The secret pact between Sasy Romano's rebels to take over Arzano

The fragile criminal balance of Arzano was shattered on a specific day: December 17, 2025. The release from prison of Davide Pescatore, alias Pal' 'e fierr, was not just a judicial news story, but a real earthquake for the hierarchy of the "167" clan.

DDA investigators describe a climate of electric tension: on one side, the dominant group led by Pescatore and his right-hand man Antonio Caiazza (known as "AC"); on the other, a faction of rebels, the "exiles," ready to unleash hell to regain power.

At the center of this split is Salvatore Romano, known as Sasy. Expelled from the clan by order of the Monfregolo clan, accused of being "unreliable" and of having drawn on the common coffers, Romano never accepted exile in Mondragone. Along with him, a handful of loyalists: his uncle Raffaele Silvestro, Salvatore Lupoli (known as Trombone), and Antonio Alterio, the "Sheriff."

The Biscordia Bakery and the "Train to Bologna"

One of the most significant moments, documented by the accounts of justice collaborator Gennaro Salvati, concerns the management of commercial activities. Antonio Alterio, after his release from prison, had attempted to rebuild an honest, or at least parallel, life by opening a pastry shop in partnership with an acquaintance. But in the Arzano system, independence was not an option.

Control of the territory is measured by the shutters. The case of Antonio Alterio, aka "'o Sceriff," is the epitome of the ruling clan's brutality. Alterio, brother of bosses Gennaro and Raffaele, attempts to distance himself. While in prison, he invests in a clean business: a pastry shop near the site where Rosario Coppola is later killed.

The story of the repentant Gennaro Salvati reveals the mechanism of the "internal protection racket":

Antonio Caiazza first went to Giovanni Arpaia [Alterio's associate] to get the extortion money, but he told him to talk to Antonio or the sheriff; the latter said he didn't want to be involved with this life anymore. Caiazza and Olivello then went to close the bakery's shutters. Now the bakery is run by the clan.

Caiazza's order is peremptory: Alterio must disappear.

«He told him that he had to leave Arzano and get on the first train to Bologna».

Instead of Bologna, Alterio chose Vanella Grassi in Secondigliano, finding refuge with Lupoli's relatives and becoming the armed wing of the split.

A humiliation that the rebel group has begun to simmer under the ashes, transforming it into a strategy of frontal attack.

The Psychology of the Outlaw Boss – “Crime for Love”

On February 13, 2026, inside a Fiat Panda FL798SX, the bugs recorded what could be considered Salvatore Romano's "ideological manifesto." While driving through the streets away from Arzano, Romano confided to his uncle Raffaele Silvestro his sense of moral victory over Pescatore.

SASY: «Now I'm really… mentally I'm bomb… because I saw “Trombone”'s face… He said: “O' Sa'… I was walking… Pal' 'e Fierr' and Antonio AC next to me… I'm gone”».

Romano believes his leadership is superior because it's based on absolute loyalty, not money. An almost romantic and distorted view of crime:

SASY: "Uncle, I learned... I already had manners... the day you had people committing crimes for you without a penny, you're a hundred plus one hundred... understand? Here people pay ten thousand and fifteen thousand to have them done... if someone does something just because they love you... oh uncle, you've won!"

At this stage, the secessionist group monitors the leaders' every move. Lupoli meets Pescatore and Caiazza in Casavatore, "under the bridge," testing their reaction with a mocking salute. It's a war of nerves rather than of bullets.

Military Strategy: The "Balloon," TikTok, and the Own Goal Deception

The preparation for the final ambush was based on cryptic terminology and obsessive monitoring of social media. Intercepts reveal that Pescatore's group was aware of the danger. Giustina Ferone, Caiazza's mother-in-law, was caught scanning TikTok to "study" their enemies:

FERONE: «Antonio, but that piecor' [Lupoli] is also on Tik Tok?… Lupoli… how beautiful he is… all crashed on the motorcycle… on his head… who knows who he thinks he is… I saw him on social media».

On the other hand, Armando Lupoli plans the infiltration. On February 21, 2026, he discusses his "double game" strategy, using a football metaphor:

ARMANDO: «Hey, I have to go to their team… I have to go to their team, bro… and I have to score an own goal, bro, believe me… slowly, slowly… do you understand what I mean?»

The arsenal is ready. On February 25, Armando calls Salvatore Lupoli to retrieve the "balloon" (the gun):

ARMANDO: «O' To'… the lawyer told me that I got two years and four… I asked Gemello [Elpidio Patricelli] for fifteen hundred euros… now I'm telling you something else: you want to take this ball away from there… and you give it to me?»
TOTORE: «If you have to do it, do it now… let me know half an hour before and I'll wait for you.»

Armando is ready to take the risk: "I'll come now... I have to take the risk, you son of a bucchinaro..." He doesn't know that Caiazza has already given the order to "put him to sleep forever." A few days later, on March 7th, that "own goal" will become his final death sentence under the Casavatore bridge.