ARRESTED
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Aprea Alessandro, known as “Maradona”, born in Naples on 01.02.1996; UNDER INVESTIGATION
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Babalyan Alexandr, born in Russia on 21.11.1999; ARRESTED
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Bonavolta Antonio, born in Naples on 12/18/2001; ARRESTED
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Veronica Cardillo, born in Naples on 12.04.1987; UNDER INVESTIGATION
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D'Alterio Biagio, known as “Gino” or “'o Fruttivendolo”, born in Naples on 29.09.1967; ARRESTED
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De Cham Carmine, born in Naples on March 21, 1971; UNDER INVESTIGATION
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De Marino Gennaro, known as “Genny”, born in Naples on 01.06.2001; ARRESTED
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By Giovanni Antonio, known as “Toni”, born in Naples on 10.02.1994; ARRESTED
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By Vicino Luca, known as “Cucù”, born in Naples on 29.11.1982; ARRESTED
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Esposito Ciro, known as “o'macall”, born in Naples on 18.06.1980; ARRESTED
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Esposito Mosihella Mario, born in Naples on March 21, 1971; UNDER INVESTIGATION
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Salvatore Fiorillo, born in Naples on March 21, 1971; UNDER INVESTIGATION
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Frattini Salvatore, born in Naples on March 21, 1971; UNDER INVESTIGATION
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Frenna Emanuele, born in Naples on 12/18/2001; ARRESTED
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Gianluca Galeota, born in Naples on 12/18/2001; ARRESTED
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Gherardi Luigi, known as “Scellone”, born in Naples on 11.05.1987; UNDER INVESTIGATION
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Grosso Carmine, born in Naples on 12/18/2001; ARRESTED
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The Salvatore Brand, known as “Sasà”, born in Naples on 14.06.1982; ARRESTED
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The Savior Sage, known as “Sasillo”, born in Naples on 28.12.1998; ARRESTED
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Leonardo Vincenzo, known as “Chinotiell'”, born in Naples on 02.09.1996; ARRESTED
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Mariani Carlo, born in Naples on March 21, 1971; UNDER INVESTIGATION
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Matrone Salvatore, known as “Sasone”, born in Naples on 19.03.1993; ARRESTED
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Maurano Vittorio, born in Naples on March 21, 1971; UNDER INVESTIGATION
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Mauro Ciro, known as “Ciruzz 'o milionario” – “'o zì Ciruzz”, born in Naples on 27.05.1952; ARRESTED
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Nacarlo Giovanni, known as “o'Pustin”, born in Naples on 24.02.1980; ARRESTED
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Nacarlo Vincenzo, born in Naples on March 21, 1971; UNDER INVESTIGATION
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Neapolitan Assunta, born in Naples on February 8, 1983; house arrest
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Palumbo Salvatore, born in Naples on January 19, 1988; UNDER INVESTIGATION
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Peluso Valentina, born in Naples on 04.07.1964; UNDER INVESTIGATION
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Vincenzo Peluso, known as “ò Biond”, born in Naples on 25.11.2000; ARRESTED
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Vincenzo Pirozzi, alias “o Picuozz”, born in Naples on 11/24/1980; ARRESTED
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Simone Quagliarella, born in Naples on March 21, 1971; UNDER INVESTIGATION
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Repetti Giuseppe, known as “Ciocchetto”, born in Naples on 11.03.1993; UNDER INVESTIGATION
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Santagata Luigi, known as “Pollicino”, born in Naples on 18.05.1978; UNDER INVESTIGATION
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Savarese Salvatore, known as “Mellone”, born in Naples on 12.12.1974; ARRESTED
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Savarese Salvatore, known as “Totore” – “'o zio”, born in Naples on 11/30/1953; UNDER INVESTIGATION
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Luigi Scapolatiello, born in Naples on 12/18/2001; ARRESTED
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Sequino Nicola, born in Naples on March 21, 1971; UNDER INVESTIGATION
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Taiani Vincenzo, known as “Enzuccio or dwarf”, born in Naples on 25.06.1986; UNDER INVESTIGATION
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Verdicchio Salvatore, born in Naples on March 21, 1971; UNDER INVESTIGATION
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Mirko Fox, born in Naples on 30.06.1993. ARRESTED
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
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